Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
Released: May 24, 2011
Game Length: 25 Hours
Grade: B+
Film Accuracy
Names: I had my doubts when it came to some of these names that are tied to the characters, but a lot of them are verbally mentioned within the films. The ones enlisted as Jack Sparrow's crew from Tortuga are all there: Mr. Brown, Mr. Gibbs, Anamaria, Marty, and Cotton. Blackbeard calls out the members of his crew: Scrum, Gunner (which is funny since he doesn't use a gun), and Quartermaster. Although most of the pirate leaders are present, Keith Richard's character (known for his work in Rolling Stones) Captain Teague is mysterious absent. By the way, finding out he is Jack Sparrow's father isn't explicitly mentioned until the fourth film. They even go as far as naming both of the girls that are available through the Extra Toggle - Scarlett and Giselle. Though, I'm still uncertain if all of Davy Jone's crew is mentioned in the film or not. There was so much coverage with his ship that it was hard to make a mental note of their names when re-watching the movies.
Story: What's fascinating is that this game was released three days after the fourth film came out. The fifth film came out about six years later. The game still retains its Traveller's Tale humor but restrains itself when it comes to making references to other games. Much of the narration for the various stories is conveniently told, excellently I must say, through the use of paper-craft. There are parts included in these segments that aren't revealed until a later time in the movies. Red power bricks are now red hats. A Lego shark will devour your figure if you stray beyond the floating seaweed. Cursed mini-figures will alternate between your normal and skeleton form when passing through the light when facing down Captain Barbosa. Many scenes will take place on the various boats with the screen accurately rocking back-and-forth, sometimes even with the interactable objects in the environment. The Flying Dutchman has both triple-guns located at the front of the ship. Amusingly, the 9 pieces of 8 are more like the "nine pieces of whatever we happened to have in our pocket at the time" as Mr. Gibbs stated in the movie. There are things like an actual lifesaver and sausage that must be collected. Anytime they mocked the idea of sea turtles in the films, the game replicated instances where there are actual sea turtles. Johnny Depp reprise his role for this game despite the fact that there aren't any actual words uttered.
Levels: There are 5 levels for each of the 4 films. Every level has 10 ships in a bottle, referencing the ones stolen by Blackbeard in the fourth film. Finding all 10 pieces will allow you to break open the bottle and ride the ship around at the docks in the central hub. There is no use for them. There doesn't seem to be any bonus mini-games or 2-player arcade available. The closest you get is the secret boat mini-game found at the very north section of the last level. For each level, you can use Jack Sparrow's compass to find 8 different items - some will progress the level while others are fun little additions you can wear on your head or use in combat. A physical trail of Lego square foot-prints point you the way. Although there isn't much to mention in the gameplay, I do love how they added "scope" puzzles where you look through a spyglass and aim (in 1st-person mode) the end of a cannon. There is one bonus level. Unfortunately, I didn't make it that far: 88.3% completion rate. 173/200 Minikit bottles; 65/85 gold bricks.
Characters
Roster: There are 79 characters to play in this game. 36 of these will automatically unlock within the first few rows after you complete the various chapters. Others will have to be purchased as they wander around in the central hub like in the previous Lego games. This game also has a whopping 34 characters available through Extra Toggle. Because of how they categorized the iconic figures, it can be very difficult trying to find the many forms of Captain Jack Sparrow or his pirates. He alone can be found in the 1st, 9th, 13th, and 46th position. Only two characters break glass and they are found at the end of the second row and near the end of the whole roster. Makes me almost miss the Lego: Harry Potter approach of cycling the character's position. The good news is two-fold: (1) there is a character wheel you can manually switch between specific characters for Story Mode and (2) you can manually switch to any character at any time outside of Story Mode.
