Sid Meier's Pirates! (psp: 2007): Reviews

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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

Sid Meier's Pirates!


8.9

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 15 votes
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Official Website

In Sid Meier's Pirates!, a strategy/adventure game, players take the role of a Pirate Captain in the 17th century Caribbean – amassing fortune and fame in an attempt to seize a rightful place as one of the most revered and feared pirates in history. Players test their skills as a sea captain exploring the high seas and dueling in land and sea battles in a richly detailed 3D world. Additional features for the PSP system include wireless Ad-Hoc multiplayer for up to four players, widescreen graphics, new treasure hunts and more. [2K Games]

PUBLISHER:	2K Games
DEVELOPER:	Firaxis Games
GENRE(S):	Strategy, Adventure
PLAYERS:	4
ESRB RATING:	E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
RELEASE DATE:	January 23, 2007

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...

GameShark

If you have never played the game, then absolutely, Pirates is a must have for your PSP.

Digital Entertainment News

Sid Meier's Pirates! is able to be played for just a few mintues or hours at a time. Your PSP will thank you.

EuroGamer

It's unashamedly one of the PSP's brightest, most endearing, beguiling and long-lasting games, and its protracted residency in our PSP slot this month speaks as a louder recommendation than any number of orthodox, adulatory adjectives.

WHAM! Gaming

What's refreshing however in these times of relentless retro makeovers, is that despite the simplicity, there's considerable depth and longevity here, thanks to the varied outcomes of your every action.

IGN

Everything that makes Pirates! what it is is here and in fantastic form. The most important elements, like ship battles, exploration and such are identical to what you 'd find on the PC, which is really what matters.

Deeko

A charming game and one that will have you playing for what you believe to be an hour, only to look up and realize five hours have passed.

Games Radar

It's a port of a damn fine game - losing very little in translation and lending itself perfectly to a handheld frame of mind. Additionally, it retails for quite a bit less than your typical PSP release.

GameZone

A charming and very entertaining game that translates perfectly on the PSP. It’s easy to get lost in this game’s open environment and since there’s a lot to do in this game the replay value is extremely high.

Jolt Online Gaming UK

The combination of varied mini-games, relatively short and highly replayable campaigns, a save anywhere feature and an addictive 4-player ship battling mode make it a near-perfect fit for the system.

Games Master UK

Multi-player's a little lacking, but that's it. [Apr 2007, p.84]

GameSpot

The captivating PSP version of this classic PC strategy game captures all the charming fun of being a pirate of the Caribbean.

PSM Magazine

Anyone who's played "Sid Meier's Pirates!" on the PC or Xbox knows that it's an open-ended pirate adventure that lets you roam the high seas as you please, and this recent PSP port holds true to that style. [Apr 2007, p.84]

Gaming Age

There’s just enough happening in each facet of pirate life to make it transcend the past days of simplicity, but not so much that you’d rather be playing it on your wide screen TV or monitor.

IC-Games

Over-all if you can remember the original Pirates game from the 80’s then you will love what Firaxis have done to the game, bringing the latest graphics without destroying what made the title a great game to start with.

AceGamez

What makes Sid Meier's Pirates! a game that every PSP owner should at least seriously consider purchasing is its sheer depth and replay value.

Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK

The charming rogue of handheld gaming, Pirates! is a blast to begin with, but it can get tiresome if you're with it for too long. [Apr 2007, p.98]

Gamestyle

Play takes a fair amount of dedication, but thanks to well balanced difficulty levels (and a higher share of the plunder being given to you to tempt you to try them) makes the game feel welcoming and deep, and it feels like the complete antithesis of many PSP games.

RewiredMind

The only thing you pretty much can’t do as a pirate is getting your own parrot, which is a shame but we’re willing to overlook it just this once.

PSM3 Magazine UK

There's loads to do, and if you've enough mates there's a four-player Wi-Fi mode to get to grips with as well. [Apr 2007, p.87]

Thunderbolt

For Pirates! on the go, it's a very good effort and brings to the masses a franchise that was once only available to a select few with a decent spec PC, however the limits of the handheld market may annoy some.

1UP

Pirates!'s brand of potluck goofing around works outstandingly in portable form. Sure, it can get a bit repetitive over long sessions, but that's why a game such as Pirates! belongs on a stop-and-go handheld in the first place.

GameDaily

One of the PSP's best games. The depth of this adventure will keep gamers enthralled for hours. Be it sword fighting, scoring hidden treasure or engaging in a massive multiplayer ship battle, the discoveries here add up significantly.

Pocket Gamer UK

Timeless gameplay, expertly ported, Pirates! is a game to savour throughout.

Cheat Code Central

The complexity of the game may not be quite where it needs to be but all in all this is a solid title that will transport you to world full of adventure.

Game Informer

Pirates offers the same great mix of addictive minigames to which we sea dogs have grown accustomed.

