The UKFF Retro Gaming Thread

[patiirc]

Will add The GameFaq and a few reviews to the main page to see if that helps people any

[Mike Castle]

I tried, I really did... but I just couldn't even begin to get into that game, the entire thing felt a lot like a lot of "build your empire up" type of games from the time (as that's the feel I got from it) in that it just had no direction and with no direction you had no real knowledge of where to go, what to do, and it was all just guess work. I found that all I was doing was sailing around the seas, finding some other boat (be it pirate, english or spanish) fighting them, firing the cannons once, then having to ram them as I had nothing else to do, only to just repeatedly jab the A button and win the sword fight without any actual need to play the game.

 

As a whole, it was pointless and a waste of time. 0/10. While I love a game that allows you to go wherever and do whatever, there needs to at least be some direction of what you're supposed to at least be doing, and where you are supposed to be going. This game successfully avoids both, leaving you to wander aimlessly.

 

 

Fair enough dude. 0/10 though.. blimey proper rubbish then like?

 

The whole no real knowledge of where to go is what separates games of yesterday and games of today. No signposting, no making it easy and no giving you the game as it were. afaik stopping at ports and going into taverns and asking governors for information tells you all you need to know. The rest is up to you

 

Its a free spirit pirate sim. you can side with who ever you want. Check the link in the opening post for instructions and the like. The whole point is that you can do what you want, when you want to. You can change what ports are available and what country is in the ascendency by changing the years

 

Want to be a Dutch pirate despite being English or whatever nationality to start then fight away. you may have to sneak into everyport every and may get put in prision alot but thats part of the intrigue

 

Boat Battles get easier and Sloops vs Galleons are always fun its about broad siding and running away. you can damage masts hulls and whatever, plunder the cargo take the ship and so forth and so on. You can do the same for forts and exact regime change as well

 

Its not really an empire building game and if you tire of skirmishes and raiding ports, you can do missions for governors capture other pirates for ransom or information and find your family.

 

All this helps with your final score.

 

Mmm Ill have a ponder I will write a proper inspection if I get time later on..

Thing is, there has to be "some" direction, otherwise there's no point to it to begin with. And I never saw any reason to side with anyone but myself as it was impossible to lose a fight, just tap A repeatedly and have, you've won. So why even bother with boat battles? It gave me the feeling that it had the potential to be a rather decent game, but failed miserably on every level the fighting was piss easy, the boat battle stuff was a waste of time and gave no help or hinderence to you/them, the actual moving around the map was pointless as it was huge but had no reason to go anywhere, and the one time I did spend in a port it was pointless as it gave zero knowledge to what I was meant to be doing.

 

If you have a day or two free to perhaps maybe get to a point in the game where you might actually have something to do, then it might be worthwhile, and even then I stress the "might", as it is I saw no redeeming features and found that there was no reason whatsoever to play the game, and nothing in it that made me want to continue playing until I had beaten it. Absolutely nothing in it drew me in, and if the game cannot do that, then it's failed at it's job.

[patiirc]

Thing is, there has to be "some" direction, otherwise there's no point to it to begin with. And I never saw any reason to side with anyone but myself as it was impossible to lose a fight, just tap A repeatedly and have, you've won. So why even bother with boat battles? It gave me the feeling that it had the potential to be a rather decent game, but failed miserably on every level the fighting was piss easy, the boat battle stuff was a waste of time and gave no help or hinderence to you/them, the actual moving around the map was pointless as it was huge but had no reason to go anywhere, and the one time I did spend in a port it was pointless as it gave zero knowledge to what I was meant to be doing.

 

If you have a day or two free to perhaps maybe get to a point in the game where you might actually have something to do, then it might be worthwhile, and even then I stress the "might", as it is I saw no redeeming features and found that there was no reason whatsoever to play the game, and nothing in it that made me want to continue playing until I had beaten it. Absolutely nothing in it drew me in, and if the game cannot do that, then it's failed at it's job.

 

Elite, Elite II, Sim City, A Train and various others dont have "some" direction , infact Id say that Pirates! Gold is very much like Elite style game just not in 3d Its up to you what career you have, how it pans out what kind of pirate you are and when you eventually retire what ranking you are.

