Combat in the best console RPGs is about offering a system that has tightly defined gameplay mechanics that, once mastered, open up the gamer to levels of strategy based around different sorts of spells and attacks. Conversely, the combat in PC RPGs is often more about getting the job done -- a fact of life sort of thing, and that's definitely how the sluggish sword fighting in Pirates appears to be playing out. On the other hand, the boat-to-boat combat is much more attractive and strategic; although the interface is characteristically clumsy it appears that much of the game's appeal will lie here. This is where the game reaches its most compelling swashbuckling heights. The "piratey" dialogue and locales made me smile a bit, but this actually has that real appeal, last seen in the somewhat sub-par but nonetheless entertaining ditty, Pirates: Legend of Black Kat.