Now it might seem that swashbuckling miscreants with bad hygiene and questionable fashion sense are all the rage in the media, and you’d be right. And so Atari and Firaxis have resurrected the classic Pirates! from the venerable Sid Meier. (Who did you think I was talking about? The Queer Eye Guys?)

Personally, the original Pirates! is one of my all time favorite games (currently #2 behind Ultima IV) and remains one of the most beloved classic titles in the relatively short history of interactive media. So let us make one thing perfectly clear: this took some serious chutzpah. Change too much from the original and you’ll be strung from the yardarm. Slap on some lame graphics on a cheap remake and you’d be keel hauled by sundown. Gamers like me, who hold the original in such high regard have exceeding high expectations with a very narrow window in which to fit them through. I want all the fun of the classic, and all the great feeling of the classic, without looking or feeling like the classic. No small task.

And I’m pleased to announce that Sid and the crew at Firaxis nailed it. Pirates! is flat out fun. It has held all of the classic elements that made the original such a hit and presents them in with all the techniques a modern software development environment has to offer.

The story centers on a boy whose family is betrayed and cast into slavery, but only he escapes. Years have gone by and the boy is back to find his family and take his revenge. On his maiden voyage as a lowly deckhand the unscrupulous captain tries to get everyone killed. Our hero and the crew mutiny and thus begins their careers as Pirates!

You, the Pirate, start with very few skills, almost no coin, no reputation and no idea where to go or what to do. All you have is a commission from one of the four major countries and a tiny ship. Starting options consist of choosing a name for you pirate, choosing which country in which to get your original commission, the time period you would like to start in, and what skill you would like to specialize in.

The countries with business in the “Spanish Main” consist of the French, English, Spanish and Dutch. It doesn’t make a great deal of difference which you choose to start with as you can, and likely will, change allegiances at any time. However, a quick look at the map will quickly give you the idea that your initial choice will have at least a moderate impact on how easily and quickly you can get your career on track.

The Spanish, as you might imagine, have the largest presence on the sea. They hold the most cities and subsequently, the most ships at sea. As a starting country this give you a lot of safe port to hole up in, sell goods and recruit crew. It also means you are virtually guaranteed to be at war with someone. However. it also means that your targets are somewhat limited. The Spanish probably account for 60% of all assets.

The English and French both have a good presence in the area. Quiet a few ships and ports to choose from but not nearly as many resources as the Spanish. The good news is that they have a plentiful amount of ports and ships, but they are mostly clustered together in a small area. Both of these countries account for perhaps 15% of all assets each.

And finally we have the Dutch. On the upside, the Dutch are almost constantly at war with everyone, so there are plenty of targets. The downside is that they have very few resources you can use, but most of the Dutch ports are wealthy, unlike the Spanish who have a large number of port cities that are quite poor.

In practice this is mostly academic. After you’ve recruited enough crew you can make a stab at capturing your first ship. No need to shoot for a War Galleon out of the gate, aim for something just a bit bigger than what you’ve got. This is where your small ship is actually beneficial, it’s build for speed. Don’t even try to match them with guns, you won’t be able to. Just aim straight for the enemy and try a boarding maneuver. In fact, this is one of the best moves in the game. As long as your fencing skills are up to snuff and you’re not grossly outnumbered, you can board and capture nearly any ship.