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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Sid Meier's Pirates!

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 50 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 41 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Firaxis
Genre(s): Strategy
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Release Date: November 22, 2004
Summary
An entirely new game engine delivers updated gameplay, stunning new features, spectacular 3D graphics and enhanced surround sound, so players can fully experience the intrigue, adventure and danger of life as a pirate on the Spanish Main. In Pirates! you take the leading role of a Pirate Captain in the 17th century Caribbean amassing fortune and fame in an attempt to seize your rightful place as one of the most revered (and feared!) pirates in history. Test your skills as a sea captain exploring the high seas and exotic ports in a richly detailed 3D world. Overtake the enemy and seize valuable booty. Exchange plank-shattering broadsides in fierce naval battles, and engage in duels with worthy opposing captains. As your reputation and skills grow, so will the size and quality of your crew, and your ability to take on larger enemy ships, raid and plunder heavily fortified ports, and locate ancient treasure. Theres a whole cast of interesting and dangerous characters to meet, mysteries to solve, exotic island destinations to discover, and powerful alliances to forge! [Firaxis]
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central
Also On The Web: ActionTrip Preview Games Domain Preview GameSpot Preview GameSpy Preview IGN Preview Official Game Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Detroit Free Press
We can't recall another PC game that challenged us to furious one-on-one sword fights and strategic warfare with cannons blazing -- interspersed with a test of ballroom dancing skills in which each click of our keyboard's keys translated into a deft move on the dance floor.
Read Full Review >Times Online
An evocative gem of a game, one all Long John Silver or Johnny Depp wannabes should thoroughly enjoy.
Read Full Review >G4 TV
This is a fantastic update to a truly classic game. It’s just plain great on every level. If you don’t like Pirates! you must be allergic to fun.
Read Full Review >Computer Games Magazine
Simple and deep gameplay that sucks away hours of your life. [March 2005, p.74]
Gamers' Temple
A completely engrossing ride on the Spanish Main. All that’s missing is the smell of rum and powder.
Read Full Review >My Gamer
An exciting gaming experience, its versatility makes it accessible to a variety of gamers, and it possesses dynamic game play that eliminates the monotony plaguing so many single-player games.
Read Full Review >Jolt Online Gaming UK
It’s truly one of the most addictive games we’ve played this year, and teaches the mildly boring Port Royale 2 a thing or two about how such sims should be done.
Read Full Review >Pelit (Finland)
Sid Meier's Pirates! is as magically playable as its forefather was in the ancient times. [Jan. 05]
RealGamer
Voices have been done in grumbling Sim’s style that really adds to the charm of the game.
Read Full Review >IGN
Pirates! is unlike any other game in the current PC catalog. Unless you hate fun, you'll love it.
Read Full Review >Worth Playing
One of those rare games that can engage you for hours each day while never getting old.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
An amazing, wonderfully lighthearted game that boasts an intoxicating blend of strategy and action, and as such it's a dire threat to your professional and personal productivity...Quite simply one of the most enjoyable games to come out in years.
Read Full Review >Just RPG
While you do many of the same things over and over again, Firaxis has made it fun. Really fun. "Just a few minutes more"-until-three-in-the-morning fun.
Read Full Review >PC Gamer
Combat is extremely fun and very easy to control - you can play the entire game using just your keyboard's Numpad. [Feb 2005, p.46]
IC-Games
"Port Royale" was the closest that anyone has come to the original Pirates, until now. All hail Sid Meier, the master of the computer game.
Read Full Review >GameBiz
The game truly stays faithful to the original Pirates! except with extended difficulty settings, added gameplay depth and fancy graphics.
Read Full Review >GamePro
Each gameplay aspect has its own place, joyously gelling together to create a diverse but pleasant experience.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
It's got a simplicity and elegance that you just don't see in PC games anymore: It's pure gameplay, fun from the opening credits onward. As a player you'll be constantly engaged.
Read Full Review >GameShark
An absolutely fabulous game that is nothing but fun from start to finish. And as an extra bonus it is family friendly. No blood, not wound and no death.
Read Full Review >Boomtown
Sid Meier and his crew have managed to update one of the major classics of gaming so that it is now a worthy example of the fact that good gameplay never goes out of fashion.
Read Full Review >Computer Gaming World
The simplicity of the gameplay and charm of the presentation are happy reminders of a more innocent age when games were just fun for kids rather than targets of congressional hearings. [Feb 2005, p.86]
Gaming Illustrated
It's funny, there really isn't anything absolutely revolutionary or remarkable about the game, but you'll find yourself playing it for hours on end.
Read Full Review >GameZone
There are some drawbacks to portions of the sound and the swordplay segments can be a little redundant, but this game does have diversity and entertaining elements that draw one past the minor stumbles.
Read Full Review >Game Chronicles
A blend of the very best that simulation games have to offer, with all of the raucous entertainment of a good pirate film.
Read Full Review >Cincinnati Enquirer
This game gets high marks for the attention to detail in each scene, and the authentic feel of doing battle with other ships at sea.
Read Full Review >2404.org
Its huge open-endedness does an excellent job of establishing the proper atmosphere while the balance of combat and economy produces a quality strategy title. It does, however, have its problems. Open-ended gameplay can lead to a lack of focus, and this game is very light on tutorial, how-to material which creates a somewhat larger than average learning curve; preventing me from recommending Pirate's to all gamers as a whole.
Read Full Review >Computer and Video Games
Like its predecessor, Sid Meier's game effortlessly takes the best of every style of gaming and mixes it into a consistent and enduringly charming whole. Certainly there are games with more strategy, and others with more action, but few, if any, can claim to be as breathlessly easy to enjoy. [PC Zone]
Read Full Review >Loaded Inc
With so much to do and the ability to do it at your own pace, Pirates! is the rare game that can entertain almost everyone.
