Genre: Adventure
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2k Games

As a title that came out around the same time as Civilization IV, and from the same studio, and using the same engine, it comes as no surprise that this updated rendition of Sid Meier's Pirates! looks a lot like the aforementioned title. The oceanic navigation and ship combat scenes are beautiful, while the character dialog, dancing, and fencing scenes are brimming with charm.

The soundtrack-- simplistic, symphonic, and catchy-- and the sound effects compliment the winsome nature of the artwork perfectly. The voice acting is compelling with its use of dotty pseudo-language usage, an idea successfully used in other titles such as The Sims.

Pirates! is essentially a series of mini games bridged by exploration sequences, which allow the player to freely roam a fairly large, Caribbean map while attacking dynamically-placed settlements and ships, engaging in trade, and wooing the daughters of town governors.

Despite a dynamically generated world, and a series of objectives for which to aim, the game lacks the substance of other similar sandbox titles, such as Star Control II. Once the mechanics are understood, the game does settle into a nicely paced flow however, with addictive properties.