I've been gaming since the days of Pong and still own a working Atari 2600. I tend to ramble on about retro games, whether they be board games, video games or PC games. Sometimes I digress. Decades after earning it, I'm finally putting the skills I learned while completing my history degree from the University of Victoria to good use. Or so I think. If you're into classic old school gaming, this blog is for you!
Got a game or product you want reviewed? Send me an email! Will review board games, PC games, video games and accessories (Xbox 360 or Wii, but also new releases for classic systems - you know who you are!)
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I love an imaginative copy protection scheme that sets the tone for the game that I am about to play. These days, copy protection consists of entering a 24-digit hexadecimal code with CIA-class encryption, a bland and repetitive experience (not unlike many games, actually), or worse yet, being forced to go online to do the same to unlock the game. Back in the day, however, many options were available, from lining up windows on code wheels to examining fingerprints. Sid Meier’s Pirates! chose an educational method of ensuring copy protection, by asking when the Spanish Treasure Fleet or Silver Train arrived at a particular city, the answer to which was contained within the game manual. A simple question, but effective.
However, the original Sid Meier’s Pirates! was released in 1987 – over two decades ago – and game manuals have a funny way of disappearing like the lovely ladies in a stage magician’s show, without ever showing up again. Well, fear not: scroll down and click on the game cover pic to view the original copy protection data, ready for your retrogaming needs! And for those of you who need a game map for Pirates!…look here!
Click on this image to view the copy protection information!
Once upon a time it was a lot more avante-guard to be a pirate, long before the unwashed masses embraced the Disney Jack Sparrow movie juggernaut, and even before some wag convinced enough people to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day. In the heady days of the dawn of the PC graphic adventure, pirates were nothing more than literary devices or the stuff of all things dastardly; pirates portrayed in PC games were more Blackbeard or Captain Hook than Errol Flynn. And then along came Sid Meier.
Box art for Sid Meier's Pirates!
Sid Meier is a gaming legend today, a name that is as much a brand and promise of great gameplay, but in 1987, this was not the case. To be sure, Sid Meier’s name already carried some weight in the simulation community, as a designer of games such as F-15 Strike Eagle and Silent Service. His games were always enjoyable and well-coded, but more importantly, sold well. The marketing gurus at MicroProse suspected that people were buying Sid Meier games because they were designed by Sid Meier, so it seemed reasonable to help make their buying decisions for them by announcing his involvement directly in the product title. From this reasoning the very first game to feature “Sid Meier’s…” in the game title was born: Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Sid Meier - Gamer god
The game was for single players, made long before the mad, lemming-like multiplayer rush of today that all gaming companies seem to have embraced. (Wait, was that an editorial?) It was an open-ended game, letting the player make the choices on where to travel and what to do, with the only caveat being that eventually the player’s character would grow too old to continue on the pirate’s path, and would retire. Depending on what actions the player took (that is, what rewards and successes they achieved during the game), the game would then give a litany of how their character lived the rest of their days, from a lowly beggar in the streets to the prestigious role as adviser to the King. The game world itself was created using a series of questions-and-answers, beginning with what pirate era the player wanted to play within (1560: The Silver Empire; 1600: Merchants and Smugglers; 1620: The New Colonists; 1640: War for Profit; 1660: The Buccaneer Heroes; and 1680: Pirates’ Sunset). This was followed by which nationality they wished to be (Dutch Adventurer, English Buccaneer, French Buccaneer, or Spanish Renegade), which Difficulty Level they wished to play in (Apprentice, Journeyman, Adventurer, or Swashbuckler). Finally, a Special Ability was chosen: Skill at Fencing, Skill at Gunnery, Skill at Medicine, Skill at Navigation, or Wit and Charm, each with its own advantages (for instance, Wit and Charm was used to keep on a Governor’s good side; whereas Skill at Medicine kept injuries to a minimum and prolonged the character’s life).
Swordplay in Sid Meier's Pirates!
The game world was then generated from these questions. Of course, the final variable was the copy protection, which requested when either the Silver Train or the Spanish Treasure Fleet arrived in a particular city. Failure to provide the correct answer stacked the odds so far against the player that even the game manual stated, “Heed the advice and start over, otherwise you’ll find your situation most bleak.” Take that, software pirates! Actually, in some ways the manual was as interesting as the game, as there was a wealth of historical information on pirates and the historical context within which they plied their trade. Well worth reading!
Decisions, decisions in Sid Meier's Pirates!
As for actual gameplay, the live of a pirate was sometimes short, but always challenge-filled and exciting, which the player soon discovered for themselves. Since a pirate fought with a sword, fencing was part of the game. Since pirates sailed the seas to prey upon treasure-laden ships, navigation and naval combat was part of the game. Since pirates often sold their loot to merchants (money laundering was alive and well in the pirate era), trade was part of the game. Since pirates sometimes sacked small townships, that, too was part of the game. Since pirate ships didn’t magically manifest crewmembers to sail the seven seas, recruitment was part of the game, and since a silver tongue helped a pirate live a longer life, diplomatic contact with town governors was also part of the game. All in all, this was an impressive pirate simulation.