 

Erm you wanted "some" direction then find your family or, go after the Gold ships or treasure, or even do errands for governors. These all involve you going to more than one port. There is plenty there, it just isn't spoon fed and you dont have to do it.

 

As for impossible to lose a fight, up the difficulty then. make the game a challenge rather than moan about it being easy.

 

Why is the boat battle a waste of time? you win, get men, better ships allows for faster navigation, bigger plunder and bigger trades. more guns allows better chance of winning against 3 or more forts

 

One port and nothing found.. and you give up? There are another however many ports to find, plunder or whatever but you had no reason to go anywhere? that doesnt even make sense. "you've seen one port you've seen them all!" wtf?

 

As I said before I think this one will potentially be problematic for those who like or are used their games signposted in a modern way ala GTA (roam freely but a mission structure) rather than proper free roam and do what you want within the realms of the game.

 

Hey ho

[Mike Castle]

I actually didn't mind Elite, but then there was in essence something to do there (trade goods and get yourself built up). Pirates just didn't have this.

 

It's not about wanting to be "spoon fed" but a game should feel like a game, not feel like a chore, which this did.

 

The boat battles were a waste of time as there was nothing in them, you fired the cannons once and then couldn't fire them again which left you to charge the ship and have another pointless fight that went nowhere.

 

The port stuff, how do you even know where the ports are? You're on the main map and have absolutely no indication of anything beyond "water/land" there's nothing else there. It's just stupid.

 

I found the first port early on (think I started there or something), but afterwards it was just aimless wandering, there was zero information to be gained about what the point of it all was.

 

Hell, even if there was a set end target it would be something, but I saw nothing of that.

 

I get that you like it, but maybe you enjoy it more than most? You definitely find more out of it than I do, and that's fine, but to say I'm somehow in the wrong for finding it to be a waste of time is rather silly. I just find it to be pointless, there should be direction, and there is none, there should be a reason, and again there is none. It's just an entire game of nothingness that leads to apathy.

 

Funny thing is that I'm finding a few games that I used to love wind up feeling less loved later on when you go back to them and find that there really isn't much there at all (Elite is actually one of those that was like that I found, and I'm worried Mega-lo-Mania will go the same way, but I'm avoiding playing that now so when it comes up I can do so then). I feel this may be one of those games that way back I may have got a kick out of (partly because when I got a game I felt obliged to play it as I'd just paid money for it, and partly because I didn't have two tons of better stuff to play even if it did suck), however now I just wont get into no matter how good it may have once been.

[patiirc]

I actually didn't mind Elite, but then there was in essence something to do there (trade goods and get yourself built up). Pirates just didn't have this.

 

It's not about wanting to be "spoon fed" but a game should feel like a game, not feel like a chore, which this did.

 

The boat battles were a waste of time as there was nothing in them, you fired the cannons once and then couldn't fire them again which left you to charge the ship and have another pointless fight that went nowhere.

 

The port stuff, how do you even know where the ports are? You're on the main map and have absolutely no indication of anything beyond "water/land" there's nothing else there. It's just stupid.

 

I found the first port early on (think I started there or something), but afterwards it was just aimless wandering, there was zero information to be gained about what the point of it all was.

 

Hell, even if there was a set end target it would be something, but I saw nothing of that.

 

I get that you like it, but maybe you enjoy it more than most? You definitely find more out of it than I do, and that's fine, but to say I'm somehow in the wrong for finding it to be a waste of time is rather silly. I just find it to be pointless, there should be direction, and there is none, there should be a reason, and again there is none. It's just an entire game of nothingness that leads to apathy.

 

Funny thing is that I'm finding a few games that I used to love wind up feeling less loved later on when you go back to them and find that there really isn't much there at all (Elite is actually one of those that was like that I found, and I'm worried Mega-lo-Mania will go the same way, but I'm avoiding playing that now so when it comes up I can do so then). I feel this may be one of those games that way back I may have got a kick out of (partly because when I got a game I felt obliged to play it as I'd just paid money for it, and partly because I didn't have two tons of better stuff to play even if it did suck), however now I just wont get into no matter how good it may have once been.

 

 

Hmm makes the realisation that Mike has missed most of this game and clearly not read any of the instructions or got maps etc etc :love:

 

Pirates is exactly

(trade goods and get yourself built up)

if thats what you want.

