Pirates of the Caribbean

"Sailing O'er the Blundering Main"

I've never reviewed a video game before. Suffice it to say that I just play them and enjoy or hate them, and let it go! Not so this game. It deserves some recognition. I'm tired of people bragging about Knights of the Old Republic (which is very good), or Morrowind-GOTY (which could be very good if I wanted to spend several thousand hours glued to my TV monitor), or the countless other shooters/platformers/RPGs out there. This one has been sorely overlooked.

Story Line: -Rating 9- I believe this game really had no story line when being developed, except a spin-off of the old PC/Sega Genesis Pirates/Pirates Gold. But, along comes Johnny Depp and the Black Pearl/Disney Movie, and Bang! You have a storyline. Actually, this game has very little to do with the movie. I've seen the movie, and it was ingenious and humorous...I mean, flesh and blood pirates that are really ghosts/skeletons that can't be killed the normal way. The theme is underlying in the game, and there is an end game which embraces some of the elements of the movie, but mostly this game is about sailing, sea battles, cargo runs and escorting ships. Along the way, you score some gold, get experience for you and your officers in your crew, gain ships, and beef them up, from a lowly lugger to three or four handsome battleships.

Graphics: -Rating 10- What can I say. Like everyone else, I agree. The graphics are simply stunning. You can smell the salt spray, it's so realistic. You can feel the sand crunching under your boots. You can feel the dew from the early morning or late evening fog roll in. Granted, the NPCs are fairly bland, and you get tired of watching Nathaniel Hawk running from behind (You can always switch to 1st person with the left joystick button-just push it down man), but the sailing is breathtaking. The thrill of watching your sails unfurl as you leave port, using your spy glass to watch your other ships and its crew running around the deck (granted, in the 3rd person view of you own ship, it's pretty mechanical and repetitive), and watching your cannon fire striking enemy ships is really realistic. The environmental effects are also very nice...sunsets, rainbows, fog, rain, storms, cyclones, and that's just at sea. On land, you have birds, grass, trees, sand and mountains and...well, you name it, they're there. The waterfall at Douwesan alone is worth the walk. The moonbeam and sun rays striking the waves are really authentic. And the sky, clouds and horizons are majestic, and the motion is practically skip free.

Gameplay: -Rating 10- The gameplay takes a little getting used to. You start off on your ship, but rapidly end up on shore at Oxbay Port. You start off in a general tutorial, with your Boatswain guiding you. Unfortunately, you don't get to keep him, but he remains on land for questioning throughout the learning period, which doesn't take too long. The Fast Travel option really comes in handy after you've done your initial exploring. Fast travel is not available on land in jungles or on your ship. After you've completed your basic training, and hire crew and officers and taken care of the required feats during your training (repairing your ship, visiting the store, talking to various vendors and NPCs), you finally get to board your ship. But before you're able to do anything, you get a cut scene of a French Armada invasion. You don't want to stay at the sea level mode, you will die very quickly. Upon leaving port, your gameplay actually begins, including the Black Pearl Quest, if you choose to pursue it. The only drawback to the game is you're not able to travel on any boat but your own in the 3rd person mode (unless you're in battle and have grappled the enemy ship). In the 3rd person mode, you're able to pan in and out and all around your ship, but don't really get to go below your own deck. All the ships are pretty much the same below decks, as you will see in the battle modes, but it would be nice to be able to sail normally in that mode. Sailing in the Map Mode is the only way to get around quickly at sea. There is real time sailing, which can also be sped up a little, but that would be ridiculously long. But enjoy the sunsets, they're staggering at sea. Also, your quests and missions are tracked in your Quest book for easy reference. The Passenger screen takes a little getting used to, and you will find that your active crew makeup is very important depending on what you're doing at the time. Suffice it to say, there are two parallel quests in the game.

Glitches: -Rating 9-. Unfortunately, the game does have glitchy or quirky behavior. Sometimes you get corrupt save games. Don't Panic, just turn the game off and on again, you more than likely will not lose anything but the last save game. Just save often. The key here is to not ''Overwrite'' saved games, but to delete the previous one before you save the last one. You may want to even adopt a leap frog approach, where you go back to the one before last game and delete it and the leap across to the last one and save it. This only occurs when you've reached your save limit, which is about a dozen or so saved games. You can even port the first few save games to a Memory chip by accessing the Xbox's hard drive. Also, if you are pursuing the end game quest, the game is very particular about whom and what you do during your quest, repeated visits to the certain NPCs can cause it to have to repeat certain quests. Avoid those. Also, there are some cargo runs that cannot be completed because your destination port won't take them (normally the store owner dialogue indicates you are delivering cargo and the store owner thanks and pays you). This is not a major problem, except if it is contraband. But there are ways around that also, finding them is part of the game play IMO. The amount of money (gold) ranges anywhere from a few thousand to over 100 thousand in some cases, depending on the number and size of your ships and your reputation. Same is true with escort runs. The glitches do not distract much from the gameplay; it's not fatal and not permanent. Restoring is usually painless. The game is worth it.

Sounds: -Rating 10-. Granted some of the sounds on land are clunky, creaky, and crunchy. But most of the sounds are authentic. From the birds and monkeys chattering in the jungles, to the waves lapping on shore, to seagulls at sea, to wind and rain pounding on your ship during a storm. All accompanied by the appropriate mood music. The sounds are great. The dialogue is sporadic and generic from the NPCs...''I'll have no Orgy-Borgy on my Watch'' from the guards, to ''What'll it be, Guv'nr'' from the barkeeps, dialogue sounds are lacking somewhat. But environmental sounds are right on target. If you've never been to the Caribbean, you get to experience the sounds of it here. And the Music...what can I say, it's hauntingly beautiful while serenely sailing, to drum beating tension during battles, either land or sea. Clash of swords and sounds of gunfire, booms of cannons and crackling of flames, they're all there to provide the right atmosphere.

Replay Value: -Rating 9- Let's face it, once you completed the main end game quest, there's really no reason to continue playing. But, ah, here's the rub. You find yourself drawn back to the game over and over again, picking it up at a point right before the point-of-no-return endgame stage, and find yourself terrorizing the seas and or mastering the shipping lanes. That's where the real role playing comes into play. There are all sorts of side missions, from good to bad, you can pursue. Assassinations, intrigue, being a bully, or being the overall nice guy. You could even help the churches and gain reputation as being the good guy. Or you can just hang around in the bars and play gambling games with the local winos. Or just simply walk around the towns and island till you get bored, and go on another sea mission. The whole time, your officers and you are gaining experience and getting meaner...or better, by the minute.

Final Score: -9/10- A high 9. Without the glitches, it would even score a 10. This game is worthy of being in your collection. If you're more of a Shooter, or Action player, then steer away, Matey! Rent this one, and enjoy it. Use the Cheat codes to play it through to the end game if you're going to rent it, at the very least. But if you are truly a RPG player, pop it in the tray and set sail for that far off beach.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/04