Pirates! Gold Plus

Pirates! is a very fun game, but the two versions included in this GOG pack are not good emissaries of the series. Pirates! Gold includes a few new features and fancier looking graphics – but the fancier graphics actually make the sword-fighting moves almost unreadable. And there are some technical problems with the DOSBOX emulation used in this game which cause the controls to be unresponsive in certain parts of the game. Pirates! fans would be better off just playing the Atari ST version or the Amiga version using an emulator.

I'm tempted to leave the review there since it pretty much says it all. This pack contains some of the most fun I've ever had in gaming, finding a legendary treasure with only one map piece, rescuing kidnapped relatives from evil spaniards, capturing the treasure fleet but being the only person in my crew to survive and racing to the nearest port before the game checked my crew levels, realised I didn't have enough for one ship much less 5 & sank all my boats on me... Truly fantastic stuff.

I will treat both games as one for this review. They are basically the same apart from graphical updates and a couple of GUI changes. So, you wanna be a pirate! Well, this game remains your best bet (together with the later released second remake which however has more changes for better or worse). There is a backstory where you have to find and free the captive members of your family, but it is neither a prerequisite or at any point anything more than what it is, a back story. In the game you end up with a small ship, a small crew, and lots of ambition. It's up to you if you are going to work for one (or more) of the major colonial powers, mainly as a privateer, or focus on a more secluded career. You can trade goods and guns in towns, or raid them for them. You can attack enemy ships, or hail them for news. You can search for lost treasures with your land party, or visit towns on foot. You are free to do as you wish. The parts of the games are, the sailing in the main map, which is done in real time, the fighting on land with your pirates against town guards(if you attack the town on foot) etc, which is in turn based mode. The fighting between ships, which is very similar to the main map sailing only in a "zoomed up" area and again in real time. There are sword fights in real time, where you fight a major opponent, be it a captain, town guard, etc. The controls are super effective, still perfect after 25 years. The gameplay is top notch and even the now primitive graphics of the first game, remain in a strange way, realistic enough. For me the Pirates! series (and of course mainly the very first game) is among the classics of the video gaming world. Right next to Pac Man, Tetris, etc. If you are a gamer, you owe it to yourself to get this bundle. Stop reading these reviews, buy the game and play the game!

What can I say about this game? Endless fun combined with learning history and geography! Because of this game one of my dreams is a cruise to the Carribean! Elements of roleplaying and many mini games from arcade naval battles to swordfighting and diplomacy while you try to survive as a mighty pirate! Great choice!