Pirates of the Caribbean Review

Developer	Akella
Publisher	Bethesda Softworks
Genre	Role-Playing

Movie games suck, it’s a general rule, but Pirates of the Caribbean is different. Formerly Sea Dogs 2, Pirates of the Caribbean (PotC) was independent from Disney for the majority of its development cycle. This makes PotC a very unique game—it has only minor ties with its namesake, but carries the stigma of a licensed game nonetheless. Fear not aspiring sea dogs, PotC manages to be a good (yet flawed) RPG regardless of its Disney sugar daddy.

Gameplay - PotC offers a solid RPG experience for those who are patient enough to play through the steep learning curve and put up with some stability issues. Gameplay takes place on land and at sea, and each requires persistence to master the controls. Dirty Disc Errors and random freezes occurred several times during extended play. PotC offers very challenging gameplay—expect to die quite a bit in this one. As a result of the stability issues and ramped-up difficulty level, PotC is not suited for casual gamers. Nonetheless, it does offer a rewarding experience for those willing to put up with its various technical and design flaws.

The land-based combat is difficult to grasp at first. Rather than adopting a camera/control system similar to Zelda, PotC plays like Resident Evil (pressing up makes the character move the way he’s facing). This leads to an awfully slow-turning pirate who has a tough time retreating in fights. A quick backwards jump option is available to the player, but it doesn’t always provide the distance that running would. Although there is also an option to set the controls to “directional” (the character moves in the way the stick is pushed), the camera doesn’t follow behind the character. Directional movement is thus rendered useless since players aren’t able to tell what’s in front of them. What we’re left with are Resident Evil controls that aren’t responsive enough for the action on land, and a camera that moves just as clumsily.

PotC doesn’t ease players into combat either. After the brief tutorial, most fights tend to pit the odds in the enemy’s favor. When adventuring on land, you should expect to encounter groups of four bandits on your own. It’s easy to get in a couple hits on a single enemy, then use the quick jump to evade him. Death comes fast to he who gets surrounded by enemies—and that occurs frequently. One thing that PotC does well on land is the random placement of enemies. This makes it possible for each wilderness area and dungeon to be a little different each time. While it doesn’t impact the gameplay very much, it does make adventuring on land a little more fun.

The sea-based combat and controls are far better than their land-based counterparts. When sailing, up and down on the stick (or d-pad) raises and lowers sails, while left and right steer the ship. Cannons are fired by pressing the A button. During combat, players get to choose between four different types of ammunition. This allows for some fun tactics in battle. Rather than sinking a ship with cannonballs or bombs, it might be more desirable to slow it down with knipples, then board it. The boarding action is identical to the land-based combat, and players may have to fight through multiple levels of enemies before a ship is captured.

PotC is a statistic heavy RPG. Everything from the time it takes to reload cannons to the price of goods is determined by the player’s skill in certain areas. Having ten skills (similar to attributes like strength, dexterity, etc in other role playing games) opens up many character development possibilities. PotC makes it possible to play through the game as a peaceful trader who engages in commerce between islands, or as a pirate who steals ships and sells them for a tidy profit. There is a great degree of freedom when it comes to deciding how you want to develop your character and gain riches.

PotC also offers a tight linear story for those who choose to follow the path laid out for them. Similar to Morrowind, players have the option to ignore the main quest entirely. Unlike Morrowind, the plot here seems more tight and fast-paced. There tends to be a greater amount of action in this game, and the player is often whisked away into different inescapable situations. When taking part in the main plot, one should expect to be there for a little while before the next break is given.

Graphics - Graphics on land in PotC are just average. It’s best to think of them as “functional,” they get the job done. Trees are easily discernable from, say, grass, and it’s not tough to tell where you can walk from where you can’t. Also, there are occasional touches such as waterfalls that add to the general tropical feel. The textures aren’t very detailed, and the framerate drops constantly. It never becomes a slide show, but it comes close on occasion.

The character models tend to lack detail, and the animations aren’t very fluid. If you’ve seen one pirate in this game, you’ve seen them all. There are a few models that look good, but most fall into the dark pit of blah. The developers used this lack of detail well though, as most towns are bustling with commoners and guards. This gives each city a vibrant, living feel. So, even though it may look less than stunning for a good portion of the land action, at least there are multiple characters on screen.

Yes, the graphics on land aren’t “hot,” but the visuals at sea are stunning. The water itself ripples and shimmers just as one expects water in the Caribbean would. Sunset on the open sea is something that must be seen to be believed—it looks that good. It’s apparent that the developers spent a lot of time on the look and feel of the sea portion.

Ship models are also impressive, but not quite so much as the water itself. Larger boats literally dwarf smaller ones (a Galleon will look gigantic next to a Lugger or Sloop). Sails accurately reflect damage—they can take on the appearance of swiss cheese after being pummeled by knipples or cannonballs. Explosions look sufficiently good, with critical hits sending debris into the water.

Sound - The music in PotC is good, when it’s playing. There will be times throughout the game when it stops altogether, leaving an awkward silence in the middle of a sea or land battle. When it does play, the music in PotC is appropriate to the pirately theme and subject matter. Some of the tracks are annoying—the one that plays during storms especially, but most are solid.

The weapon effects and voice clips tend to be redundant and bland. While engaging in dialogue with any shopkeeper, you should expect to hear the same clip repeatedly. In battle, the clip “Check and mate” played over and over again. I never knew pirates were that aware of chess. The voice over during movie scenes is fine though, since Keira Knightly sounds just dandy.

Overall Value - But pirate, is PotC good despite being a licensed game? Yes it is. PotC manages to offer an experience that patient, experienced role-playing fans will most certainly enjoy. For the more casual gamers among you, and those who don’t enjoy RPGs in general, it would be best to stay away. PotC offers a deep experience with only a little less freedom than Morrowind, but suffers from various graphical, gameplay, and stability flaws.

Review by Matt Dedrick