Others say...

"Big letdown"
I'm not a big action gamer (obviously since my last game review was for Barbie Princess & the Pauper for my daughters) but sometimes I try something new. Pirates of the Caribbean looked interesting and, hey, I love Captain Jack, so why not? There was a lot of potential for this to be a very fun adventure, but it was only a big disappointment.

The manual is almost completely useless. I read it carefully and gained very little insight into how the game is played. There is an onscreen tutorial character, but he's almost as useless as the manual since all he does it take you on a three-stop tour of the first town and give some very non-helpful sword fighting lessons. He shows you where to buy supplies, get repairs, and hire a crew, but then you're on your own. The manual hinted at quests and deserted beaches on the islands where you could find treasure, but you have to figure it all out by yourself. There are lots of buildings with locked doors but not even a hint at what's behind them, or even how to find a key.

Maybe its my computer, but the other characters all fought faster than mine, even though I was pushing keys as quickly as I could. I died many, many times and it got very frustrating. The worst part though - and this is what earns the one star rating - is that there is absolutely NO tutorial or learning period for sailing the ship. None...zilch! I was still working to get the camera angle right and a pirate ship or a storm would swoop in and sink me, before I even got out of port. Ridiculous and very frustrating!

Thank goodness I previewed this from the library. I'd be very, very ticked if I'd wasted money on this game. I guess I'll go back to Barbie.

"Great game for Sea Dog fans"
I want to make clear that this is essentially Sea Dog's 2 and has little or nothing to do with the movie Priates of the Caribbean. However, if you want a down to earth, well rounded, ship/land based naval game set in the sixteenth century; POTC will deliver.

You begin the game as an unknown freebooter with a small ship. You follow the onscreen script as a sort of tutorial and learn how to move about on land, fight with a sword and pick up items. From there you disembark from your ship with the choice of doing pretty much whatever you want. You can choose to deliver cargo as a trader or fight for one of the five nationalities (six including Pirate), or anything else that can make you some "coin".

Much of the game play is similar to SD1 and the controls are almost identical. Contrary to what some may say, I found the controls to be rather simple and easy to learn although bothersome to change. Character relations with people grow throughout the game and your reputation will change based on the choices you make. For example, if you deside to play the game in a cut-throat fashion, killing all who step in your path and plundering every ship you see, you will begin to be feared and this will have an effect on those you talk to.

The learning curve is steep but add's an element of realism to the game. You need to use your judgement when traveling at first or risk being attacked by pirates. The graphics are astounding, showing every ripple in the water and every drop of rain. Sunsets are moody and filled with emotion, it is really something to see. Ships will now have a crew bustling around on deck although their animation is somewhat blocky and pre-mapped (it all looks the same after awhile).

The soundtrack is great for anyone whose a favorite of those long classical scores (i.e. Master and Commander) and will change with your environment. You can now get ambushed in the city and will have to defend yourself with sword, knife, pistol, or whatever else you happen to have. Items are abundant throughout the game. Some give you skills, others for combat but you can view them all in the (albeit clumsy) inventory menu.

Unfortunately the game has some downfalls. Character interaction sometimes seems a little rushed and the game has some issues with bugs. The Bethesda website devoted to POTC is a joke and hasn't been updated since the game shipped to stores and no official patch has been released to the public. This is where my 3/5 star rating comes from.

However now for the best part of POTC, the mods. A number of websites have posted mods for downloading, one in particular is called the "Build Mod". It incorporates an array of upgrades such as new ships, wearable clothing, 100's of new quests and characters to interact with, and the ability to change the character you play as (you can now be Johny Depp, Will Turner, or a ton of others). Ontop of this you can now berth ships at islands and feed your crew so they don't mutany. If only this mod had been released with the game, then it deserves a 5 star rating.

Bottomline: POTC is a great addition to the Sea Dog's line but falls short of being as good as it could've been. If only Bethesda could have released a good patch for the game or an expansion, fortunately the player created mods have solved most of the problems and actually added some elements. For fans of Sea Dogs, there is no other choice.

-Xantier M. Werner


"Game by itself is buggy, but there are some great mods!!!"
Like many other people have said before me, this game (by itself) is very buggy. You will have to deal with lost save files, abrubt crashes and other issues if you play this game as-is out of the package.

But there is HOPE! There have been some great 'mods' released on several forums that not only correct the bugs but also add new characters (like the Johnny Depp movie character), new missions, and new weapons. Check out the Pirates Ahoy site for more info.

By itself this game is maybe two stars. With the easily installed mods...it's a 5 star game!

"Pirates of the Carribean"
I found this game to be one of the most difficult, most poorly documented and least intuitive games I ever played.

You start off the game with a crewmember to lead you through the start of the game. From there, you continue on your own. There is no primer on how to sail a ship. There is a minimal trainer on sword fighting but little feedback on how you're doing so you can modify your actions.

After getting my ship sunk in a storm twice, getting sunk by random ships attacking me three times (including just showing up at my home port)and getting no feedback or instruction on how to survive those events or how to avoid them, I gave up and quit the game.

"This Game Is Like My Second Life"
If I had to choose a second life to live I would choose the life of one of the pirates in this game. Everything from the thrilling battle scenes to the great soundtrack is amazing. after i beat it once i just fooled around in the pirate world wich is just as fun as following a story line. the only difference is your creating your own story line. if u liked the movie, BUY THE GAME!!!!