Title Sid Meier's Pirates! Date 02.27.2006 Genre Adventure, Strategy Platform Sony PSP Developer Firaxis Publisher 2K Games

Sid Meiers Pirates. A game that originally made its first appearance on the Commodore 64 in 1987 and was well received to the point of being on the top ten of any gamers list at the time. The game then received an update in 1987 for the PC and later for the Xbox and was praised by both those who played the original and those who were new to the game. Now, Sid Meier has once again presented the life of a scurvy pirate for yet another system, the PSP. So we are left with one question...is the game the buried treasure gamers have hoped for or should it walk the plank?

Graphics
This element is the biggest departure from the Xbox and PC versions. Much of the details in characters and animations have been scaled down in order to minimize load times. This, however, is a minor gripe considering it is still better than quite a few of games that have met the handheld realm. The graphics set an overall light-hearted appearance with very colorful atmospheres and characters. Also, the game ensures its E-10 ESRB rating by having non-lethal moments (if you win a duel the opponent falls off the ship, gets knocked out by the barmaid, or a vase falls on him). The only thing that gamers who played the PC version will miss is the fact that its never nighttime.

Sound
The sound is yet another part of the developers scaling down the game to optimize the handhelds experience. Each nationality has its own music that fits them well and the combat music does pretty well also. But my main gripe is that you barely have any sound at all outside of the ports. when you are sailing in the open seas the only sound you will get is a "ding" every time a month passes by so the sound rarely does anything to get the gamer deeper into the experience. Some else worth noting is, like the entire modern version, the fact that all the characters speak jibberish reminiscent of simolean.

Controls
I cannot find one significant complaint about this title's controls. The control of the ships is spot on (though I feel they move too slow, but that’s no fault of the controls) and the rest of the game is a set of mini-games. The duels are simplistic enough for a handheld but challenging enough to keep your interest (at higher difficulties that is). The dancing mini-game, though based more on reflex than rhythm, is improved over both the Xbox and PC versions due to the addition of the button prompt instead of forcing gamers to pay attention to the damsel's hand gestures.

Gameplay
This game should stand as an example of a PSP title done right. Somehow the developers have ported a fairly large game from the PC version and optimized it so that there are minimal and infrequent load times (the only other game that comes close to this is Metal Gear Portable Ops). But that’s just the technical side. What we have here is a completely free from sandbox game. The game begins with your family owing a ruthless duke money and celebrating the fact that they have a ship with the goods needed that should dock the next day.

But things change when the duke arrives at the house enslaving your family to pay the debt. But you escape and years later your quest begins. Now, you can go to solely beat the main story quest, or you can do a variety of other things and ignore the plot all together. There are nefarious pirates to defeat, treasure to find, ships and towns to pillage and plunder, governor’s daughters to romance, social ladders to rise up in, and much more. The game is presented through a set of mini-games tied together to a bigger picture, and it stands as well with its mix of simplicity with its deceptively deep and involved gameplay. Another aspect worth noting is the aging factor. Over time you age and your skills slowly diminish till eventually have to retire (which is around 40-60) and you will be judged based upon the things you did in the past and given a post-pirating career that ranges from pick pocket to governor.

The Verdict
This is definitely not a game to miss if you have a PSP. The game comes pretty cheap with a $29.99 price tag and heavy replay value due to the free form nature of the game making it a definite smart choice.

Game Score

B+

Reviewed By: Contributed