To the surprise of almost no one, the console games based on this past summer’s latest Pirates of the Caribbean blockbuster were mediocre. The developers made almost all of the mistakes that bad movie-based games usually feature, leaving us gamers once again without a good Pirates game (and this movie needed it more than the first two installments). Hardware limitations often force a developer to focus on what really matters though, and perhaps because of that the Nintendo DS version may be the best of the bunch.
Obviously the game follows the movie’s storyline, and in fact tells it better than any other version. I won’t bore you with the details, since you probably know what the movie’s about by now, but suffice it to say that you’re once again swashing and buckling as Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and the lovely Elizabeth Swann. The presentation is scaled down from the console versions and the story is told in mostly static cutscenes, but as I mentioned before it does a better job of giving the player the overall storyline.
Another area where the console versions suffered (and in particular the Wii version given its control scheme) was in the dueling. On Wii dueling was nothing more than regular (poor) gameplay with tougher bad guys, but here it actually feels like it was developed with the DS’ control scheme in mind. Using the stylus, the player draws one of several different patterns on the touch screen to execute a particular attack, while at the same time using the d-pad to parry. Different bosses use their own attack patterns, forcing the player to be observant and time his or her moves well. The player can learn new moves (taught by Capt. Barbossa) as the game progresses, and these come in handy during some of the later duels in the game.
Aside from dueling, the rest of the game plays like a fairly standard action platformer. Although the levels are presented in 3D, most of the action involves moving side-to-side or up and down. Basic sword attacks are executed with the Y button, with combos performed by pressing it several times in succession. The X button can be used to kick, which is useful when trying to break through an enemy’s defenses. The X button is also used for special pirate moves, for example when the player’s character is able to sneak up on an enemy and tap them on the shoulder before knocking them out. Each character can also hold use one of several different secondary weapons, such as bombs and a whip. These are used with the R shoulder button, and can be used repeatedly as long as the player has something left in the Savvy Meter, which refills over time.
It’s not just hacking and slashing however, as there are also several different types of puzzles and obstacles that must be overcome. This is done with one of five different pieces of equipment discovered during the adventure, including Jack’s compass, a bamboo pole, a torch, a grappling rope, and a hook. The compass points the player to treasure, while the bamboo pole is used to vault from specially marked locations to clear wide gaps. The torch is used to light braziers and burn away brush and other obstacles, but it’s important to find the quickest path from the fire source to the destination as the torch will only stay lit for a short amount of time. Finally, the grappling rope is used to swing from one area to another (with the d-pad increasing the player’s speed while swinging), while the hook allows the player to hang from and move across certain types of surfaces.
Posted: 2007-11-06 09:17:58 PST