The game begins with a short in-game cut scene that introduces Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp in the film) sitting in a jail cell. The entire game is based upon a blood debt made to Davy Jones. Jack promised that if he got to captain the Black Pearl then Davy Jones would own his soul. Obviously this isn't a deal that Jack wants to fulfil and he needs to find the Dead Man's Chest so he can break the debt. After the cut scene is played you escape from jail and encounter a few people who want Jack to fulfil his debt. The first fifteen minutes of the game serve as a tutorial so you can pick up Captain Jack's moves.
From thereon the majority of the game is based on combat and hack and slash gameplay. Occasionally, there will be a few puzzles to solve, such as moving a barrel and lighting it to open a lock. The puzzles are extremely straightforward though and are easily signalled by a skull and cross bones. It’s never overly difficult to solve the puzzles, but it does change the flow of the game a little; though it would have been good if the puzzles were a little more difficult. Whilst you will encounter quite a few enemies at the beginning of the game your greatest opponent is the camera. Although it is possible to rotate the camera with the shoulder buttons, it never controls exactly how you want it too and you need to consistently position the camera to see what’s ahead of you – the result being a lot of cheap shots from opponents.
Why are pirates so cool? They just Arrrr!
The combat is really basic and doesn’t take too long to get used to at all. There are different kinds of attacks that include speed attacks and strength attacks. When you’re fighting an icon will appear over the head of the enemy. You’ll need to press the button that is displayed on the icon to attack. If you press the wrong button then you will let your defences down. This idea doesn’t work so well though because sometimes the buttons you need to press will change mid fight and then you’ll press the wrong button, meaning your enemy will attack you. A lot of the time you’ll find yourself fighting more than one enemy as well. The combat system is so restrictive that if you’re fighting five enemies at once you’ll only be able to attack two or three; which leaves the other two enemies free to attack you. The game uses a series of checkpoints so if you die you won’t be penalised too much, although there is nothing more frustrating than dying because of the game’s own shortcomings. The controls aren’t very responsive either so there is a definite delay between pressing the button and attacking.
The game also includes power moves so when you’re out numbered you can try a different approach to just running in with a sword. The game also includes a notoriety system so the more you act like a pirate the more notorious you become. It doesn’t really make much of a difference to the game though, resulting in a rather useless feature. There are also weapons scattered throughout the levels that you can pick up and are a little more powerful, these include: wine bottles (grog is a pirate’s best friend apparently), pistols and knives.
The game also includes a multiplayer mode that utilises game share. The multiplayer is completely different to the single player adventure (thankfully) and in this mode you take control of one of six ships. The objective is to take out your opponent’s ship by only using your ship’s unique special attacks. It’s possible to play with up to four players and if you don’t have any friends nearby you can play against the computer. There are quite a few game modes including death match and last man standing. Even though the multiplayer can be quite entertaining initially, it isn’t something you’ll keep coming back too.
What is a pirates favourite study subject? Arrrrt.
Visually the game looks pretty good. The environments are quite detailed and there is a lot of variety in levels. At times the frame rate slows things down a little when there is a lot happening on screen, but it doesn’t happen that often. The audio is a little repetitive at times with your enemies saying the same thing quite repeatedly. Johnny Depp has voiced captain Jack Sparrow, which adds authenticity to the game. The soundtrack is quite impressive and helps to make everything seem so much more compelling .
The main adventure is over quite quickly, even despite not having to backtrack too often. There isn’t much of a reason to play through the single player adventure again unless you really like hearing Johnny Depp’s voice. The multiplayer could extend the lifespan a bit, but it just depends on how much you like going around battling with ships.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest just isn’t a very good game. The combat is mind numbingly repetitive, the puzzle solving is basic and simple and the game is over in less than five hours. Some people may find some enjoyment out of the game, but overall Dead Man’s Chest is a below average game. Despite the good voice acting, there isn’t much else to save it.
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