The name attracted me to looking at this. I saw the word "pirate, and i thought of Zack and Wiki" I wonder what this game is about though.....

I'm interested we need more pirate games. I hope this one has awesome visuals

Now this looks interesting...

Yep, it most certainly does. I don't plan to get it though but it's nice to see a less-than-predictable title appear for WiiWare.

The press release came out on April 17th. The wiiware prequel seems like a good advertising method to get people to buy the full fledged DS game. Consider the wiiware game a demo.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, ENGLAND, April 17th, 2008 – Wanted! Hardy ship mates with strong sea legs and a thirst for adventure. Must enjoy battling sea monsters, fighting pirates, discovering buried treasure and performing feats of daring do on the High Seas. All aspiring crew members should board with the release of Pirates: Duels on the High Seas, the naval combat game for the Nintendo DS in June from Oxygen Games.

A chance encounter with an old sea-dog and the legend of a fantastic treasure - Thus begins an epic adventure for the ‘Seven Keys of the Seven Seas’! In an era when Britannia ruled the waves and pirates terrorized the oceans, the legend of Blackbeard’s treasure and the Seven Keys has seen many a pirate to an early grave with their fabled curse and tales of agonising death for those that dare to pursue them. Faced by the prospect of such a death should you fail, and with the allure of untold riches should you succeed, your adventure begins!

Steel yourself to face foes that no captain has ever bested before and lived to tell the tale including the might of the Royal Navy, the legendary and deadly Kraken, a Witch Queen and Blackbeard himself. Collect weapons, recruit crewmen, amass great riches and journey through unchartered waters on your quest for the fabled Keys.

Pirates: Duels on the High Seas is a fun and intuitive naval combat game transporting the player back to a golden age of adventure on the High Seas, encompassing naval battles, running blockades, battling sea monsters, encountering supernatural forces and discovering treasure. And with the WiiWare™ prequel game Pirates: The Key of Dreams expanding on the story and also set for release in the summer, what more could any self-respecting sea dog wish for!

KEY FEATURES

• 70 unique levels – 35 single player and 35 multiplayer & Skirmish levels
• Single player ‘Story’ mode and ‘Skirmish’ mode with players battling 2-3 AI opponents
• ‘Salty Sea Dog’ multiplayer mode for 2-4 players, single-cart or multi-cart
• Three types of ship available to captain, each one representing a different difficulty setting
• Seven locations across the globe to sail including Porto Bello in South America, Port Royal in the Caribbean, The Bermuda Triangle, the China Sea and the Persian Gulf
• An array of cannon-blazing sea battles against a variety of enemies including rival pirates, the Spanish Navy, Blackbeard, The Kraken and a Chinese Dragon
• Discover buried treasure allowing you to hire additional crew members and pay for ship repairs.
• Unearth enchanted Inca gold that creates a magical protective aura around your ship
• Flotsam and Jetsam – assorted cargo that you can trade for gold
• Classic ship weaponry – fight your sea battles using the tried and tested arsenal of a sea-faring pirate including cannons, sea mines, rockets and chain shot
• Rescue castaways – four types of castaway to rescue in the game, each one improving the performance of your ship including ‘Lookout’, ‘Navigator’ and ‘Master Gunner’

Wow? A demo with that much substance to it to attract the main game sounds great. Heh. Just kidding.

But acting as a "demo", they should get the pricing right for sure. I speculate maybe an 800-point price tag?

I'm looking forward to this one...

this could be awesome, especially with multiple single and multi modes! I need to find some videos to see gameplay and graphics but this could be a cool 800ish pt game.

If its 500 Points, I will definitely get this. If it's 800, I'm not sure... I wonder if you'll be able to buy your upgreades??

"this could be awesome, especially with multiple single and multi modes"

The press release mentions features in the DS game not the Wiiware prequel.

@Sailing
oh...hmm...
*HOPES FOR THE BEST*

I did like playing with the ship in Pirates of the Caribbean on the Gba.
This sounds fun.

This really doesn't sound too intresting...

This sounds like a fun little WiiWare that actually manages to get my attention. I'm curious how much of a "sailing" is done there gameplay-wise. That would certainly intrigue me, together with the option to do some multiplayer here...

Bugger, where could I try it?

