Developer Firaxis Games announced today that Sid Meier's Pirates! will be setting sail on the PSP early next year. As the modern version of this time-tested classic heads for uncharted handheld waters, players can look forward to traversing the 17th century Caribbean while waiting for the 21st century bus.

The game functions as a series of simple yet pleasing minigames, including sailing, dueling, sneaking into hostile towns, and dancing with the daughters of colonial governors. This format allows for innumerable ways to build your pirating career, and should translate well to the handheld. If the azure seas and verdant island foliage are as brilliant on the PSP as on previous platforms, this game will really be worth pillaging - er, purchasing with legal currency. Hit the Images tab above to get a look at some early screens.

Aspiring swashbucklers can also look forward to crossing swords with other players using the wireless ad hoc multiplayer feature. Blasting your opponent's hull to smithereens may not be a sound financial decision, but your ruthless reputation won't maintain itself.

The press release contained an excited quote from Sid Meier himself, who believes that Pirates! on the PSP will allow gamers to embrace "… the pirate's way of life - always on the go!" We were thinking more along the lines of "always getting into grogged-up duels with stuffy officer types who disrespect buxom barmaids!" but hey, if Sid's excited, so are we.

November 15, 2006