Swordplay: The game isn't quite like the other ones in the series when it comes to assigning designated roles. The vast majority of the characters will have some sort of item that allows them to engage with their opponents. Governor Weatherby Swann and King George both use a candlestick, Crash uses a saw-blade, Penrod has some weird-looking stick, Grapple uses a grappling hook (of course), Cook has a mighty pan, Scrum wields a guitar, and Capitaine Chevalle carries a cane. Park is the only character I know that uses two swords. Those who carry a repair tool or axe to throw will also engage in some fence-work. Perhaps the only characters I know of that have non-ranged weapons that don't automatically engage are the Ancient Sailor with his fancy fish-slaps and Hadras with his shell-blades. Very few are unarmed, like Tia Dalma. The dog will bite people... not even Cotton's bird can do something like that in a fight.
Sword fighting: The most interesting thing I found in this game is examining how each person fights. This is something that is heavily featured in the films! Many of the characters might be holding a cutlass in their hand, but you'll see some of them swing it around differently than the others. Jack Sparrow swings in broad strokes and twirls around as his hair flows in the wind, Anamaria prefers an upper-hand technique, Ragetti (the one with the fake eyeball) has more direct thrusts, Bootstrap Bill thrusts his sword upside-down, Lieutenant Groves reaches out with his professional nature with more reserved strikes, and Gentlemen Jocard attacks his blade always from a horizontal position. The ones I listed are the more noticeable ones. There is no telling how many subtle variations there are for each strike from all the other characters.
General Abilities: Although many default into their role of sword-wielding pirates, there are quite a bit of characters who are needed for solving puzzles in this game. Double-jumping is still an ability reserved for the females, unless you also account the Extra Toggle characters of Pintel (Dress) and Ragetti (Dress) in the last level of Curse of the Black Pearl. Any of the ones cursed by the Aztec treasure, that turn into skeletons after grabbing a cursed coin, or part of Davy Jones crew have the ability to walk underwater. They will physically sink to the bottom without the need to reach the surface for air. Stronger characters, indicated by the glowing sparkles under their feet, will be able to pull objects and grab hold of enemies. Mallot, Mr. Brown, Mr. Gibbs, and Salaman are all characters that can repair machines. Only the crew of the flying Dutchman can pass through coral. Cutler Beckett, Marty, Penrod, and the dog can all enter through small hatches.
Unique Abilities: There are also a few things that are very exclusive to the game. You'll encounter puzzles without any sort of clear indication on how to interact. Blackbeard, aka Edward Teach, aka Angelica's father, is one of these that is only unlocked after completing the game. He was so hard for me to figure out that I looked up on Youtube where to find him, only to be greeted with a 500,000 price tag. Then there are the others...
- Jack Sparrow: Like Indiana Jones being the only one that can use a whip, Jack tends to do things no one else can. He is the only person who uses a compass to find the 8 hidden objects in every level. He is the only character who gets slapped by a woman after hitting them. I believe there is an instance he is required to interact with a lady to lift him up in the air. While many characters will kick their foot in disgust trying to use a grappling hook like in Lego: Batman, Jack Sparrow is the one and only that can launch himself in the air. There are multiple versions of him to choose from for various puzzles, including the three Extra Toggle characters when trapped in World's End: Imaginary Jack (Pistol), Imaginary Jack (Spade), and Imaginary Jack (Bomb). Our main protagonist also has a few finishing moves that you won't see from anyone else, including one where he hits someone over the head with a bottle or throws a banana under their feet to cause them to slip.
- Marty: Although you can still destroy silver objects with bombs that both Jacoby and The Spaniard carry, Marty is a little more unique with the ability to use his handheld cannon. It isn't exactly the same design as the other guns people pull out from their belt. In fact, the sheer firepower will launch him backwards like it did in the third film.
- Philip: The only person with a charming voice and a personality to fit, Philip can make people stop fighting to pay attention to his wonderful chords. His singing will also break glass. He is always so cheerful, unlike his constant worried expression in Stranger Tides. He is always smiling and grasping his hands together.
- Syrena: It is interesting to note that this is the name Philip gave to her while venturing through the jungle. On land, she carries a whip as she establishes a pair of legs to walk around with. Since she is a mermaid, going into the water will have her grow out a tail and sink to the bottom without the need of oxygen. This means she is the only one that is capable of breaking glass by singing underwater. It might not be as loud as Willie in Indiana Jones, but it can be just as annoying as the little plants from Harry Potter.
