Pirates of the Caribbean

"Ye Be Warned"

I had been anxiously awaiting Sea Dogs II since I saw the advertisement included with Morrowind. The idea of being a pirate and sailing the high seas with my own ship sounded like a dream come true. Even when the title was changed to Pirates of the Caribbean, I was still hoping for a fantastic swashbuckling adventure. I went right out and bought the game right away after seeing the movie, hoping it was half as great. Unfortunately, it was not and I was left feeling like I had been marooned on a desert island.

Game play 5/10- If you were expecting this to be just a Morrowind clone with boats you were wrong. While there are many aspects that do in fact feel like Morrowind there are many more that are absent. In Pirates of the Caribbean every corpse can not be robbed and you can't take all the things that aren't nailed down like in Morrowind. This game is totally unique. You can siege ships and board them and have them sail under your banner. There are intense sword battles and often times they feel very awkward. There are numerous (and I mean NUMEROUS!) glitches within this game. I haven't experienced all of them but the ones I did experience made me frustrated enough to put the game down and walk away. There are bugs that will destroy your save files and we all know how annoying that is.

Sound 4/10- Nothing to brag about really. The characters speak but the words they audibly speak more often than not have nothing to do with the text of what they are really saying. For instance some one might say ''Aye governor'', while the text reads ''We have to do something about these French''. The music is nothing great either. You would be better off buying the soundtrack to the movie and playing that while you play the game. The only reason I gave this a four is because the weapons make excellent sounds. The swords sound great clanging together and the cannons and pistols sound realistic when they are fired.

Control 6/10- While navigating through a town I discovered that my character ran and walked like he was under the influence. It was kind of hard to aim him precisely where I wanted him to be. Controlling a ship was no easier in my opinion. Often times I had no idea where the battle was and I learned to avoid them when possible. When not engaged in the heat of naval warfare the ships move ultra slow. I know this is realistic but it doesn't make for a very exciting time.

Graphics 4/10- While the water looks great the rest of the visuals lack that certain luster that many of us have come to expect these days. While not the worst they are by no means good. There are constant skips and slow downs.

Overall 5/10- This game is not even decent. It feels very rushed and while there are some neat elements to it resume, it isn't enough to salvage it. My advice is to rent first and if you survive the glitches with your nerves intact, and you had fun with it then consider purchasing it. Other than that I recommend that you keep away because this one's cursed!

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/03