Pirates! Gold

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Pirates! Gold
North American home computer cover art
Developer(s)MPS Labs
Publisher(s)MicroProse
Designer(s)Paul Murphy
Programmer(s)Randall Don Masteller
Artist(s)Michael Haire
Composer(s)Jeffery L. Briggs
Roland J. Rizzo
Platform(s)DOS, Sega Genesis, Mac OS, Windows 3.x, Amiga CD32
Release1993 (DOS/Genesis)
1994 (Mac/3.x/CD32)
Genre(s)Action-adventure, strategy
Mode(s)Single-player

Pirates! Gold is a 1993 computer game, a remake to Sid Meier's 1987 release, Sid Meier's Pirates![1]

Development[edit]

MicroProse developed this 256-color version for MS-DOS, Macintosh, Sega Genesis, Amiga CD32 and Windows 3.x featuring a MIDI score and mouse support (in MS-DOS and Windows versions).

Gameplay[edit]

Pirates! Gold features Super VGA graphics including hand-painted screens, and a more-detailed playing environment than the original.[2] The update also includes 3-D modeled ship and flag animations, and graphic depictions of items that were menu choices in the original game.[3]

The player can play as a pirate, privateer, or a pirate hunter.[4] It features sword fighting, ocean-faring battles, and land battles as its three main arenas of action, connected by role-playing which allows the player to court the favor of local politicos, romance women, and recruit pirates in the local pub.[2] Players have the opportunity to go on quests, but must also strategically plan raiding excursions and trading routes.[3]

The PC versions contain a copy protection scheme requiring the player to identify the flag of a pirate ship sighted on the horizon (similar to the 1987 Commodore 64 port). Sea and sea-to-land combat are played in real-time while land battles are done in turn-based strategy. Sun sighting is not present in this version, and there are no special items. The game does, however, include several new features.

Reception[edit]

Paul C. Schuytema for Compute! was positive to the game and called it "addicting".[2]

In 1993, Computer Gaming World described Pirates! Gold as adding "three disks of graphical gold" to "a great game engine". The magazine stated that the game "has much to offer a new player and comes with the highest of recommendations", but warned those familiar with the original that it was "not a significantly revised game with fresh game play".[3]

In 1994, PC Gamer US named Pirates! Gold the 39th best computer game ever. The editors wrote: "We're recommending the new version of this old classic, because it looks so darn good and it'll be easier for most of you to get your hands on. But the award really goes out to the gameplay that made the original Pirates! great".[5] In 2018, Complex ranked Pirates! Gold 26th among "The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games".[4]

According to Microprose, Pirates! Gold sold in excess of 450,000 copies by September 1997.[6]

Reviews[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sid Meier's Pirates! Gold Plus (Classic)". Valve. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Compute! Magazine Issue 159". December 19, 1993 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ a b c Lombardi, Chris (October 1993). "Scraping Off The Barnacles". Computer Gaming World. pp. 54, 56. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b ""The 100 Best Sega Genesis Games". Complex". Complex.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  5. ^ Staff (August 1994). "PC Gamer Top 40: The Best Games of All Time". PC Gamer US (3): 32–42.
  6. ^ "Microprose Ships Conquer the Skies and Conquer the World, Two Compilations of Top-Selling, Award-Winning Simulation and Strategy Games" (Press release). Alameda, California: Microprose. 16 September 1997. Archived from the original on 20 January 1998.
  7. ^ "Amiga Magazine Rack". Amr.abime.net. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  8. ^ Haagen_1 (20 August 1993). "PC Joker September 1993: Joker Verlag, Grasbrunn: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Jason Scott (April 1994). "Power Play Magazine (April 1994): Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  10. ^ Jason Scott. "Micromania Segunda Epoca (Spanish) Issue 72: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  11. ^ Bultro (September 1993). "Tilt 117: Tilt DSNC: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  12. ^ Jason Scott (December 1993). "Gambler Magazine (December 1993): Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  13. ^ Durian! (24 May 2014). "PC.Games.N012.1993.09-fl0n: Computec: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  14. ^ Sketch the Cow. "Megazin 1993 09: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  15. ^ "Pelit (1993-07)". November 19, 1993 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ chris85 (August 1993). "PC Player German Magazine 1993-08: PC Player: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ pedgarcia. "Amiga Joker Sonderheft 5 Strategie: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive". Retrieved 2021-01-20.

External links[edit]

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