We have another movie to video game adaptation, this seems to be the norm with all the big blockbusters and to be fair (or not) most of these games that are based on movies are utter crap. Will At World’s End be worth your hard earned or shall you be left coldly sailing on a sinking ship?

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (the game), which is the same name as the new blockbuster movie is not only the game based on the latest Pirates movie but is in fact based on all three films. In game you get to play some of the scenes from The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest and of course At World’s End – so it seems odd they would name the game “At World’s End” when it heavily features some of the major scenes from all three films… whatever floats your boat I guess.

Gameplay:

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End quite simply put is an action-adventure game with some good but sometimes head-scratching puzzle elements; though the puzzles aren’t so bad as they bring a bit of thought to the gameplay instead of just running around slicing at people with your overgrown kitchen knife.

For the most part you will be taking control of the somewhat tipsy Capt Jack Sparrow and on many other occasions you will get to play as Will and Elizabeth also. Regardless of which character you’re playing as it is likely to involve you running about a lot collecting items and killing enemies to advance. You may also find yourself in a situation where there are several friendly pirates to assist and you can actually switch between each of these pirates, the idea being to keep all of them alive.

There is the typical running around and exploring as mentioned as well as the combat and this is where the game is actually not half bad. There are only a few select moves but you can try to vary them a little bit by trying combos with what little moves you do have – the quickest way to kill an enemy that I have found is just to strike an enemy with a sword, punch and then strike with the sword again. Once you have fought so many enemies you are able to perform one of four finishing moves at a time. these actually look pretty nice as the camera angle briefly changes to give some good eye candy.

The other thing left to comment on is the Sword Duelling, these are basically boss battles but they are a bit different from what you might expect. Basically the game turns into a 2D beat ‘em up but not as fun, you have to use the left analogue stick to attack and then defend by following the on screen prompts, this may take some getting used to and while visually this looks nice it doesn’t really play all that well as you have to take your attention away from the action when you are defending in order to look at the on screen prompts at the side of the screen.
Duelling is not only featured in the single-player game but also in Multiplayer, first of all you have to actually unlock the Multiplayer mode by completing the Prison Fortress level in single-player. Once you are able to access the Multiplayer mode you will find that you can select Duelling or Challenges; in both modes you can choose from a selection of characters including Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth, Will, Barbossa and more – the premise with duelling in multiplayer is exactly the same as it is in single-player as mentioned above, the only difference being you can play locally with a friend, there is no Xbox Live multiplayer – the same applies to the other multiplayer game type Challenges.

In the Challenges mode you can select from Cooperative or Competitive – in either scenario these missions are timed and the difference between the two is that in coop you obviously want to try to keep each other alive, however one can die though; the ultimate goal is to complete the mission at hand and survive for the full duration. The Competitive mode is exactly the same the only difference being that when the time runs out each player is given a score and the player with the highest points wins.

Graphics:

Visually the game looks rather good with some excellent likenesses in the game with the main characters faces being impressively captured. The cut-scenes are easily the most impressive, these almost look like they’re ripped directly from the films; they really look that authentic and stay true to the style of the films. This then works really well with blending the movie experience in the games cut-scenes and then that transcends into the actual game’s overall visual presentation during gameplay.

Sound:

The overall sound in the game is fine. There is nothing that sticks out that will be remembered as such but everything fits well from the sound effects of swords clashing during sword fights, duelling as well as general brawling and throwing the odd bottle or knife at someone. The game has quite an up-beat little soundtrack which kicks in when there is action going on with loads of guns going off and swords clanging everywhere. The music certainly adds some tension to proceedings as you’re running about trying to fend off the un-dead (or is that just dead?) that are attacking your fellow pirates as you try to keep them alive and then run around dodging attacks trying to find health for yourself. It can get a bit chaotic at times and as said the music and sound effects all add to the tension and sense of urgency that these moments bring.

Longevity:

This isn’t going to be the longest game you will ever play. That being said it is likely to be one of the shortest if you are just running through and not trying to find the hidden items which are scattered around the levels. These hidden items if found will unlock achievements – so for the gamer-score purists out there who must have the full 1000 gamer-score from every game, then Pirates will last you significantly longer to achieve this.

Overall:

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is a good action-adventure sword swinging romp, which is enjoyable to play and perhaps even more so if you like or have seen the films. This is a rental only though - if you are a huge fan of the movies or just want to whore out all the achievements then it may be worth picking up, even then I’d wait until it’s in the bargain bin. If you would like to try before you buy and you’re an Xbox Live member then check the marketplace for a free downloadable demo of the game and go and shiver some timbers and stuff… arghh!