 |
| OVERALL RATING |
3.5 |
| Presentation |
 |
4.0 |
| Control |
 |
3.5 |
| Gameplay |
|
4.0 |
| Fun factor |
|
4.0 |
| User Rating |
 |
3.5 |
 |
Posted: June 19, 2006
Inspired by the characters and settings of the new Disney film Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chest, this mobile game puts players in a swashbuckling adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm.
Captain Jack has vowed to raise his ship, the Black Pearl, from the ocean depths and sells his soul by enlisting the help of Davy Jones himself. In exchange, the Captain has only 13 years left before he must serve 100 years on the deck of the Flying Dutchman. As bad luck would have it, the Captain has other problems to resolve and loses track of time. Soon enough, Davy Jones comes to collect.
The Captain will see action on both land and at sea through 18 levels filled with pirates, loot and the supernatural. Land levels have Jack searching for people and treasure all the while outdueling enemies with his sword, gun and creative ways. The environment is very helpful in providing items to help in these attacks including ropes to swing on, barrels to ride and objects to kick. At times, Jack will also engage in mini-duels against certain enemies. Here, the action focuses on only two characters and to win the duel, you must press the correct keypad buttons as instructed. These are a good touch though I felt as if at times there were too many of these, breaking up the rough and tumble action a little too much. Through the levels, Jack can also pick up health, speed and gold coins, of which will come in handy for the naval battles.
These naval battles take place on the open sea and usually happen when sailing from island to island. The skirmish entails two ships firing cannonballs at each other until one has been sunk, almost as if in an aerial dogfight. In some cases you’ll board the ship too and take on its crew in hand combat, with boss battles at the end. The coins collected come into play here because they will allow you to purchase upgrades for your ship such as greater maneuverability, firepower and speed.
The game is played with a slightly-angled view so while this fares fine for the sea encounters, it’s a little troubling with the land levels because it forces you to use the keypad for diagonal movement. Not that this is difficult but just that the steady action could have benefited from simpler movement controls. Enemies are constantly approaching and not being able to face them correctly at the right time can put you in trouble.
