No buckle shall go unswashed
The ESRB recently outed the highly regarded Sid Meier's Pirates! as an upcoming WiiWare (or, possibly, Wii) title. MicroProse released its original incarnation for the PC in 1987 and in 2004, Atari published the Firaxis-developed remake. 2K Games then took the reins, porting the title to the XBox Live Marketplace in 2005 and the PSP in 2007, with Metacritic scoring the remake's three incarnations a favorable 88, 80 and 82 of 100. The original press release from the game's console debut on XBox describes the title as follows:
Sid Meier's Pirates!® is the action-packed roleplaying game that lets you live the life of a pirate in the seventeenth-century Caribbean. Choose which exploits and quests to pursue in this Xbox®-customised version of Sid's original, award-winning Pirates! PC game.
Futtock shrouds!
Futtock shrouds!
Engage in fierce naval battles: Fight single enemies or multiple ships.
Build a fleet: Take the helm of 27 different ship types enhanced with assorted ammo, cannons, and other upgrades.
Integrated melee: Parry and slash your dueling opponents into submission with lightning quick moves onboard ships, in seedy taverns, and even in the Governor's mansion.
Take your crew ashore: Dig up buried treasure or plunder enemy ports in strategic land battles. Sneak in and out of towns, escape from prisons, and avoid guards, or surprise them and knock them out!
A pirate's life: Increase your riches and win the heart of the Governor's daughter to earn gifts and valuable information.
Salmagundi!
Salmagundi!
Multiplayer combat: Grab a controller and jump into four-player ship battles in Versus mode.
Make your own story: Challenge and pursue the most infamous pirates in history, including Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Henry Morgan. If you prevail, they’ll teach unique skills to you!
Online bonuses: Use Xbox LIVE® to upload scores and compare your pirating prowess with friends and foes alike. Also, download sail emblems, flags, and other content.
Renowned creator: Designed by Hall-of-Fame game designer Sid Meier.
As we have come to expect less of the Wii's downloadable content, we predict that online bonuses are the only feature of those listed above that will probably not make it into the Wii version. While the ESRB does not differentiate between Wii and WiiWare titles, we're guessing that this will be available on the latter format as it is both a port of an old title and available as a download for the XBox.
2K Games has announced no official release date, but we'll keep you updated on all future developments.
