Pirates! gold

[Alex]

IGN review.

They gave it a 9.2.

[Dis]

so what type of game is this? Is it a RTS? TBS? RPG? action game? can you pause it?

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by Dissident
so what type of game is this? Is it a RTS? TBS? RPG? action game? can you pause it?

It's a combination of things. The main map where you sail from port to port is real time and you can pause. Ship battles are real time. Sworfighting and dancing are action mini-game. Land battles are turn based, chess-like battles. There are RPG elements too, I guess. You play a character with certain traits. You can collect items that help you in various parts of the game. You can also buy upgrades to improve your ship in various areas. And you will encounter villains who wronged your family in the backstory. Characters in the game will give you clues to where they are. If you find them and defeat them with the sword, they will give you maps to help you find your lost family.

[DrSpike]

So, do those elements combine well or is it a case of doing lots of things badly?

[Spaced Cowboy]

Doc, you never played the original?....this is on my top ten list of all time (the first one that is), I'm in the process of obtaining this one, should pick it up later today.

[asleepathewheel]

what are the recommended specs?

I doubt my p4 1.7 will cut it...

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by DrSpike
So, do those elements combine well or is it a case of doing lots of things badly?

My opinion is that they combine very well. Each mini-game is great on its own. They come together well because things happen that will drive the player's action. For example, you meet a traveller in the tavern that tells you Baron Raymondo knows your lost sister's whereabouts and Raymondo was last seen in Santo Domingo. So you decide to sail to Santo Domingo, where you see Raymondo's ship sailing towards Tortuga, so you intercept it. You go to the ship battle and duke it out, until the ships crash into each other and go to swordfighting. If you win, Raymondo gives you a partial map. You sail back to Port Royale, and get a promotion, and are introduced to the daughter. You go to the dance sequence. If you do well, she compliments you and tells you about a criminal in a Nassau that she'd like to you arrest. etc... The different mini-games do flow fairly naturally one from another depending on what the player chooses to do.

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
what are the recommended specs?

I doubt my p4 1.7 will cut it...

If you have a decent graphics card, you should be fine.

Here are the system requirements on the box:

Op. Sys.: Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
Processor: Pentium III or AMD Athlon 1GhZ or higher.
Memory: 256 Mb RAM
Hard Drive space: 1.4 Gb Free
CD Drive: 4X speed (8x recommended)
Video: 64 Mb Windows compatible, Hardware T&L SVGA video card
Sound: Windows compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c (included) or higher

[Barinthus]

Originally posted by DrSpike
So, do those elements combine well or is it a case of doing lots of things badly?

Well if you read the link the author seem to really liked the game and was very positive about it. However he did point out there are few 'downsides' to the game. Dancing scene comes to mind. He mentioned that you'd have to dance using the music as cue. To those who have played this game, is this true? If so it will put me to a disadvantage since I cannot hear the music. The author also bemoaned that there was no option to attack a town from sea, you had to land then attack from landside. Pretty much that's it.

[Adagio]

He mentioned that you'd have to dance using the music as cue. To those who have played this game, is this true?

I haven't heard about this, but if that's the case, then it really sucks, since there's NO WAY I'm going to turn on that "music"...

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy
Doc, you never played the original?....this is on my top ten list of all time (the first one that is), I'm in the process of obtaining this one, should pick it up later today.

Read the start of the thread. I loved the original.

Of course you may have been confused by the poorly chosen thread title.

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by Barinthus
He mentioned that you'd have to dance using the music as cue. To those who have played this game, is this true? If so it will put me to a disadvantage since I cannot hear the music. The author also bemoaned that there was no option to attack a town from sea, you had to land then attack from landside. Pretty much that's it.

You don't need to listen to the music to do the dance part. You do not use the music as cue but the hand gestures of the lady. The lady does a series of hand gesture, each one is a cue to do a certain dance move. So, the key is to follow the hand gesture. However, the music does help with timing.

And the review author is also incorrect about attacking cities. You can attack by sailing into the city. However, there is no sea battle mini-game when attacking a city, you will automatically be taken to the "chess board" whether you sailed into the city or walked into the city.

[Kassiopeia]

I have absolutely no sense of rhythm , so I'm just using the flashes on the keypad map in the lower right corner to do the moves. It's working fine so far, not too hard but not too easy; I've managed to win the heart of the lady with it enough times so far.

[Dis]

I read that IGN review as well.

the game looks pretty cool. Although I think the dancing is gay . I'm not sure I can do well at a game that involves dancing.

How does the action play? Do you need fast reflexes? I'm the type of guy who can't do anything above easy level on FPS's like Doom3. Can I beat this game? I don't like playing games I can't win

[Dis]

I think I'll get this game, but I'm playing other games right now . So it will have to wait. Maybe I'll ask for this as a christmas present.