Should we have more pirate games?

[Insanity72]

So while listening to some Alestorm earlier, I realised that there seems to be a lack of pirate games, in fact I can only think 2 pirate games I've ever played. The 1st is "Overboard" for the original playstation (Me and my brother had lots of fun with that) and the 2nd is....well I don't actually know the title, I just had a disk called "Pirates". But you played as a pirate (duh), had a ship and crew and did...well pirate things; Fought ship battles, sword fighting, upgraded your ship etc. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Pirates of the Caribbean, because there were people that turned into skeletons and I think the Black Pearl was in there.

But anyway, what do you think about the subject? Should we have more pirate games in modern gaming?

 

[Misterian]

Heck yeah! I think we hardly see pirates in games nowadays.

I'd most like to see a Pirate RPG done right (not like Risen 2, which I hear failed miserably).

and I hear from some reviews of Assassin's Creed 3 that the game has perfected gameplay mechanics for ship-to-ship battle, that's be a good place to start.

 

[Lilani]

I think we're a little deep in the zombie/military shooter genres at the moment. Perhaps when one of those has lost a bit of steam pirates could become the new thing. There are a number of pirate MMOs and kiddie games.

...But, yeah. Apart from other trends overriding them, I can't think of another reason there would be so few pirate games. It does seem odd, now that I think about it. They would so easily mix with other current trends like zombies. I guess the problem would be gameplay--hacking and slashing is fun, having battles on the ocean is fun, pillaging towns is fun, and finding treasure is fun, but how do you merge all of that into a cohesive gameplay system in a way that isn't tedious or repetitive? I suppose what is and isn't kept in the gameplay would come down to narrative.

We know how to make a military FPS and we know how to make a zombie game, but how do you make a pirate game that's just as dynamic as those while staying true to what people would expect from a pirate game?

 

[shrekfan246]

Yes.

That was the conclusion I came to while playing Assassin's Creed III, especially the naval combat. That engine could easily be turned into an excellent swashbuckling game, and it would be glorious.

Somebody take all of my money for a game like that, please.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

The best thing about Assassin's Creed 3 were the naval missions.

A fully fleshed out game, with pirate raids, micromanaging crew etc, would be awesome.

There's a huge hole in the market for something like that.

 

[Savagezion]

You also have the popular Sid Meier title "Pirates!" but I find it to be kind of juvenile. A much better title that has more meat to it is Port Royale. There are 3 Port Royale games but each are basically re-releases with a few small modifications from the last one. I prefer Port Royale as it has an open ended mode where you can choose between pirate, merchant and buccaneer.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The pirate genre has had it rough in just about every narrative medium except back in the Errol Flynn days and now with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. Much like the western kinda died out with Heaven's Gate, pirates died out with movies like Pirates! (Polanki's) and that Cutthroat Island movie with its Cutthroat Island SNES tie-in, the most reviled of cartridges in my personal collection, by the way. If the Red Dead games proved anything though is that we can still have our genre dream game this late in history, so I'm eager to see piracy's "Read Dead" game once it that gets going. I think the biggest thing the genre has going is Monkey Island, which I really love but that's more of a parodical take on the form... the sucky Pirates of the Caribbean tie-ins, and Sid Meier's thing. So yeah, I'd love "Read Dead Pirate" kind of game. I have yet to play a game that blends in sailing and land-exploring as good as I wish it were.

 

[Alfador_VII]

Ahoy! Yarr and the like

Yeah I'd like that too. The old Sid Meier Game "Pirates!", and it's remake are really the only good ones I can think of, other than parts of other games.

What we definitely don't need is a modern-day shooter set off the coast of Somalia...

 

[lRookiel]

There's a huge hole in the market for something like that.

'tis a bit outdated but there is the Pirates of the Caribbean game. It's exactly what you're looking for. The only issue is that you need to get used to the controls.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-PC/dp/B0000AHOA3 Take a look.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Yeah I'd like that too. The old Sid Meier Game "Pirates!", and it's remake are really the only good ones I can think of, other than parts of other games.

I've got/played the remake half to death. Good game, the only problem being it gets really repetitive after the first couple voyages. Upgrade a brig-of-war (or brig, since brigs-of-war are really rare) and go nuts. I just kept the weather gauge, pounded from distance and rolled up to grapeshot them to death, worked every time.

Anyway, despite this, it was a pretty good game, and if they expanded on it, with options to maintain a fleet and manage the crew on a more specific level, it'd be an awesome game.

A much better title that has more meat to it is Port Royale. There are 3 Port Royale games but each are basically re-releases with a few small modifications from the last one. I prefer Port Royale as it has an open ended mode where you can choose between pirate, merchant and buccaneer.

Hmmm... that'll be worth a look... so, just go for the latest one, then, I take it? You played all three?

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Ubisoft proved to everyone that it's possible to make a fun naval battle game. If anyone can make a pirate game it's them. All they need to do is take the naval battles and the ability to board the ship once you take down the sails and expand on that. It would be awesome!

 

[Doom972]

If CD-Projekt Red didn't have their hands full already I bet they could pull off an awesome, mature, pirate RPG.
I'd love to see a game like that where you work your way from having nothing to being the captain of the most dreaded pirate ship.

 

[kyogen]

I had great fun with Risen 1 & 2. I wouldn't mind more games like that.

 

[Savagezion]

A much better title that has more meat to it is Port Royale. There are 3 Port Royale games but each are basically re-releases with a few small modifications from the last one. I prefer Port Royale as it has an open ended mode where you can choose between pirate, merchant and buccaneer.

Hmmm... that'll be worth a look... so, just go for the latest one, then, I take it? You played all three?

I haven't gotten to play much of 3 yet. Like 10 hours maybe. But I always liked 1 the best. It is on GOG.com for $5.99. I didn't like the combat in 2 as you could only control 1 ship despite fleet size. I would recommend 1.

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/port_royale

If you wanted, you could go online and look up info on the other two and see if maybe those changes are preferred for you.I haven't got enough time into 2 or 3 yet to really give a rundown of all the changes.

 

[Savagezion]

Dammit. Ninja'd myself.

 

[Esotera]

They should just go ahead and make the next Assassin's Creed game a full-on pirate game, as that was the only actual fun part of AC III. It would also fit in quite well with the direction Ubisoft are taking with the games having nothing to do with assassins or creeds.

Sid Meier's pirates is the only one I can think of. But naval combat does seem to be coming of age, it's getting included in loads of games these days (including the next Total War).

 

[Twilight_guy]

No, I don't. I like to consider what types of games we might need more of and to me pirates is just the varnish and paint on the game not actually a part of it. I don't care much for superfluous details.

 

[Robeltu]

Woo Alestorm and I was playing Sid Meier's Pirates earlier today and that game is brilliant, but yes I think there should be more pirate games, but it'd have to be open world like in Sid's Pirates, because pirates that need to follow rules just makes no sence

 

[Robeltu]

There was also Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean MMORPG which I found to be a lot of fun when I was smaller, but I have no idea what it was actually called or if it is still running after 8ish years

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Hell yes we should. The theme alone offers plenty of color and variety. Give me all the pirate cliches in one game and you can have my money! Eyepatches, peg-legs, swashbuckling, parrots, hidden treasures, skull flags, gratuituous amounts of yelling "yarr", rum-drinking, hard-edged pirate captains, skull islands... Jesus Christ, why don't we see more of this stuff in games? It has unlimited potential. Enough with the gruff military officers already, give me some good ol' jolly pirates.