EDIT: Oh yes! The pricetag is interesting... hoped it would be in the <10€ range! Now I see it's 1000pts straight... borderline, I'd say... ("grenzwertig" would be the german expression most suitable )

The screenshots make the game look a lot more fun than what I previously thought it would be. Hopes for the best, also. Hopefully, they'll get the pricing down right.

1000 pts? Could be good...or not. We'll see, of course.

Personally, i wasn't too interested in the game at first but looking at it now, i want this game. If i like it, i'm sure i'd end up getting the DS one

Ah yes, there is a DS derivate, too. Now there's something said about getting DS demos on the Wii. Can't wait for that! Lucky if there was a chance to try some of this game somewhere...

It seems like Shipwreckers (PS1); it was a bad and slow game (for me).

lol I like how whenever you get a peice of information, some random Pirate says arrrrr. Gamplay wise, it looks interesting. I'm not exactly sold on the game yet. I'll need a good old fansion Demon review to help me decide.

Now this looks interesting!!!

Arggggh those scurrvy ridden sea dogs at Nintendo did not release this game yet. I say we overtake them a plunder thier booty mates. Release the Kracken and send them to Davy Jones Locker

I'm glad this is coming along! I've been hoping Arr! would be updated for Wii Flash support for my pirate fix: http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~jtirrell/software/arrflash.htm

This sounds interesting, and I like the idea of a Wiiware prequel/demo, though I'll have to wait for a Nintendo Channal video, as the one here got pretty bad, especially towards the end.

i think they could make it good, but the video looks stupid

this game looks wierd. i might buy it, depending on what i hear.

Now this game looks good, and actually fun.
One of the more interesting WiiWare games I'be seen.
Just lookn at teh vid, I'm already diggn the "Arrr!" bit when
you spot something near your ship.
Nice. I will definitely get this.
Rockn.

The arrr is getting annoying!! lol

This looks pretty fun! Pirates are right up there withe robots and ninjas fo me, so I'm definately going to love that "arrr!" sound. The video could definately be better, though.

Oh, and Bouncicles, That flash game was fun! Now I'm really excited for this pirates game!

looks pretty interesting

Now this is my kind of game, it looks great graphically and solid fun too. With the addition of multiplayer you cant go wrong, 1000 points! brilliant.

I reckon this will be a solid 8

@diegoesgriam: The game had solid multiplayer, though.

This game is amazing!

My thoughts after playing this in the Single player Campaign mode is that this game is a solid 8, but depending on how the multiplayer mode pans out (I plan to play that sometime today) it may be worthy of a bit more. I wouldnt say its a perfect 10, no wiiware game I have played sofar has been flawless and that good it deserved that honour but depending on how multiplayer is it could possibly be an 8.5.

I just have to warn u all and the ones who don't have it (USA) the campaign is short very very short thank goodness they put in multi-player or it would've been a waste of time and points still 1,000 4 a game that is as short as my uncles hair (he has none).

How I see it is that if you were to compare the length of games to other forms of entertainment such as going to the Cinema. It costs me between £5 - £7 to go see a movie that can last from anywhere from over an hour to about three hours. So even if a game is short but at the right price point I still consider it good value for money. The single player campaign game is indeed short but really enjoyable and it does have a decent multiplayer game mode (you can use bots if you have a shortage of friends) that will keep you going for a little bit longer.
What would be nice, as it is possible with wiiware games to update games like they did with My Life as a King, would be to add DLC in the future to expand the Campaign but I suppose that is down to how well recieved the game is.

Hmm, I might look into this. Could someone tell me if the multiplayer ships have stats, or differ in performance?

@darkmagi_82 Neither the only way 2 have fun out of it is 2 have your ship as the weakest and the bots the strongest which is basically the only way to have fun yet I win every game anyway but I think it was intended to be played with both u and 3 friends so the multi-player is a waste of time unless u have friends coming over but I do recommend however but it's all down 2 u if u want it but 1stly I recommend to go with the review.

Arrrr, Didn't like this game.... where is the fun ? I think that this game do not deserve more than a 3
Why did I bought it ? Arrrrr

That bad, huh?

Arrrr.....

Arrrr they tricked me, I bought this thinking this would be fun for me and my cousin, I was wrong.