Pirates of the Caribbean – XB – Review

From Disney World to movie
theaters and now game consoles, Pirates of the Caribbean is infiltrating our
lives much like the real pirates did many years ago (minus the violence and
never-ending battles).  The ride was certainly fun, and the movie greatly
exceeded my expectations, having not only action, but an entertaining story
with great characters as well.  Now the game is out and it too has exceeded my
expectations, but in completely different ways.

Perhaps the most surprising
thing of all is that Pirates of the Caribbean has virtually nothing to do with
the movie’s storyline.  It has pirates, ships and every little detail you
could ask for a swashbuckler to have.  However, Pirates of the Caribbean was
not originally a movie-licensed title.  Developed by Bethesda Software,
Pirates began as the sequel to Sea Dogs, an open-ended RPG for the PC.  At
some point, Disney realized that it would be smarter to take a higher-quality
sequel and connect it to the movie, rather than try to develop a brand-new
game from scratch.  Doing the latter would have been more time-consuming, and
would not have allowed for the game to be out in time for the movie’s release.

Once you play Pirates of
the Caribbean, the only thing you’ll miss is the movie’s exquisite
characters.  The game’s stars are more generic, but get the job done.  Yes,
this is a role-playing game, but not in the typical console sense.  Given the
history of Sea Dogs (which lies on the PC), it’s no surprise that Pirates has
more in common with Morrowind than Final Fantasy.

Not long after the game’s
intro you’ll realize that this is a very deep, involving game that requires a
lot of patience.  In between sword fights you’ll explore towns, talk to the
locals, buy and sell items (for profit), borrow money from a "friendly" loan
shark, hire a crew to work on your ship, choose to accept or decline mission
offers, and so on.  One experience is never had for too long.  Just when you
become comfortable with the standard land controls (which are a little tricky
at first) and know exactly what to do in town, you’ll be forced into a battle
that, at the time, seems impossible to win.  Ship movement is relatively slow,
making it difficult to maneuver, attack or escape.  However, it wouldn’t seem
very realistic if ship movement was fast, so it’s something you have to get
used to, assuming you have enough interest in becoming a pirate.  (Obviously
you do, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this.)

When combat ensues on
land, the game utilizes a basic block-and-slash-style system.  Special attack
abilities (such as increased attack power) are thrown in to add some variety,
but the battles never become overly extensive.  They are quite difficult at
first though, since it takes time to get your reflexes in tune with the
enemy’s attack movements.  Once that has been accomplished, you’ll be able to
jump backwards and evade sword swipes with ease.  However, your increase in
skill does not increase the amount of enjoyment received while battling.  It’s
an okay battle system, but it really pales in comparison to the game’s other
aspects.

While at sea, your eyes
will be treated to the beauty of the sun or the moon.  Real-time lighting is
used to create a convincing effect that is impressive at any time of the day.
The sun, for example, has a different hue and shines off a larger or smaller
part of the water depending on the time of day.  It’s almost tempting to just
stare at the sun for a while, but that would leave you open for attack!

Without all of the
technological advancements we have today, the only light source you’ll have at
night is the moon.  This makes it very difficult to see, especially in
battle.  However, the nighttime effects are definitely worth seeing.  They’re
very subtle, nothing too extravagant, but you’ll instantly notice the moonlit
water, which is sparkling beautifully thanks to that big planetoid in the
sky. 

One thing that really
bogs this game down (at first, not as much later on) is the poor load
transition.  Every other time you approach a new character, a new vendor or
take the next step in the tutorial, the game stutters for a second or two.  (I
don’t know the reason for this.  It might have something to do with the hard
drive.)  Two seconds isn’t much, but it’s more than enough to break up the
smoothness of the gameplay and takes away from the game’s beautiful
surroundings.  And it reminds us that we’re playing a video game, something
that an RPG is supposed to make us forget.

Pirates of the Caribbean
is for gamers whose love of pirates goes beyond the movie of the same name.
Due to its slower-paced gameplay and the large amount of walking, talking,
buying and selling you’re required to do, action-lovers should probably look
elsewhere.  The action here is fairly minimal; it’s more about timing,
patience and living the life of a pirate than anything else.  Anyone who liked
the first Sea Dogs or PC role-playing games will find themselves immersed in
Pirate’s gigantic world.  That’s the audience this game was developed for.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.5
At times, it’s
hard to think of Pirates of the Caribbean as being a "game."  There’s so much
realism here — so many things that a pirate would really do, as opposed to
just hacking and slashing his way to a pretty girl.  That is what’s good about
this game, and it is also what’s bad.  I enjoyed the diversions, but the last
thing I wanted to do was waste time talking to characters that didn’t have
anything interesting to say (other than information that was important to the
mission).  This being a PC RPG, the story and dialogue are a bit shallow.
You’re given the freedom to make the character who you want it to be, so in
return the game doesn’t give you much of a story to work with.  You are
the story, and you make the game what you want it to be.  Being a
pirate is cool, but it’s not for everyone.

Graphics: 7.9
If you could
speed up the frame rate, remove all stutters and make the characters more
detailed, Pirates would be one of the most beautiful games on Xbox.  Each town
has incredible detail, with interactive patches of grass (that slightly move
when you walk over them), realistic-looking terrain and textures that appear
to be so real, you could reach out and touch them.  This is especially
apparent when the sun or the moon is bouncing off the water.  It’s a shame the
water’s gorgeous effects are cheapened by the poorly designed splashes, which
look like they belong more on the Dreamcast than a next-gen Xbox game.

Sound: 7
What Pirates
lacks in voice-over quality, it makes up for with a good soundtrack.  Sword
fights give off of the usual clankity-clank sounds, while the wind, cannonball
shots, explosions, and other familiar sounds are heard at sea.  There are some
subtle things, too, such as the sound of dogs barking in town, people
communicating with each other, etc.

Difficulty: Medium
Players with a
lot of experience playing PC RPGs won’t be at all overwhelmed by the
overwhelming amount of things that the game throws at you.  Since I am more
used to playing Final Fantasy, Pirates did seem a bit complex for the first
hour of play.  After that, however, the only serious challenge was trying to
conquer the tough naval battles.

Concept: 7.9
Since this is a
sequel and all, Pirates doesn’t come across as being as original as it could
have been.  But new players without any previous Sea Dogs experience will be
surprised at how far Bethesda has gone to make piracy come to life.

Overall: 7.5
Pirates of the
Caribbean isn’t your typical movie-based game.  As you already know, it’s not
based on the movie at all!  And that’s probably why it’s as good as it is.
Long and addictive, if you let Pirates consume you, it will.  Pirates might
not make a whole lot of sense to the casual player.  The game starts off with
a simple "do as I say" tutorial, and then before you know it it’s time to
battle.  No ship tutorial is given.  The manual is helpful, but you’re pretty
much on your own.  Because of the self-learning involved, this isn’t the kind
of game that everyone should buy.