Pure Magazine UK

A good conversion of a classic game, it's a shame they couldn't have spruced it up just a little for this new launch. [Mar 2007, p.79]

GamePro

Complex action games haven't proven especially successful on Sony's handheld but Pirates! succeeds by offering up simple yet intuitive controls and an easy to navigate interface. [Apr 2007, p.82]

PALGN

Sid Meier's Pirates is a shining example of how a game can be ported and made enjoyable for the PSP.

Game Revolution

While it’s not flawless, Pirates! still delivers a lot of replay value and a lot of fun. And for my money, that’s a baarrrrrgain. Ahem.

Ferrago

Initially, Pirates! feels extremely open ended and multi-faceted, yet its varied gameplay features soon lapse into the uncomfortable realms of repetition and borderline monotony - there's nothing on offer by way of expansion over its PC and Xbox counterparts.

Playstation Official Magazine UK

Among clumsy PS2 ports and tedious retro collections, it comes as a bracing gust of sea air. [Apr 2007, p.103]

Game Almighty

When it comes right down to it, Sid Meier's Pirates for the PSP is a good game but a bad port.

Gamers Europe

It’s the type of game that’s near impossible to put down once it’s been started and greatly encourages replay through the notoriety scoring system.

Detroit Free Press

A charming, refreshing change of pace for all PSP owners.

The average user rating for this game is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Weird Neville gave it a6:
This is a good game, but the reason I find this so sad is that it could have been a great game with so little extra work. The basics of the gameplay are very good. Sailing is kind of fun, and you have to 'tack' back and forth across the Carribean to fulfil your missions. You can make cash by sinking ships, although you quickly make enemies if you make a habit of this, of better still by discovering treasure or lost cities. There core of the plot is "the path to revenge" where you must locate the Marquis of Montalebans hideout... And this is really where my problems with this game begin. Being as it's the core of the plot this story line should have depth and intrigue. Instead it is a linear set of tasks leading to the simple revealation of the "jungle Fortress" and a showdown with the evil Marquis. There was potential here for so much more - plot twists, perhaps a treasure hunt style quest where clues rather than maps reveal locations. As it is you are repeatedly told that the Marquis has built a fortress, and then it's location is revealed. There's no suspense and no fun in that. The mini games show a similar lazyness and quickly become repetative. Dancing with governers daughters is sometimes very frustrating, but quickly gets boring, especially as it's often the only way to get information to further your career. The same goes for the sword fights. Little skill is required to win, until you get old when it becomes impossible to win as your character gets too slow to parry or swipe! This puts a major dent in your ability to progress in your quests at times. The treasure hunts and "escape from the town" sequences are filler, plain and simple and feel poorly thought out and executed offering no real challenge. The pitched battles show a slight improvement and actually require some skill and pre-planning to win, and can be quite fun but the opportunities to take over towns are limited unless you become real a scurvy pirate and force a whole antion into war with you. Overall this game is a dissapointment, not because of what it is but because of what it could have been. Richer environments, more character interation, better scripts (or any script at all!), the opportunity to engage in proper sea battles and to influence the wars between the nations could all have made this game great. It aslo should have had more availability to play an honest route, buying ships rather than having to take them by force and for the "merchant" path to be a more profitable one. I think this game really suffers from having been pitched at the 6-10 age range, twhen it could have offered so much more to a wide range of audience. There would have been no problem having a cut down easier option for young 'uns and a fully featured "hard" difficulty setting for those wanting to really get stuck in. If there were more strategy games out there for the PSP I would have given this a 5, but it gets a 6 because it is enjoyable in the most part, but shoudl have been great.

A. A. gave it a10:
Brilliant game flowed really well on psp.

Maxim E. gave it a9:
It's even better, than it's larger predecessors, because now you can take your swashbuckling, sacking, fencing and general pirating with you, wherever you go. And the gameplay formula works surprisingly well as a handheld game foundation too.

Nick A. gave it a3:
This game seems to be nothing more than a half completed version of uncharted waters or uncharted waters 2 with modern graphics. It offers no real addition to gameplay. Overall it has less ships only a portion of the map and almost no true depth in the plot. The only thing that this game has that Uncharted Waters did not is the different types of ammo, and that realy has very little impact on its overall makeup. I give this game a 3 because it is a pad remake of a much better game.

Nick B. gave it a10:
Pure genius, Pirates! Ranks next to GTA as one fo the must-own PSP games ou there. The PC version's play is essentially intact in what I would describe as a deceptively simple game of pirate-building that can become insanely addictive, especially in this portable format.

Maurice J. gave it a10:
Bought this game and popped it in, intending to play for an hour or so, and ended up putting it down when my PSP's battery died several hours later. This is a very catchy game - easy to pick up, hard to put down.

Pfillip T. gave it a10:
I loved the original for the Applie IIc. I loved the Xbox remake. And this port of the PC/Xbox version is equally as sick. It's amazing just how much fun this game still is. For the price, it's a no-brainer. I don't even want to imagine being a PSP owner without this game, man.