Pirates! Gold for the Sega Genesis
If the Career Mode was too large of a time investment, Sid Meier’s Pirates! offered six historically accurate scenarios to test your swashbuckling mettle. Each scenario was in a different time period, and each offered unique challenges to overcome. These scenarios were: John Hawkins and the Battle of San Juan Ulua - 1569 (wherein you have a slow, but powerful galleon to command, with many ports unwilling to trade and a fleet not powerful enough to force them to comply); Francis Drake and the Silver Train Ambush – 1573 (can you match the verve and skill Drake showed battling the Spanish Fleet at the height of their power with only two small ships?); Piet Heyn and the Treasure Fleet – 1628 (your fleet is powerful, but the season is late and finding the treasure ships is becoming a difficult task and will take expert planning to locate and dispatch); L’Ollonais and the Sack of Marcaibo – 1666 (an abundance of manpower but a shortage of powerful vessels make ship-to-ship battles difficult, but port sacking attractive, with the additional challenge of the fragile nature of your men’s morale); Henry Morgan the King’s Pirate – 1671 (the dangers of having a powerful pirate fleet in both naval power and manpower in that you must keep everyone fed, content and treasure laden to succeed); and Baron de Pontis and the Last Expedition – 1697 (the munchkin scenario, in which you have a large strike force and a more than reasonable certainty to win any battle, making the only challenge how much treasure can you loot?).
Pirates! for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Sid Meier’s Pirates! was first released in 1987 on the Apple II, Commodore 64 and IBM PC (PC Booter) platforms. It was quickly ported over to the Macintosh (1988), Amstrad (1988), Commodore Amiga (1990), and even the Nintendo Entertainment System (1991). It would be remade in 1993 with improved graphics and sound, then published under the title Pirates! Gold, for IBM PC (both DOS and Windows), Macintosh, and – because Nintendon’t – the Sega Genesis. The remakes didn’t end there, as it was again remade in 2004 for Windows XP, returning to its original title of Sid Meier’s Pirates!, and then again in 2008 for mobile devices, imaginatively called Sid Meier’s Pirates! Mobile. Perhaps in the next decade it will be remade once again. (I recommend they try Sid Meier’s Pirates! Gold as the title for next time.)
Box art for Pirates! Gold
Sid Meier’s Pirates! was not only popular amongst gamers, it also performed well in the eyes of the gaming press. It was awarded “Action Game of the Year” by Computer Gaming World, and also the Origin Award for “Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1987”. The game also ranked at #18 in the Computer Gaming World’s 150 Best Games of All Time. Clearly, this game has remained in the gaming public’s eye for a reason, making Sid Meier’s Pirates! a worthy addition to anyone’s game collection.
Gameplay video of Sid Meier’s Pirates! (ashteroid85)
Marauding along the Spanish Main is much easier when you can refer to the map that came in the game box. Of course, that’s usually a tough task considering the map tends to disappear along with the game manual, leaving would-be buccaneers wandering aimlessly on the high seas. That’s a fate almost worse than joining the deep crew of Davy Jones’ Locker! Avast, maties, here be the map!
A game I fondly remember playing again and again, burning the midnight oil and gaming the night away because of it, was Sid Meier’s Civilization, released by MicroProse Software in 1991. This retro MS-DOS based game had it all: outstanding gameplay, a well-executed concept, and superb graphics (for its day), and was yet another hit from Sid Meier and his team.
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991) Box Cover
Players started with a single settler (a covered wagon) at the dawn of civilization, chose a location to found their first city, and from that built an empire as the game timeline progressed to the Space Age. Sometimes you’d find another computer player right next door, and either had to keep the peace with non-stop diplomacy, or – more times than not – send in the troops to crush them like the insects they truly were. Up to six other civilizations were out there to discover, and they all had to be dealt with, one way or another (either the Americans, Aztecs, Babylonians, Chinese, Egyptians, English, French, Germans, Greeks, Indians, Mongolians, Romans, Russians, or Zulus.)
Yet this wasn’t just yet another military simulation; players had to build their empires by monitoring the happiness of their citizenry, providing improvements that would encourage growth in their cities, establish trade routes, and pursue technology advancements through scientific research. Neglect anything for too long and the consequences could be dire: fall behind in the technology and your troops might be like the Polish Cavalry facing the Blitzkrieg on horse with sabres. Forget to keep your citizenry content and your cities begin revolting. Overlook trading with other empires and find your city improvement budgets limited. Limit your internal and external upgrades of your cities, and watch them spontaneously Neglect to build up your military might and watch as your cities fall to the armed might of your bitter enemies – or worse yet, random barbarians raging across the continent. A strong empire builder needed to be aware of all aspects of their empire!
Sid Meier's Civilization (1991) Screen Shot
But, wait, there’s more! This was an incredibly deep game. You start out as a Despot (where do I sign up?), but as the game progressed and new ideas developed as a result of technological improvements, other forms of government presented themselves. Each had its advantages depending on your goals and current state of your empire, but each also had disadvantages. It wasn’t a great idea to switch to Democracy in the middle of a military build-up or full-blown campaign, as your citizens tended to be on the pacifistic side. On the other hand, if you wanted to push the envelope on scientific development, ruling over your cities with an iron fist as King wasn’t a winning strategy either.
You could also gain serious advantages over the other empires by building one of the many Wonders of the World. These took a long time to build, using up many resources, but could be the difference-maker between victory or defeat. These Wonders varied by game era, and could become obsolete with new technological advances. Some had limited appeal and should only be looked at under a specific set of circumstances, however.
Sid Meier - Gaming god
This game has not only stood the test of time, it has spawned many sequels: Civilization II, III, and IV, CivNet (the first multiplayer Civilization), Civilization Gold, and Civilization Revolution, as well as many similarly-themed games, such as Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, Civilization: Call to Power, Colonization, and Master of Magic. And the franchise doesn’t appear to be running out of steam anytime soon. If you love retro games and you haven’t played the original Civilization, what are you waiting for?
