BUCCANEER - Mindscape/SSI

                  A review by Brian Burke

I was really looking forward to this game. I'd enjoyed "Pirates"
way back in the Amiga days.  Disappointingly "Pirates Gold" for
the PC kept crashing on my system so I was ready for a WIN95
specific game, particularly as is heralds from the SSI stable.
SSI, famous for the Gold Box ADD games and renown for Strategy
Games.

Well after about 3 weeks play of Buccaneer I can tell you now just
who the real pirates are, it's the motley crew from Mindscape who
put this Playstation port out as befitting a PC game when it's
just Gamepad drivel.

So what's wrong with Buccaneer?

1. Despite being 3-D hardware compliant the time it takes to load
between scenes is appalling.

2. The only fight sequence involved is between ships at sea and
between a ship and a fort. There's no opportunity for land battle
strategy or for swordplay once a ship is boarded.

3. The music is pretty repetitive without the ability to select
particular melodies.

4. There are three difficulty levels. They govern the number of
enemies you meet in land skirmishes and, most important of all,
they govern the ease with which the ship is steered. The first two
are just about acceptable but the `Batten Down the Hatches' level
is a pig. You can't turn right at all. In a manoeuvrable ship you
just keep turning to the left in a series of loops in order to
make any progress at all. Of course the enemy ship is steering
with no such impediments and blasting you to bits while you faff
about.

5. Whilst there is the opportunity for Internet battles between
ships, for us Brits, who have to pay `phone bills, there are just
six campaigns. The length of each is dependent on the level of
success you have at acquiring treasure.

My first game (at 'Smooth Sailing' level) lasted about 2 hours but
the second (at the middle difficulty level) about 5 hours. My
third game at the highest difficulty level I abandoned after
numerous restarts.

Points are acquired based on the amount of treasure gathered. The
amount of gold you can carry depends on the type of ship you have.
As may be imagined you start in a modest vessel and fight your way
up. Whilst there's a score slot for sinking the opposition the
idea is to board the enemy ship and take all its gold and cargo.
The cargo can be sold and buried at the nearest friendly Pirate
port. Unlike 'Pirates Gold' you don't get to sail a fleet but
merely have the choice of taking over the enemy ship if it's a
better one than your own.

Differing ships then have larger capacity for storage, for men and
for the number of cannons. The manoeuvrability also varies.
Reference to the fairly well written manual will describe the
abilities of the various vessels. On screen there is some guidance
but not too much.

When fighting at sea one must manoeuvre the ship broadside to the
enemy in order to hit it with your cannons. Accurate firing is
only achieved by switching views to one through the cannon
porthole. The problem is that hitting the appropriate key fools
the blasted computer program to thinking you've hit a steering key
and, before you know it, you're being shot to smithereens by the
opposition whilst you're staring at open sea and have to turn
round again to find the target. In open sea mode differing views
can be toggled.

Why bother fighting at sea at all if it's such a pig? Well, if the
enemy's a lot bigger than you then there's no chance of winning a
boarding battle unless you've reduced the number of crew he has.
To do this you must eliminate their ability to sail rings round
you by selecting one of the three cannon settings and taking out
the masts and sails. Then choose setting number two and rake the
decks, preferably end-to-end (stern to bow or vice-versa rather
than broadside where they can shoot back).  Setting three is where
you fire at the hull in an effort to sink the enemy.

The 'enemy' can be British, French or Spanish.  On a campaign you
may also fight a particular pirate who's aligned with the
'baddie'. Each nationality has a series of islands. In order to
gain territorial access to these islands you have to go through a
given pattern. Firstly most islands are defended by ports. Even if
you've accepted a Governor's commission to deliver a letter (or
whatever) you still have to go through this pain.

Once the fort is defeated, by blasting it to bits with your
(preferably 26) cannons you still have to fight the town, this is
done, not by you, but by the program. You just sit there listening
to the odd pistol shot and praying there's enough of your men to
win. A small graphic shows your men falling over at regular
intervals. When you're up to a reasonable force (200 hundred
appears to be the maximum) the people join you as you fight. There
can be anything from two to five land battles depending on the
size of the island. The manual tells you which islands have forts.
The fort, once defeated, doesn't appear again except where it's
the subject of a campaign.  After a time in these instances they
are repaired.

Ship repair is only done on national territory.  None of the
pirate islands have a repair facility.  Masts and sails can be
replaced and hull damage repaired.

You can sell goods and replace food, water, cannon and cannonballs
on any island, replace men (if they're available) and ask
questions in any tavern. Only on pirate islands can treasure be
buried, you need to do this to make room for the next excursion,
the amount of gold you can carry is limited by the type of ship
you are currently sailing.

Running out of food causes your crew to die from disease. Avoiding
too many sea battles can cause them to mutiny (hasn't happened to
me yet - heh heh!).

So, after the initial delight in coming top in the high score
table after my second game I'm pretty fed-up with Buccaneer. I've
got another four campaigns to play, ten games in total I suppose
if I play them all at both easy and medium difficulty levels.

Even if I'd paid 10 UK Pounds instead of 28 it did cost I'd still
feel cheated. Each time I log-out of Buccaneer a screen shot of
the people who programmed the game appears. It's at this point I
wish I had a real loaded cannon available!

I bought this game without reading a review.  It's a lesson
learnt. Please MicroProse, please develop a WIN95 enhanced version
of Pirates Gold, call it Pirates Platinum or whatever but please
do it.

I shall be awaiting the reviews on Pysgnosis' "Shipwreckers" game
with interest. It can't be any worse than Buccaneers - can it?
Post review note 18/2/98 - Shipwreckers is a shoot-em up type
game.  Picture a grown-man weeping!!
                              - o -