 

The boat battles were a waste of time as there was nothing in them, you fired the cannons once and then couldn't fire them again which left you to charge the ship and have another pointless fight that went nowhere.

 

The guns, on the ships you have to wait, yes, actually wait whilst they are reloaded before you can fire again. and not play it like a shmup with super rapid fire... this being with galleons sloops etc and factors like wind etc being a problem

 

The fight went nowhere because?

 

Then there is this

 

Hell, even if there was a set end target it would be something, but I saw nothing of that.

 

You miss the first screen that lays out the 10 Pirate Quests then? and so forth and so on

 

The port stuff, how do you even know where the ports are? You're on the main map and have absolutely no indication of anything beyond "water/land" there's nothing else there. It's just stupid.

 

I found the first port early on (think I started there or something), but afterwards it was just aimless wandering, there was zero information to be gained about what the point of it all was.

 

As you havent clearly read the instructions, when sailing press C to bring up the captains cabin, press left or right 3 times from the continue screen and you have a map of the caribbean. The Red Dots are all the cities and where they are located. The Skull and Cross Bones is your position relative to them all

 

For an even easier reference press A when sailing to get the exact same map.

 

You can then see what information about which places you have and go and visit and attack as necessary

 

I some how think the point of the game has been missed. As seeing as you dont like it could you do me one favour as I cant find any To provide balance can you find me some negative reviews I can put in the original post Cheers

 

C'est la Vie these things happen

[Mike Castle]

The boat battles were a waste of time as there was nothing in them, you fired the cannons once and then couldn't fire them again which left you to charge the ship and have another pointless fight that went nowhere.

 

The guns, on the ships you have to wait, yes, actually wait whilst they are reloaded before you can fire again. and not play it like a shmup with super rapid fire... this being with galleons sloops etc and factors like wind etc being a problem

 

The fight went nowhere because?

So you spend ages just drifting around a screen waiting for the cannons to be reloaded, of which it doesn't inform you that they're taking time to reload nor how long they have left? Sounds like bad programming to me.

 

Fight went nowhere due to repeatedly tapping the same button constantly.

 

Then there is this

 

Hell, even if there was a set end target it would be something, but I saw nothing of that.

 

You miss the first screen that lays out the 10 Pirate Quests then? and so forth and so on

Go on then, tell me where it gives me direction. All it said was there were 10 pirate quests, and successfully avoided actually giving me any information as to what they actually are. "You have to do ten things that we wont tell you about" is not good. Incidentally I found out beating a pirate ship was one of them. I found this out by accident when I (easily) beat a pirate ship. Great forward planning for them.

 

The port stuff, how do you even know where the ports are? You're on the main map and have absolutely no indication of anything beyond "water/land" there's nothing else there. It's just stupid.

 

I found the first port early on (think I started there or something), but afterwards it was just aimless wandering, there was zero information to be gained about what the point of it all was.

 

As you havent clearly read the instructions, when sailing press C to bring up the captains cabin, press left or right 3 times from the continue screen and you have a map of the caribbean. The Red Dots are all the cities and where they are located. The Skull and Cross Bones is your position relative to them all

 

For an even easier reference press A when sailing to get the exact same map.

 

You can then see what information about which places you have and go and visit and attack as necessary

Finding that map was easy, as was the cabin, but the main screen itself is still blank and lifeless which is what my point was. It's still aimless when there's no actual reason to do anything. What is the reason for any of it?

 

I some how think the point of the game has been missed. As seeing as you dont like it could you do me one favour as I cant find any To provide balance can you find me some negative reviews I can put in the original post Cheers

Sarcy comment about "nobody else dislikes the game, must be you" noted. I like games with a point, this one had none. Rather than being sarcastic and arsey about it, why not accept that just because you (and others) think something is amazing, that others may find it to be a colossal waste of time?

[patiirc]

Sarcy comment about "nobody else dislikes the game, must be you" noted. I like games with a point, this one had none. Rather than being sarcastic and arsey about it, why not accept that just because you (and others) think something is amazing, that others may find it to be a colossal waste of time?

 

Iam going to answer this and only this because the rest is basically expecting Current gen off a 16 bit machine and not reading the fucking manual.

 

 

I wasnt being Sarcastic you nincompoop I was actually askin you to help find some neg reviews. I have tried to find some and have not found any. So as seen as you dont like it then please find some reviews so that the game can be compared properly.

