Billions of blue blistering barnacles, what is it we have 'ere, me hearties? A video game what be based on a movie, yet it don't make you want to keelhaul the scurvy dogs what made it and string their bones from the crow's nest?
Okay, enough of that. Pirate-talk is exhausting if it's not your first language. I do speak fluent ninja however.
Loosely based on the Pirates Of The Caribbean sequel opening in theatres this Friday, Dead Man's Chest casts as you as drunken and somewhat fey pirate Capt. Jack Sparrow in his quest to defeat his squid-faced nemesis Davy Jones.
(The game is also available on the Nintendo DS in a slightly different version that additionally lets you to play as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. A wimp and a woman? Fie!)
Dead Man's Chest is a very basic third-person action title, having you cross swords, muskets and curiously deadly thrown bottles with waves of enemy pirates, skeleton pirates, zombie pirates, squid-face pirates and the odd cannibal in pursuit of Davy Jones' locker, containing his fearsomely sweaty jockstrap. Oh, and his heart. Even grosser.
There's some simple puzzle-solving and trap-dodging, but nothing that will challenge experienced gamers. If you die, you're instantly resurrected (without a loading screen, mercifully) to try again.
As you progress through the game, you discover pieces of a treasure map that open up arena challenges, earning you power attacks and eventually unlocking the final battle with the kraken. I saw the kraken once, when the plumber was fixing our sink. 'Twas a sight that will haunt my nightmares for many moons, yarrr.
Other than the sometimes wonky camera, the only real flaw in Dead Man's Chest is its short length -- you can blow through the single-player game in about six hours. This is offset somewhat by a simple but fun wireless multiplayer ship-to-ship combat mode that's reminiscent of the high seas battles in Sid Meier's Pirates!
The game is strangely fun for something so basic. The fighting animation is great, and some tactical smarts are required when facing down a horde of five or six foes at once. And you get to do all kinds of piratey stuff, like swinging from ropes, firing cannons and cracking wise about zombies in outhouses. "What are you doing in there? You don't even eat!"
BOTTOM LINE
It's simpler than a deck swabber what's spent too much time in the sun, but this one is surprisingly fun and charming for a game-to-movie tie-in.
WHAM! Rating: |
7 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
T (Teen) |
Official Web Site: |
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