Pirates! Gold | |
---|---|
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 |
Release | 1993 (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]
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).
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.
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]
Sidney K. Meier is an American businessman and computer programmer. A programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the Civilization series, Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with Bill Stealey and is the Director of Creative Development of Firaxis Games, which he co-founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996. For his contributions to the video game industry, Meier was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
Sid Meier's Civilization II is a turn-based strategy video game in the Civilization series, developed and published by MicroProse. It was released in 1996 for PCs, and later ported to the PlayStation by Activision.
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MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the Civilization and X-COM series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games.
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Sid Meier's Pirates! is a video game created by Sid Meier for the Commodore 64 and published by MicroProse in May 1987. It was the first game to include the name "Sid Meier" in its title as an effort by MicroProse to attract fans of Meier's earlier games, most of which were combat vehicle simulation video games. The game is a simulation of the life of a pirate, a privateer, or a pirate hunter in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It was widely ported to other systems.
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Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World is a role-playing video game developed and published by New World Computing in 1988. It is the sequel to Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum.
The Immortal is an isometric action-adventure game originally created by Will Harvey and released by Electronic Arts in 1990 for the Apple IIGS. It was soon ported to the Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Genesis. A wizard is attempting to find his mentor in a large and dangerous labyrinth. It has a high degree of graphic violence. In 2020, the NES port was re-released on the Nintendo Switch Online service, while the Genesis port was re-released on the Piko Collection Collection 1 cartridge for the Evercade.
Centurion: Defender of Rome is a turn-based strategy video game with real-time battle sequences, designed by Kellyn Beck and Bits of Magic and published by Electronic Arts. Originally released for MS-DOS in 1990, the game was later ported to the Amiga and the Sega Genesis in 1991. Centurion shares much of the concept and feel with Beck's earlier game Defender of the Crown (1987).
Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon is a business simulation designed by Sid Meier. The game is the first in the Railroad Tycoon series. The original idea came from the boardgame 1830: The Game of Railroads and Robber Barons.
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Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon Deluxe is part of the Railroad Tycoon series, and was released in 1993.
Legends of Valour is a role-playing video game developed by Synthetic Dimensions and released by U.S. Gold and Strategic Simulations in 1992 for the Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS, with the additional FM Towns and PC-98 versions in 1993-1994 in Japan only. As the game was planned to be a first part of the series, its full title is Legends of Valour: Volume I – The Dawning. The proposed unreleased sequel to Legends of Valour was to take place in the world outside Mitteldorf, the enclosed city where the entirety of Legends of Valour takes place.
Siege is a video game released by Mindcraft in 1992 for MS-DOS. An expansion pack, Dogs of War, was released. It added multiplayer, six new castles, and 16 new units to the game. A sequel, Ambush at Sorinor, was released in 1993.
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Sid Meier's Civilization II Scenarios: Conflicts in Civilization is a single-player historical turn-based strategy game, and the first expansion pack to Civilization II. It contains 20 new scenarios; 12 made by the expansion pack developers, and 8 "Best of the Net" scenarios created by series fans. These were the fan-made scenarios that were "deemed the best by the developers". The game was developed and published by MicroProse. The game was "produced by the players and the development team, including some of the script and the 'new content'". This content contained new worlds, new maps, units, an updated technology tree, and new music. The game also allowed players to create their own custom scenarios. it was released November 25, 1996.
Arnold J. Hendrick was an American designer and developer of role-playing games (RPGs), board games and video games. He is best-known for the single-player video RPG Darklands.
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