 

Its not always VS you.

 

 

So you spend ages just drifting around a screen waiting for the cannons to be reloaded, of which it doesn't inform you that they're taking time to reload nor how long they have left? Sounds like bad programming to me.

 

You dont want" spoon fed" but want to know exactly how long to reload :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: did you not see that you couldnt fire, wait for a bit and you can fire

 

Fucking ell Iam a spacker some times but jeezus

[Ron Simmons]

I have to admit that after playing the game I'm not overly keen on it either. The premise is excellent, something I'm surprised hasn't been repeated given the current era of "sandbox" games, but that's the main positive I can give about Pirates. There is a weird contradiction within the game in that you can do what you want...except you can't. You can take part in a selection of activities that the game allows you to, but there is very little variety within these activities. Rather than a primitive sandbox game, in a way to me it felt like a collection of mini games sewn together. There was nothing to drive me forward in the game, nothing that made me want to keep playing. As Mike says the battles are simplistic, and because of that they just become an annoyance. They're not difficult to win, and I didn't think they were fun, so you kind of wish you could just skip them all together.

 

I can see why people would have liked this game at the time, but unfortunately I think it's a good example of a game that's dated. I'm sure some people will be able to play it and appreciate how good it WAS, but in comparison to later games it's hard to say how good it IS.

 

I'm not going to score it as I don't think that would be fair, but people who are new to the retro scene should be careful before buying it.

[patiirc]

Its with some what of a mixed head I write this review.

 

I wasnt expecting people to not like it so fiercely, nor completely rip the game a new ahole for being well, basically a bit simple and not up to today's standards. I guess thats the whole point of re reviewing these things.. So its all good.

 

Back to the review.

 

Well.... Approximately 1 million years ago Sid Meier created this game about Pirates. Seriously, it's a game about pirates. Iam not joking. Its DEADLY serious! Anyway, this game was redone some years later and appeared on the Sega Genesis (not megadrive as was never PAL released) despite being produced by Microprose who were well known and had their base in Tetbury Glos at one point. Go Figure

 

 

The Game

 

Well what can I say, that hasnt all ready been said? I do feel that Iam missing an eye-patch or something, but hey you cant always have everything, so I will be a mock pirate . In this game you are the 'Pirate to end all Pirates', 'The Scourge of the Caribbean', the thorn in the side of which ever nation you choose to hate and everything piratey that pirates erm pyrates...(Ed: No, Pirates! You Buffoon!) do.

 

At the start of the game you are forced to fight your Captain, having been fed up with his rule of Iron and your continual mistreatment, you are the leader of the insurrection that will ultimately lead you to control your own ship and command your own men, if you win.

 

From winning the first duel you are then placed in port. Depending what time period you have chosen this is usually a 'home' Port or British one. In the Port you can trade Cargo and Ships, or go to the local Tavern and get news, recruitment and buy information off weary travellers. You can converse with the Governer as well. buying letters of Marque, pledging your allegiance to which ever country you see fit. You can also divide your plunder and retire if necessary.

 

Rewinds a bit..

 

I should of said at the start. Before you start your mission you can change the level of the game, time period your name and nationality and most importantly you can choose your special pirate ability. This ability is important as it will help you during the game immensely. The best one to have is skill at medicine as will prolong your career. Especially if your ship gets wasted on reefs or you get beaten and thrown in jail.

 

And back to where we were..

 

In town, bored and nothing to do.. Set sail. lets go explore the Carribean.

 

Sailing is quite a sedate affair with some jolly music accompanying your travels around the seas. you can plot your routes or decide where to go next by looking at the Map and deciding on a plan of action. Occasionally you will come accross other vessels that you can investigate, fight, hail for news or sail away.

 

Usually it its best to investigate and fight those that are at war with your chosen nation. or other Pirates as can help you as pirate become more powerful than you can ever imagine (Ive heard this before somewhere?). The spoils of victory are a new ship, lots of cargo and food to eat so your men dont starve and guns to make your flotilla more powerful.

 

The battles themselves are tense affairs and if you are a Sloop versus a Galleon or Fluyt vs a Merchantman then you must be on the top of your game as one broadside will sink you or severely damage your ship requiring a trip to port before battle again,. There is some dramatic accompanying music as well.

