I remember playing Sid Meier’s Pirates! in my college days. My roommate and I would scour the Caribbean looking for booty and rescuing family members. It was a complete blast and it more than once took me away from my scholastic activities. Well 2K games has accurately brought the PC experience to the small screen. In this review I’ll try to point out the major differences between the iPad and PC version.
Graphics, Sounds, and Presentation
In 2004 when Pirates! came out for the PC it sported cartoony but pleasing graphics. Those graphics have translated very well into the iPad version. There aren’t any graphics settings like in the PC version and you will experience jaggies every so often; but overall it’s like playing the game on medium quality with 2x anti-aliasing back in 2004. I also noticed some graphics popping in and out. For example, talking to characters while in port would cause them to disappear and reappear randomly. It is a rather strange glitch and it isn’t a major problem, just a minor inconvenience. The sounds are perfectly represented. From the crashing of the waves, to the music in the ports, and the ARRRRRs of your fellow pirates; it is extremely immersive and the iPad doesn’t break a sweat representing them. As for the presentation Pirates! always had big buttons to use the menu, so it is prefect for the fat fingers of iPad users. Overall other than some jaggies and insignificant graphical glitches everything is spot on.
Gameplay
Considering I haven’t played this game in 5 years I wanted to see how well I could back into the Pirates! lifestyle. I am happy to report it was extremely smooth thanks to the game slowly exposing new game elements in a logical way. Pirates! also includes the sid’o'pedia which helps describe nuances of the game, like what’s the different between a Flag Galleon and a Sloop. The game is designed so well that a new player or vet will be winning ship battles and taking over ports in no time. Now since the iPad lacks a keyboard and mouse (like it’s PC counterpart) everything is done through touch and 2K games has done an excellent job of exploiting that unique aspect to flesh out certain gameplay elements. There are two notable changes, the first being the ‘dancing’ segment where you are wooing the daughter of the governor. You have to tap disappearing circles in time to make your hero dance like a pro and make the daughter fall in love with you (I guess chicks only like good dancers). The other is the fencing mini-game. You create different swipes with your finger to choose different attacks and defenses.
Some notable changes are the way you land ashore. In the 2004 version you would use the treasure map to aimlessly walk about the land to find the buried treasure. Honestly, I hated this part and 2k must have too, because it has been completely changed for the better in the iPad version. Now all you have to do is get the treasure map, go to the guided destination, and boom your thousands of doubloons richer. One entertaining addition 2k Games made is the ability to bombard and take over cities. You essentially trade cannon blows between your flagship and the coast, with the city being the spoils.
Conclusion
In a nutshell Sid Meier’s Pirates! for the iPad is the same game you played back in 2004 but better. The graphics are as charming as ever, the sounds is perfect, and the presentation is dead-on. The gameplay has been revamped with the iPad’s touch capability and the annoying mini-games have been completely changed. Saving your family from the clutches of the evil Spanish nobleman has never been more satisfying. Excellent game.
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