Not bad....
User Rating: 8.9 | Pirates of the Caribbean PC
While Pirates of the Caribbean may share the same name as the recently released movie and original ride, it doesn't really have anything to do with either. It was actually originally supposed to be Sea Dogs II, but then someone figured they'd slap a new title on it to theoretically capitalize on the film. There are some regular pirates and some zombie pirates, but none of the swashbucklers from the big screen. Instead, you get the boring story of Nathaniel Hawk, a captain during a time of political discontent. Pirates of the Caribbean is brought to us by Bethesda, makers of the fantastic The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Morrowind and Pirates share the same open-ended design philosophy, featuring enormous playpen environments to adventure through on both land and sea. Unfortunately, Pirates suffers from serious control and bug issues that loot most of the fun out of the game. For instance, the control interface is altogether confusing regardless of whether you are on the PC or the Xbox. The Xbox controls are a bit tighter, but are still needlessly clunky. Two buttons must be pushed to handle the work of one button; it becomes an acquired skill, but it's never really second nature. The PC version is just as obtuse, with your left hand flying across the keyboard just to fulfill simple commands, while your right hand is weakly fumbling with the limited mouse controls. With either system, the swordplay is stiff and unsatisfying. You just swing your sword, block and hop backwards as little statistical damage numbers fly from a villain's head. How I miss the smooth and natural lock-on of a Zelda battle in comparison to this mash and dash. The sea battles are much more rewarding, as you lob cannonballs at distant ships and assess the damage from your sight glass. In order to successfully aim, you must compensate for wind and enemy movement. This part of the game feels the most piratey; you can even board an enemy's ship, but then it's back to the crummy swordplay.
