I got a bit bored playing Poker Superstars last night, so I decided to finally take the seal of this Pirates game that everyone has been oooohing and aaaahing about. Six hours later, around 4 AM, I called PA (Pirates Anonymous) to find out where and when the next meeting was being held. I had taken the first step to admitting my addiction. Pirates for the XBOX is deceptively simply at the start (once you manage to learn how to steer your ship). I may have gotten a bit lucky and obtained a rather large warship early on. With my 32 cannons and crew of 300, I continued to rise in ranks amongst the Pirate elite. My progress was scored alongside the likes of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd on a familar XBOX scoreboard. There is also an engaging story of lost love and revenge to keep you port hopping as you chase your nemesis around the Caribbean. The dueling controls are a bit, well, clunky if you are used to playing fight sims. Don't expect huge Mortal Kombat button combos in this one. At lower levels it seems easy enough to just mash away. The voice work is reminiscent of the Sims...wahk wah wah- gooly wan wah wah. Annoying for only the first hour, then it grows on you like a barnacle on your hull. Pirates! also has online content, which I can only imagine is some ship-to-ship dueling, capture the flag, or "yawn" some other format that has been done to death. With the fresh pirate theme though, even Master Chiefs may want to take a break from blasting Covenant ass into oblivion. Cry "Aaaarggh!" and prepare to board.