Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat

"'Tis a good day to be a pirate, arrrrrr"

Wow, I waited for this game to come out a long time ago. I think I had seen screen shots of it long before the PS2 even came out.

Gameplay: 9/10
Well, the gameplay is nothing new here. Just hack and slash a veritable hodgepodge of enemies, and you basically have a
decent control system.

You have to pound on the X button four times to finish a decent combo, and you can get interrupted too.

The camera angles are very good as far as camera angles go. You can zoom in and out and the camera won't get in your way. Its especially helpful during sea battles with other ships who want to send you to Davy Jones' locker.

The game has a very helpful tutorial system, that is pretty self-explanatory. You can decide on leaving it on, or turning it off before and after you save your game. It takes about five minutes for the tutorial to kick in, but once it does, you can go through the whole thing and then shut it off during your game. Otherwise, it will pop up every now and then, which can get irritating.

The sea battles are a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. In some ways I found this to be much more fun than most mini-games.

Story: 7/10
Well, this game doesn't have the best story line, but then again you don't get too many console games that let you be a scurvy pirate lass, either.

You assume the role of Black Kat, a.k.a. Katarina de Leon, a red-headed hottie. You are the daughter of the Governor, and you are a legendary pirate.

The story is chock full of strange characters that you meet along the way. You can meet a mermaid, Blackbeard, and King Neptune to name just a few.

Audio/Video: 9/10
The graphics are pretty sweet in my opinion. The game doesn't run as fast as Drakan II, but it looks just as good if not better. The CG movies aren't all that impressive, but they convey the story along very nicely.

This game has very good in-game music, and the sound effects are halfway decent. The voice acting isn't stellar, but it isn't going to make you roll your eyes either.

Re playability: 9/10
This is the type of game that you may not find everything the first time through the game. Once you get used to it, there are a lot of secrets to find.

You also get to play something not in the main game, you can practice at sea battles, plus you can view the game's art in the main menu.

To buy or rent? Buy
A game like this doesn't come around too often. If you are strapped for cash, try renting it. It's a game that deserves some attention. You probably won't be disappointed by it, I wasn't.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/02, Updated 02/25/02