Pirates of the Caribbean is set during the 1600s where the Caribbean Islands are filled with many adventures and mysteries. You play Captain Nathaniel Hawk, who must save the Islands from the hands of the French while completing many tasks, trading various goods, and getting into many land and water battles in the process. You start out at Fort Oxbay, where your companion will guide you through the basics. When you get the hang of it, you'll be sent on your way and you'll be treated to a nice FMV sequence displaying Oxbay being captured by the French after a grueling battle. Your job is to inform the Governor about this attack and try and prevent it. Now, while the story and graphics are great, the abundance of problems balance it out making Pirates of the Caribbean a sure rental, but may not be a keeper unless you are a hard-core fan of the Pirates subject. Some of the problems include game saves being deleted in certain copies, a ridiculous amount of loading times, poor crew AI, and a lack of depth during battles.
The gameplay is where Pirates of the Caribbean suffers quite a bit. The land and sea battles are just not in-depth enough to attract the casual Pirate fans. Crew AI is quite low and can be very costly during battles. During the sword duels, you are given a limited amount of moves to do. These moves are the basic block, dodge, and strike. You are given a gun but the only move you get is to fire one bullet during a period of five seconds. This can get annoying for some, but it is also very realistic being that the game is set in the 1600s. If you are battling a number of opponents, my suggestion is run away because you aren't likely to win against more than two enemies. Some of the areas like the Dungeons can bring a lot of treasures, but I wouldn't go in one of these unless you are skilled because the "undead" come after you and they are quite prepared to destroy anyone who tries to get in.
The sailing can get very frustrating, especially when you get stuck in a storm or a battle. You are given a map mode which is a mini version of the sailing mode in which it is easier to find your way to a certain island, and to track storms which are represented by black clouds. One of the problems is that boats often pop-in while you're sailing. Why is this a problem? It's because they pop-in almost right next to you so you may have no choice but to battle them. However, you can choose to go back to land and/or use "quick travel" to get to places if you are at a location close to them.
Graphics are solid, especially during sailing, but they can become choppy while walking around. The game features some of the best water effects ever, and the storms and twisters are amazing...to watch, not to be caught in. Characters are modeled nicely and there are many of them, which can become repetitive but that's not really a big deal. The towns and interiors are modeled great so it really does give us a detailed look at what life was like during the 1600s. However, actually getting to all these beautiful areas takes time, because of the overwhelming amount of loading times.
Land and sea battle sounds are very realistic, and once you get on land, the music is nice and makes you feel like you are in the 1600s, then becomes very dramatic and intense during storms and battles. The game would've benefited from some Dolby Digital, especially during the sea battles, but it wasn't to be. Character dialogue is done very well, but there isn't enough of it. Phrases get repetitive at times since you are ordered to see the same people. The game would've also benefited from a few "Thar she blows!" or "Ahoy there Mateys"
The game's exceptional graphics and intriguing story can make it fun for those with a vast amount of interest in pirates but it's a big turnoff for those looking for solid, realistic gameplay and intense battles. While the games length leaves nothing to be desired in terms of “bang for the buck”, the gameplay combined with a few flaws sprinkled here and there will likely turn off anyone who’s not a seriously hardcore pirate fan.
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