Pirates of the Caribbean

"The open seas are finally ours"

Pirates of the Caribbean (henceforth referred to as “PotC”) is an open-ended Pirate RPG to the X-box. In this RPG play as Nathaniel Hawk, a sailor who has come to the Caribbean, namely Oxbay, an English colony to sell goods. PotC allows you to shape your character the way you want from the start by choosing what skills and abilities you’d like to develop. When leaving an island you can sail using a 3rd or 1st person view of your ship to another island (although it will take a VERY long time) or you’re able to enter a world map, which is much quicker.

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Sound 8/10
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Music:
The music is everything you’d expect to hear in a pirate game. It has a very oceany sound to it, from the dark sounding fight music, to the world map theme, that sounds much like a theme from an RPG, upbeat and smooth.

Sound Effects:
The sound effects are all excellent and really immerse you into your surrounds, be it a blast from a cannon, or a shot from your pistol at a pirate running at you, sword drawn.

Voice Acting:
There isn’t much here, when you initiate a conversation with an NPC they usually say one predetermined phrase, like some of the shipyard people say “Do take better care of your ship, captain.”

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Graphics 8/10
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Land:
The graphics on land leave much to be desired, they are decent, however, we’ve all seen better. I haven’t really seen anything really that bad.

Sea:
This is where the graphics really shine, the water graphics resemble a great deal of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (albeit better). One of the prettiest scenes has to be fighting a ship battle at night, with the moon bouncing off of the ocean. The graphics during storms and tornadoes are great as well (although visibility is extremely low). Also when you get near an island on the world map you can sail around the island in a 3rd or 1st person view on your ship and see the island from the sea.

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Controls 9/10
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Land:
Many will say that the controls are somewhat awkward, however I found no problem with them at all. One part that may be a little awkward is when you enter a room, the camera is facing your front, so naturally you’d want to move down to get towards the camera, but that isn’t the case. Down is backwards and Up is forwards no matter which way you’re facing, it doesn’t take to long to get used to though. The combat controls aren’t that bad either:

X-Sheathe/Unsheathe Sword
A-Slash Sword
L-Block
R-Fire Gunshot
Y-Bring up Use Item menu
B-Jump back

It’s rather easy to get used to the combat controls as well

Sea:
There isn’t much control while you’re out on the sea, you can steer the ship with the left analog stick but most things are done by giving orders to your crew using the Y menu. In the Y menu you can select different commands to issue to your ship(s), they will be detailed in the Gameplay section.

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Gameplay 9/10
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Land:
The gameplay on land unfolds like any other action rpg, you walk to towns, talk to NPCs, and fight in “random encounters”. Like Morrowind there are many different paths you can take. You can work for any of the 6 powers (England, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and Pirates) and set a reputation that you want. Do you want to be known as a blood thirsty pirate? Then attack vessels you see and kill innocent people, but this will lead to shops not wanting to deal with you. You can also become a humble trader, exporting and importing to certain colonies. However, some goods are band from certain colonies, perhaps a smuggler could find a way in though, and make a decent profit. Your character is yours to mold into whatever you wish. One thing that people may have problems with is that it’s easy to die. To me, it’s more realistic than most open-ended RPGs, you can’t really take that many hits, so blocking is EXTREMELY crucial to your survival. However that goes the other way as well, enemies doing take that long to die either.

Sea:
The sea is a dangerous and mysterious, yet magnificent place. While traveling the sea via the world map, you can see many other ships sailing about, including pirates. From what I’ve seen so far, the only ships that attack you on the high seas are the pirate ships (unless of course you are a pirate, then punitive ships will attack you as well). Whenever a pirate (or other hostile) craft gets close to you on the world map, you are sent into the 3rd person view to battle the ship(s). In the beginning it’s very difficult to take down another ship because your cannons miss often, however there is another option. If you are able to get close to the enemy ship and stay somewhat parallel at around the same speed, you have the option of boarding the ship. When you board the ship you and some of your crew has to fight the enemy ship’s crew. If you win, then the boat and its belongings (including it’s crew) are yours to do with as you please. I found that this is the best way to get better ships (well, cheapest at least).

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Story 9/10
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Well since this is an open-ended RPG the story is basically yours to mold as you please. However there is a main story line in which you can follow which is quite good I may add. But the story is what you make of it, do you want to play a game that has you as a Pirate that is known and feared among the archipelago? Here is your game. Do you want to be a smuggler, smuggling illegal goods and selling them for high profits? Here is your game. Do you want to be a humble merchant, importing and exporting goods, yet able to take on any pirates that may want those said goods? Here is your game. Do you want to be a treasure hunter, exploring the islands in search for hidden treasures? Here is your game. Ok I think you have the point now, the story is what you make of it.

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Rent or Buy? Rent
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Although I like it, there may be some of you that it won’t interest, I think that if you liked Morrowind and you like the idea of sailing, this game is for you. However, I’d rent it first, why not waste a few bucks instead of 53.49?

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Overall: 9/10 (Not an Average)
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Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/02/03, Updated 07/02/03