Preview: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
With the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End hitting stores next week, Disney Interactive just might change the way you look at licensed movie games. I had the good fortune to see and play a couple of the current and next-gen versions of the game and came away surprised and impressed at the level of quality and pure fun on display. With the game set to hit multiple platforms, here’s a quick breakdown on what to expect. For those of you with an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 as your console of choice, you’re getting one of the best looking if not the best-looking movie game to date, hands down. PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii and PC gamers are getting an entirely different game with similar visuals, but controls tailored to each system’s strengths. Finally, Nintendo DS gamers are in for a treat with a game that packs in rich 3D graphics fast-paced gameplay and an intuitive touch screen combat system in one cool package.
For you next-gen players who expect nothing but outstanding graphics for your money, At World’s End on the 360 and PS3 won’t disappoint you one bit. From the stunningly realistic character models and motion capture to the beautifully detailed environments, the game will draw you into the film’s world right from the title screen. Each of the principal actors had their faces scanned and mapped onto their respective character models, so Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow looks and moves just as he does in the film, while Orlando Bloom will make the ladies swoon with his smooth moves. Kiera Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann is also playable, as are a few surprise characters you’ll find very useful. Disney and Eurocom were also able to get art directly from Industrial Light and magic, so when you see that absolutely mind-blowing entrance Davy Jones makes, that’s NOT movie footage, folks, it’s an in-game model that’s going to make your jaw drop as that controller hits your shoes. In fact, it’s a testament to the developer’s skills that there’s not a single film clip in the game. Everything you see is rendered by the game engine and it truly feels as if you’re in the game’s constantly active world.
What’s even more impressive is you’re actually getting TWO games for the price of one. Disney and veteran developer Eurocom went the extra mile and actually included levels from Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest right at the beginning of the game. These levels allow you to experience Jack Sparrow’s storyline from the moment he breaks out of prison right up to and including events from the upcoming movie. You’ll also be able to play as Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and other characters from the film using a unique swapping system in certain levels. While I wasn’t allowed to see much of the new content (as not to spoil the film’s plot), I did get to see parts of a few areas in demo form before getting a chance to play through the amazing first level.
There’s a running tutorial throughout as you make your way from one area to the next. Jack has some great moves and a perpetually drunken stagger that’s worth buying the game to see. In battle however, he’s a force to be reckoned with… provided you’ve a deft controller hand. Jack can parry and thrust with the best of them, and environments allow for context sensitive moves like tossing enemies over ledges or into each other. Quick dodges also come in quite handy when facing multiple foes, as excellent AI means these guys rarely give you time to breathe. You’ll be able to pick up and use flintlock pistols (up to three shots) or throwing knives and there are some context sensitive moments where objects in the environments can be used to your advantage. As the camera is user controlled for the most part, you’ll be blindsided occasionally in tight spaces, but abundant health pickups should keep any frustration to a minimum.
Although it’s a given that licensed games are going to be made to appeal primarily to non-gamers or those who rarely touch a controller, Eurocom has made things pretty wicked for us hardcore players. Controls are intuitive and responsive, allowing for a wide range of moves, all wonderfully motion captured. The key gameplay revolves around each characters sword usage. While you’ll get to slice and dice enemies by the pound, your sword can save you from falling off narrow, rickety planks or assist when you need to make long leaps of faith that would spell doom in other games. Each time you need to do a new move, you’ll see button commands onscreen and the game gives you enough leeway to practice without too much stress. I normally dislike wall jumping in games, but what’s here works great once you nail the button combo necessary. While the Xbox 360 version plays fluidly with the standard pad, the PS3 version will use the Sixaxis for certain areas, such as crossing the planks mentioned above.
