A new leaf

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean (the movie) was a huge success back in 2003 and for good reason. The movie was a fun, action packed extravaganza with Johnny Depp as fantastic centre-point. The accompanying game was less fortunate. Not that it didn't sell, but it was little more than a cheap trick to make you think it was a movie-tie in. For those who missed this juicy piece of information; The story behind the Pirates of the Caribbean game is that Disney at the last moment decided they wanted a game and Bethesda had Sea Dogs II pretty far in development. The name Pirates of the Caribbean was slammed onto the box, a couple of scenes were marginally changed et voil?, a movie-tie in.

Unfortunately the game was unfinished and bug-ridden. Despite its many flaws, the original Sea Dogs fanbase embraced the game and laboriously worked on improving the engine and adding content, providing the support that Bethesda and Akella would (or could) not. For Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Bethesda decided to do things completely different. A new developer, a totally new engine and -finally- we get to play as Jack Sparrow.

Playing with Elizabeth

The timeline for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, differs from either of the two movies and therefore has its own story. Hmm... maybe I should rephrase that. The game delves into Jack's past (from before the first movie), explores the present and takes some peaks into the future. In a way, the game ties both movies together as much of it plays in the period between them. The main character in the game is Jack Sparrow but Jack rarely goes out adventuring alone. At the start of each scene either Will Turner or Elizabeth Swan will join him, giving you a chance to alternate between the two available characters. While this is slightly restrictive, it does 'force' you to experience each character's uniqueness - and for good reason.

Each character has his (or her) own fighting style and special moves. These moves come in many different flavors and can roughly be divided into swordplay, ranged- and special attacks. For swordplay, you can use the standard thrust, swing and parry in combination with jumps, duck etc. Furthermore, Jack Sparrow walks around with Grog Bombs that he throws around not only to do damage but also to ensure chaos reigns supreme. Will on the other hand, uses throwing axes for his ranged attacks. Perhaps not as spectacular but more precise and at least as deadly.

Using the envirornment to your advantage

If all that is still not enough to satisfy your hunger for destruction, you'll be keen to learn that the environment can be used as a weapon too. All kinds of objects can be picked up and thrown around, preferably in the direction of the enemy. Or... is there a better way?

Throughout the game, you'll encounter situations where the enemy has positioned itself in such a precarious location that it would be a shame not to abuse it. A couple of well placed slashes at support beams will collapse the balcony and a kick against some barrels will get them rolling, hopefully crushing a few enemies before they stop. Most of the time it will be fairly obvious in what way you can use the environment to your advantage but some of the options are hidden and finding them is part of the fun. Be warned though; The enemy AI is fairly smart and they can pull the exact same tricks on you as well!

Not an RPG, but fun nonetheless

It should be noted that The Legend of Jack Sparrow is not an RPG as its predecessor was. Sure, there are some basic RPG elements but it doesn't go very deep. Between levels, you're given a chance to purchase new weapons and abilities with the cash that your enemies dropped after you disposed of them and that is all there is to it.

One of the features that I expect players to have the most fun with, is the co-op multiplayer. Being action oriented, the game lends itself well for this style of gameplay (although I foresee some fights over who gets to play Jack). Another nice touch is that Johnny Depp will do the voice acting for the digital version of his own character which, no doubt, will add much merriment to the game. Combat can get pretty frantic and if you enjoy your games action packed, you'll get your fill with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow. Do you need to wait for very long? Not at all, the game will be out any day now!