 

During the Battles, you can raise or lower your sails, choose to sail into or against the wind and have to try and square yourself to fire vs the opposition. The less men and more damage the other ship is the easier it is for you to win when you Tbone the ship and fight the enemy captain. You could also runaway and if the enemy ship takes too much damage then sometimes they will surrender. You could just blow them into oblivion as well if you are feeling particularly nasty.

 

For what it is the combat is pretty simplistic, anything more complex would make things overbearing. You are playing Pirate Captain, not jigging the frigging rigging. If I wanted to be a gunner on a Pirate ship, then Id play a game that did that rather than one that made you Master and Commander.

 

Occasionally in battle you will capture a well known pirate who will have information regarding your missing family or can be held for ransom when you go to a friendly (to them) port. All of which will help you later on.

 

Back to the Sea.. As you sail around the ocean you will notice that there are these white peaks and troughs and rough seas, hit these with your ship and they are immediately lost. Hit too many and your flotilla will be destroyed and you will be left on a desert island.

 

Entering a port is easy enough you can sail in, sneak in or fight your way in. Sail in to friendly ports, sneak into enemy forts and attack those which you dont like(plays out like the sea battles, but with much more damage from the ports guns!) to initiate regime change where necessary. If you are mental enough to attack by land as is required for some cities then good luck to you

 

Sneaking into enemy ports is fun to begin with you will get in most places, but as your reputation grows you will be challenged and have to fight duels to avoid raising the alarm. Once inside the port you may not be able to trade with the shops as they dont like pirates and if your struggling for food you may have a problem with mutineers.

 

Talking about mutineers, the longer you spend at sea the more disenchanted your crew will become. they are in it for the cash. Though you can add sailors in taverns or from captured ships. Pitch into port whilst disgruntled and they will jump ship. Something no amount of Shanghai'ing will change. To keep them happy you will have to think about divvying up your riches and waiting to plan your next adventure.

 

The best way to do this is to make sure that your crew is at the bare minimum for ships and you can cash out for more share for your self which helps your wealth.

 

Along your way as a pirate you will be introduced to some fine lady's some horrible ladies and something out of a horror show for you to marry. They are occasionally betrothed to majors and Marquis. But as your rank progresses you will be able to charm the pants off them and get them to marry you instead. If you are really good, they will tell you about secrets about where the Gold and Silver fleet are for sacking or other quests to help you on the way.

 

Governors will also give you missions to help improve your rank.

 

Eventually, your pirate will decide that he is too old for this shit and at your discretion, retire. Upon retiring you will get a fanatastic sequence telling you how you spend your days after pirating, what you achieved and any other notable things bringing an end to your career or is it?

 

Ive missed out treasure maps and finding your family and stuff or would be here for ever.

 

 

Graphics

 

fantastically colourful, lots of detail, sparse landscapes and seascapes, but then this is 15 years old So Ill forgive it. What is done is done well and the cut scenes are magical.

 

Sound

 

For the megadrive really clear and that includes the sound samples "ARRRGH I surrender!" and so forth and so on and the dittys that accompany you give sense to the overall pirateness

 

Gameplay

 

Initially I hate this type of game, however been drawn into years of me bro playing the Amiga version and then the Emulated version meant I got sucked in good and proper. You can get very engrossed in this in a Champ Manager way, managing your career and making your pirate the best you can be.

 

 

Overall

 

I think its a fantastic game. Really brilliant. Its not massively known anywhere, but those that like it, really like it. Iam one of those who likes and wouldnt hesitate to give this 9/10.

 

Its a shame that people have used later sandbox games to compare this too, as its really not fair, though GTA Pirate would be quite good I suspect. Yes it has its limitations when looked back on, but all games do. its just the comparison to games that have massively more powerful consoles and huge amounts of more space and so on when this was what an 8 meg cart? Its pretty good when you think about it and on consoles and even computers since its still pretty peerless and is a concept that hasnt been really revisited.

[patiirc]

Righty, Anymore people for any more game suggestions?

[CleetusVanDamme]

Robocop vs Terminator.

[patiirc]

Robocop vs Terminator.

 

Which version as there are some differences?

 

Will add to the list

[CleetusVanDamme]

Megadrive, please.

[patiirc]

Done

[patiirc]

Week 4 has been chosen.