I am a big fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. I’ve seen all three so far, and I’m anxiously awaiting the fourth. When I found out that Pirates was getting the LEGO treatment, I thought for sure that it would be the perfect way to get acquainted with the LEGO games, being a Pirates fan and all.
Unfortunately, the game does not sit as well as the movies do. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean has its moments, good for either a chuckle or a laugh, but there aren’t enough of those moments to keep the game interesting. Simply put, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is a bit on the boring side: a generic adventure game that doesn’t do the movies justice.
Gameplay is simple. You move around the area, fighting bad guys, clearing obstacles, and collecting LEGO parts. There are a multitude of different characters that the player will control throughout the game, including Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Davy Jones, and others. Each character has his or her own attacks and abilities, which makes each one useful in certain situations. For example, Jack Sparrow uses his trusty compass to find the items necessary to progress through the game. Players control movement, attacks, jumps, and the ability to switch between characters, and that’s about it.
Now don’t get me wrong, the game isn’t a total bore. The formula hardly ever deviates from the gameplay I described above, but the cutscenes save the entire experience. The LEGO spin gives the story a bit more humor than before, as the beautifully animated cutscenes will prove. All of the major scenes from the movies are here, but without any dialogue. Instead, LEGO folk speak just as The Sims do: in gibberish and grunts. Unfortunately the cutscenes couldn’t keep the interest up, because while I did enjoy fighting the various enemies throughout the game, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of boredom as I progressed due to the lack of variety.
From an audio/visual standpoint, the game is impressive. All of the characters and items exhibit crisp, fluid motions indicative of a great graphics engine. The levels themselves are excellently detailed, each one resembling actual scenes from the movies, but with a LEGO twist: LEGO blocks can be found everywhere, and can either be collected as currency, moved around the environment, or used to build other items. Musically, the game sounds just like the movies themselves. Fully orchestrated pieces set the stage for each area that players will explore, including the famous “He’s A Pirate” that has become the main theme of the entire franchise.
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is a fun romp through the Pirates movie franchise at times, but the rest of the experience is marred by bland, repetitive gameplay. The combat is overly simple, the obstacles are not challenging, and the enemies are rather dumb. However, LEGO Pirates has its moments (mostly in cutscenes) that are good for a quick chuckle. The game seems to be best suited for children (obviously) and fans of the series who aren’t also frequent gamers. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is a faithful LEGO-representation of the storied movie franchise, however the repetitive gameplay keeps it from being a great overall experience.
