Gamespot have posted their review of the game by EA/Westwood, Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat. They gave it a final score of 7.8/10. Here is a snippet from the review:

Throughout Pirates, you'll play as Katarina de Leon, or Kat, a buxom female pirate, though she has heroic traits that help make her generally likable. As Kat, you'll sail between and explore a series of island worlds in your quest both to avenge the death of your father and to rid the world of a group of bloodthirsty pirates. The game's story is colorful and well rooted in the sorts of swashbuckling antics you've come to associate with adventure on the high seas. Cutscenes are used quite liberally throughout the game to move the story along, and since the game is not entirely linear, things won't get predictable.

Pirates is arranged much like a platform game, in "worlds" that for the most part consist of groups of several islands. Each island in any given world is a stand-alone environment, usually composed of a number of smaller landmasses, which you travel between by boat. The environments themselves are simply huge, and they seem quite alive as you sail through them--enemy boats can be found patrolling the shores, and occupied forts will fire on you if you get too close. You can spot prominent features on islands as you coast by, which will no doubt encourage you to explore them. Indeed, you'll be able to explore many of these landmasses on foot; you merely have to look for a dock on the island. Most worlds will feature at least a couple of islands that you can explore, as well as some shops that you have to liberate from the evil pirates. Special areas are also quite common, where you'll meet characters who will send you on quests, sell you things, or battle you. Actually, the game's boss battles are rather drawn out and satisfying.