Read Full Review >3DAvenue
The only thing stopping Pirates! from becoming one of 2005's best is the lack of variation in the gameplay - it is an immensely enjoyable game at first not to mention very unique, and there are plenty of mini games included, but soon enough repetition sets in with these mini games and it sets in rather hard.
Read Full Review >FiringSquad
It's that kind of freedom and pressure-free atmosphere that makes Pirates! as good as it is. Now, if only it would be so nice as to make dancing less important in courtship - or at least less difficult - we'd have a completely enjoyable game.
Read Full Review >Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
The trading, the pirating, the sailing, the dancing, the political ramifications of targeting one nation's gubernatorial and military traffic to the advantage of another... it all swims in the shallows. But as shallows go they're as clear and blue as babies' eyes. [PC Gamer UK]
Read Full Review >1UP
It's varied, addictive, and replayable, with a big difference between the experiences available at lower and higher levels of difficulty.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
It's the way everything fits together that's so much fun... The simple nature of this game masks a surprisingly deep and engaging experience. [Jan 2005, p.136]
ActionTrip
The remake of the original 'Pirates!' certainly captures the free-flowing feel and the addictive nature of the original game. Man, hours do go by quickly when you're playing this one. In many ways, this IS the original game.
Read Full Review >Game Revolution
What we are left with is a remake of one of the greatest games of all time, which in and of itself is an accomplishment worthy of praise. It's just as addictive as ever.
Read Full Review >Play.tm
It's also bountifully endowed with that certain something that Meir sprinkles into his games that makes them so hard to stop playing.
Read Full Review >Game Over Online
A game where analytically I keep thinking I shouldn’t like it all that much, but then I play it and get absorbed, and I look up and see it’s 4am already. So Pirates! is a fun game to play, but it’s a little bit shallow and repetitive.
Read Full Review >PC Format
A little like a tavern wench you met in Trinidad - certainly pretty, very broad, but ultimately a tiny bit shallow. [Jan 2005, p.88]
Read Full Review >Yahoo! Games
Won't appeal to everyone, but if you're nostalgic for the original or like unstructured and open-ended games, this booty is well worth seeking. Yarrr!
Read Full Review >Thunderbolt
There's really only one word to describe Sid Meier's Pirates! and that's 'charming'. The excellent presentation, clever gameplay design and exquisite pacing mark it out as a unique and well thought out game. It's full of confidence and style, eager to impress and even if it won't keep you playing for months on end, is bound to provide an enjoyable experience while it lasts.
Read Full Review >AceGamez
The controls are so easy to grasp that you'll rarely find any need to look in the manual for anything other than general hints; this is a game you can really jump into and get on with right away, with none of the hassle of dull stat screens with useless information bothering you.
Read Full Review >Sydney Morning Herald
A remake of a much-loved 1987 relic, Pirates is incredibly charming. Its simplicity belies the game's surprising depth and addictiveness.
Read Full Review >games(TM)
Pirates! Is a challenging and rewarding open-ended adventure... what better than a game that let’s you write your own pirate-filled legacy. [Jan 2005, p.118]
Read Full Review >TotalGames.net
These bugs, alongside the simplistic taverns, swordfights, trading arrangements, one-screen locations and Benny Hill-style beach skirmishes, make Pirates! feel like Treasure Island in a Pirates of the Caribbean world.
Read Full Review >Gamers Europe
As a confectionery item, Sid Meiers Pirates lasts about as long as a packet of Cadbury buttons or an Easter egg in the hands of a 10 year old. Like too much chocolate, you might get sick of it after a while, but you’ll come back to it sooner or later.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
While the repetitive nature of the sub-games is what really keeps this away from true greatness, what leads to an increasing sense of the game being a chore is something as simple and ethereal as a wind.
Read Full Review >Gamers Depot
A very simple game, but it is also very entertaining. It is easy to whittle away hours chasing galleons, seeking buried treasure or raiding ports. Meier seems to have a way with making games that are hard to stop playing.
Read Full Review >Edge Magazine
Elements such as marching onto an island, or talking to a governor, seem flat and underdeveloped. Islands are sparse and awkward experiences, while their governors are often illogical and nonsensical in their responses. [Jan 2005, p.88]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 41 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Eivind O gave it a3:
Massively overrated. Gets boring really fast, if you ever played Port Royale. I might have digged it if I was 15 years younger.
Marek M gave it a5:
For first 6-8 hours this game is a real fun! Taking galleons with small sloop is experience easy to like :) But afer this time it gets too repetitive. Still it's not bad - it's just average.
Cameron S gave it a10:
This is the only game that has entertained me throughout my entire life. Its free roaming, swashbuckling world help create an amazing game that will stand the test of time.
Kopschmigger gave it a3:
Its a good game .. but it gets REALLY REPETITIVE after some time ! the story line is just about doing the same thing over and over again until you get all the parts.... I liked it in the beginning. Please don't rate this game if you havent playied for more than 3 days or so ( it gets repetitive before that .. but whatever ). Totally overrated
Eric W. gave it a10:
Great remake of the original. Updated with better gfx, and more fights and quests. Really really fun game!
TJ gave it a9:
If this game were a real pirate ship, it'd be a Ship of the Line! A solid update for a gaming classic. I played the original when it came out 20 years ago (yes, I'm that old), and it's every bit as fun now as it was back then. You can't really go wrong with a game brought to you by the same folks who made Civilization.
Ben D. gave it a3:
Fun for about three hours. The swordfights, dances, land and sea battles, and basic sailing are extremely repetitive. The graphics are cartoonish, the subplots are juvenile, and each quest becomes a 30-minute chore. This game does not deserve the high rating it received.
