Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Review by: Boxia - 8.8/10
All that's missing is a WiiShips Wheel!Pirates of the Caribbean. A film series famed for its grand scale, great effects, memorable acting, and awesome soundtracks. It figures that such an epic franchise would get some video games to tie in with the films. As many people know, however, movie-based games have a tendency to be pretty terrible. This fact has led to a constant bias and shunning against such games. That's likely why Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was overlooked by many people. Quite a shame, too, as this game proved to be quite worthy in comparison to other titles of its "genre". Grab your ships' wheel, ready your cutlass, and unfurl your sails. We're heading into Davy Jones' locker!
Here's an epic story for you!
Jack Sparrow, the dry and sarcastic captain of the legendary Black Pearl and pirate lord, is locked up in a prison. The once thriving pirate world that Sparrow was once at the center of is now in serious trouble. Lord Beckett, a ruthless captain in the East India Company's fleet, is killing pirates and anyone associated with them en masse to solidify control over the seven seas. To aid him, Beckett has the fearsome Davy Jones and his massive ship, The Flying Dutchman, destroy pirate ships. The only hope for piracy is for the pirate lords to convene in Shipwreck City and unite against the power of Beckett and Jones. However, the pirate lords are spread across the world and are being hunted down. Sparrow is broken out of jail by an old accomplice who briefs him on the state of his world. Recovering the Black Pearl and its crew, Sparrow must now travel the world convincing pirate lords to head to Shipwreck City while evading Beckett and Jones. Along the way he receives assistance from Will Turner, a handsome blacksmith who's good with swords, Elizabeth Swan, an attractive gal who is the love interest of Turner, Hector Barbarossa, an unreliable first mate, and Tia Dalma, an enigmatic woman who may not be all that she seems. The story is fascinating in the way it shows the world of piracy under threat and in how it unravels, leaving you with just the basic bits of the plot at first and then slowly building up to a great climax. I also love the characters, with personalities ranging from sarcastic and bland to opulent and grand, offering a great showcase of diversity in views of this world.
Fun and engaging!
The simplest way to describe the game play of this title is "swing sword, kill things". To be more specific, there are fourteen levels in this game, and their large sizes allow for a fair share of hidden collectibles and goodies, like money, health-improving silver hearts, healing turkeys (I guess Jack Sparrow is also Simon Belmont), and assorted weaponry. The latter includes bombs, which deal a huge amount of damage to multiple enemies, daggers, which deal a large amount of damage to a single enemy, and muskets, which are OHKs'. Then there's your trusty cutlass, the default weapon. You swing the Wii mote to swing the sword and move with the nun chuck. The Wii mote provides effecting motion tracking most of the time, but there's a very small chance that it'll glitch and register a swipe or slash when you didn't move it. Shaking the Wii mote in different ways results in different "combos", and sometimes your nun chuck gets in on the fun. Certain combos prove more effective against certain foes. For example, a foe shielded in the front will get more of a beating from a side strike than a frontal hit. Speaking of enemies, boy is there a ton! You have standard pirate mooks with mediocre sword skills, more experienced British infantry, and the deformed sea creature minions of Davy Jones. The troop’s skill levels are displayed by certain features. For example, taller enemies are usually stronger and tougher than shorter ones, British infantry clad in black coats are stronger than their red coat counterparts, and the only real rule for Davy Jones's minions is that the bigger they are and the more stuff they have on them, the tougher they are. There's an amazing lack of false difficulty, owing to the fact that whenever there's a load of enemies, they are put in just the right location and pose a fun and fair challenge when encounter.
But wait! There's more!
There's not just an abundance of collectibles, but an abundance of side quests and general stuff to do. In every town Jack or one of his allies’ visits, there are always a handful of side quests. Some side quests involve something as simple as distracting a bartender while pirates steal his rum to escort missions. These missions always have great rewards, like money or weapons. Some side quests also have follow-up quests. Then there are dice games. You put a bet on which roll you think you're going to get and see if you hit it big. You can also play poker. The cards for this game can be found in "pirate events" scattered through the levels. These events are basically QTEs' with absolutely no room for error (if you make a tiny mistake, you will have to fight off quite a few foes), but they have a big payoff.
I can hear you saying "But what if I'm tired of the main mode? Is there anything besides that?” Enter challenge mode. In this mode, you can play through the game whilst being timed or being measured on how much stuff, like money or silver hearts, you accrue. The more "stuff" you get, the higher your score gets. Get as much stuff and/or go as fast as possible to get the best score! Sure it's simple, but it provides a great deal of fun.
A great soundtrack that barely compensates for dreadful graphics.
Now we get to this games major weakness. The graphics can only be described as unacceptable. We have textures that look like they were ripped from an N64 game. The best examples of these are the darker textures, which resemble something like solid bile. The sprites don't fare much better; they resemble their characters, but there's a definite lack of polish to them. They just look dirty and messy, and not in a good, atmospheric way. Don't get me started on moving textures, either. Enemy sprites move fluently enough, but things like waterfalls look like moving still water. No detail given to waves or tide or anything. It looks bland and grating.
So seeing as how disastrous the graphics are, you're likely hoping that the music makes up for that. The good news is that it does. The whole soundtrack is taking from the film, but in this case that's a very good thing. Come on, you've got to admit that nothing beats some sweet Hans Zimmer. The songs go perfect with all of their assigned stages. For example, soft, subtle tunes for stealthy or eerie sections and loud, bombastic pieces for battles and big reveals. That's Zimmer for you, always able to manipulate your emotions so that you enjoy his works more.
The sound effects aren't too much of a compliment, though. The most that can be said about them is that some bring total satisfaction. For example, killing an enemy with a musket. That loud bang makes you want to bob your head quickly because it makes you feel so cool. There aren't any glitches here, either, so I’d say the effects are above average.
Overall
Pirates of The Caribbean: At World's End is an underrated little gem with a lot to boast. It's addictive, has an epic soundtrack, a balanced difficulty, and a sweet story. If it wasn't for the abysmal graphics, I’d say this game was nothing short of amazing. As it stands, however, it's a very worthy game that, despite its flaws, is a must play for those into Pirates of the Caribbean or just pirates in general.
Total Score: 8.8/10 Graphics
3 Sound
10 Addictive
10 Depth
9 Story
10 Difficulty
5
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