Sid Meier is perhaps best known for the Civilization series, but that’s by no means the only title he’s worked on in his long career. Back in 1987, some three years before Railroad Tycoon and four before the first Civilization, Meier released the original Pirates to an unsuspecting world. Offering groundbreaking open-world freeform gameplay, the game won a number of awards and found itself ported to a wide variety of platforms.
Then in 2004, the game appeared again, though this time making use of the Gamebryo 3D engine and adding a plot where the player character is tasked with rescuing their family from the evil Spanish nobleman Marquis de Montalban. As with most open-world games, however, the player is free to ignore this goal altogether and simply seek their fortune in the Caribbean if they wish. This version found itself on PC, Mac, Xbox and PSP.
Now the game’s back once again, this time on iPad. Following the template of the 2004 remake, the iPad version of Pirates once again sees the player’s family kidnapped by Montalban and a vast tract of the big blue wet stuff in which to explore, trade, fight and, err, ballroom dance. The interface has been revamped with the touchscreen in mind, featuring tap controls for menus and gestural commands for swordfights.
Pirates will be available Thursday for $4 The price will rise to $7 on Monda,y July 25.
[Hat Tip: PocketGamer ].