- Blackbeard: This guy simply has too much power. He doesn't need to fight people! He can instantly defeat enemies by making them fly backwards with one swing of his sword. He can launch red fireballs but cannot physically aim them. Instead, holding the button down will ignite a red glow around his sword that pushes enemies back and constructs red and black brick puzzles (like the colors of his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge). Blackbeard also seems to "use the force" by levitating pieces in the air first and then constructing an object.
- Wyvern: The guy who is stuck inside Davy Jone's ship holding a lantern is the one guy who can actually use it for something good! Not only does it light up your path, but it can also scare away the tentacles, like it did in Lego: Harry Potter.
- Guard Dog: I'm surprised there aren't more people who are able to dig up objects. Other than Derrick's handy shovel, the dog is the only reliable one you can find in the roster that can move around so freely. He has the ability to fit through small hatches and sticks his head up out of the water when he swims. It is too bad he isn't as talented as Fang in Lego: Harry Potter; the poor fellow can't climb up ladders.
- Privateer Barbosa: Unlike his suave pirate version, Privateer Barbosa abilities reflect what happens to him in Stranger Tides. He is given a wooden leg and a crutch to help support him. Because of this, both Davy Jones and him are able to perform a wooden leg smash instead of a cutlass one. Unlike the film's story of him only using the toxin of the frog on his sword since it was lethal to the touch, the Barbosa in the game carries around his little friend and throws him at objects. I don't know why but hitting an opponent somehow charms them for a few seconds similar to what Philip does when singing a stone throw away.
- Angry Cannibal: I did not realize that this one character has the ability to shoot darts. I figured it was worth mentioning.
Technical Issues
Crashes: When I reached the beach in one of the early levels, my game crashed. I thought it was a fluke until the game crashed in nearly the same spot. I was getting worried since Star Wars: Clone Wars had this sort of problem as well. I tried a few suggestions with mild results. Ironically, turning off the Enhanced Graphics made things stutter more. Thankfully, I only crashed a couple more times. One of these happened during the boss fight in the swamp level.
Glitches: It is too bad that there were even more problems to contend to in this game. And it seemed like there were a lot of technical glitches people were experiencing. There is a spot in the final level of The Curse of the Black Pearl where the compass had me spinning around in a circle searching for the golden dog piece. I had an issue during Norrington's Choice where the Tattoo Man didn't become available after the cutscene. There was a spot at the end of The Fountain of Youth where the crates didn't properly bring up the bridge three times! Since the ones listed above happened during Story Mode, all my progress in the level had to be wiped clean. I'm just happy that I could abruptly end the level with my current progress when Davy Jones got stuck on a rope or when the boss didn't make it through the cavern collapse.
AI: I've complained in the past of how dumb and useless the characters can be in the Lego games, but there are clear indicators things got worse when it comes to this one. The most obvious one I think everyone will have is their inability to escape the water. They just have the worst time trying to climb up ladders. Every now and then, your buddy will only help you if you are standing, pushing, or pulling things a certain way. Characters sometimes blindly circle around an object once or twice before properly positioning themselves. I've been physically pushed into obstacles on multiple occasions. Why does the game prioritize hitting your friend when you are trying to automatically fire your gun at a target? The roster made available during Free Play does not always include all the characters needed for the puzzles. Thankfully, you can manually choose the one you need by holding the Y-button.
Summary
Review: I will admit that I have mixed feelings about this game. I adore the number of personalized touches that properly reflect the events in the film. To include 5 levels for each of the four films was rather ambitious. The developers added unique sword-fighting, puzzle-solving abilities, and properly named each of the characters. However, there were a number of technical glitches and shortened features that made it apparent the game wasn't polished. Obscure and unsolvable puzzles due to glitches made repeating the entire level over very annoying. Collecting items from every level provided you a chance to ride around in a tiny boat, but you could only do this in a little spot off the docks to the far right of the central hub. In the end, I feel like there was more to enjoy in the number of positives over the negatives. If you want a fresh take at Captain Jack Sparrow's legacy, this will certainly be a game I would recommend playing.
2-27-2023