Another aspect of gameplay that’s intriguing is the ability to switch between other characters on the fly. I got to see a frantic ship-to-ship battle where you’ll be able to jump into the boots of at least three characters in furious sword fighting action. While the AI is solid enough to take care of itself, you’ll need to pay close attention to the multiple life meters if you’re having a spot of trouble with your chosen avatar. In this section of the game, defeating enemies builds up a meter that when full, allows for a powerful finishing move. This becomes quite a necessary feature as certain characters can only be taken down with this attack. As the game is so combat focused, there is a lot of button action taking place, but that’s no problem to an old sea dog like me. Between the climbing, rope sliding, jumping and other sweet moves, the game certainly won’t be boring, methinks. There are also some quieter moments, such as Jack Sparrow’s stroll through a lovely seaside town. It looks as if the game was done based on sets from the movie or at least was programmed to look and feel as close to the movie as possible, a nice touch that more licensed games should take.
The fine folks behind the game promise at least 10 or so hours of gameplay, but I know us diehards will dive back in again and again for all the secrets and extend that playtime even more. As extremely eyeball pleasing as the graphics are, I’ll have to drop a note to if Disney and Eurocom to go even further with this license in the future. Heck, if they can take that gorgeous game engine and make a standalone Pirates of the Caribbean Action/RPG at some point, they’d certainly sell a few million more copies in between sequels and keep the buzz going longer than Jack Sparrow’s, that’s for sure. This version of the game will definitely appeal to anyone with a shiny new system and the HD setup to go with it, but the other console versions are no slouch in the fun factor department.
As for the PS2, PC and Wii versions, I got to see the latter in action and play a quick section and absolutely loved it almost as much and more in one or two areas. For starters, the game is a more arcade-like experience that uses a mix of rapid-fire combat, context-sensitive dueling and possibly the best camera work I’ve seen in an action game of this type. The visuals on the Wii are colorful and nicely high resolution, with great looking characters that are animated a bit more loosely than on the next-gen versions. This makes for a more comical approach where Jack Sparrow’s antics are involved, particularly in the sequence where Will rescues the soused seaman from a jungle tribe. Jack played a hilarious supporting role dropping in wisecracks and showing up in a few spots to assist quite handily, even dropping coconuts on the head of a chubby, club-wielding boss after she was diverted into a giant pot.
Scattered throughout the game are certain areas where Jack Sparrow needs to be guided through context sensitive actions in order to progress. The one stage I saw had the terminally tipsy Captain sneaking past a series of guards with the assistance of a few objects in the environments as well as the actions of some unsuspecting lafies along the way. These “Jackanisms” add a nicely humorous touch to the game and help keep things from becoming too repetitive. Should you fail at this little mini-game, prepare to fight it out with a horde of very upset Redcoats. Like every Wii game, a slight learning curve is involved, but that’s where part of the fun lies. Movement is done with the analog stick on the nunchuck while sword moves are dished out flawlessly with the Wiimote. Blocking, parrying, dodging and other offensive or defensive moves aren’t tough to whip out, making for a game that’s constantly flowing.
The game camera is brilliant here, always locked in the right spot or following the character you’re playing without any issues whatsoever. If you’ve been around the gaming block for a bit, think of games like Klonoa or Pandemonium! crossed with a dash of God of War and you sort of get the idea. One of the selling points for this version (make that 49 more selling points) is ability to unlock up to 50 playable characters from the Pirates universe. This feature will let you replay the game with your chosen avatar showing up in cut scenes as the hero (or heroine), which should make for a load of extended fun for those players who need to find every secret a game has to offer. Both the PS2 and PSP versions will contain the same basic gameplay elements, so it’ll be interesting to see how they’ve turned out.
Finally, the DS version was looking really super, with a blend of side-scrolling action, 3D dueling and even adventure game elements that should appeal to a wide range of DS owners. The game’s multi-part touch screen combat sections come off fluidly and use the stylus to pull off special moves when an onscreen prompt pops up. This keeps things from becoming too simplistic on the handheld and shows off some nicely rendered and animated characters along with some spiffy environments. Overall, I walked away with even more respect for Disney’s more focused direction on making top quality games. This year has been a good one for them, that’s for sure. With Spectrobes still selling well among the preteen set and Pirates looking to gobble up gold at retail and at the box office, it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing more and better games coming from the company as time goes on. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End hits stores on May 22 - we’ll drop back in with a review or three and let you know the final verdict.
- Greg Wilcox
