LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean

My partner is not a gamer, but there is one franchise that she loves - the LEGO games. We have in our time played and completed them all from `Star Wars' all the way to `Harry Potter' (and seemingly back again). The series of games have all been pretty similar - 2 player local co-op, platforming, cartoon fighting, building and finding hidden items. However, there are subtle differences and improvements that have moved each game on and improve the series for some, and ruined it slightly for others. `LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean' is the latest release from the LEGO stable and in many ways is a reversion back to basics.

You get to play all four `Pirates' films in story mode, as well as being able to go through the levels again in Free Play. This allows you to use previously unavailable characters and their unique powers. As before, it is the Free Play mode that proves the most fun; you get to tackle the various puzzles, open up all new areas and uncover cheats. The little LEGO versions of the characters are great, mini Jack Sparrow is fantastic. Unlike the likes of `LEGO Star Wars 3' which opened up into a huge game, `LEGO Pirates' is more contained and beatable. It will still take you over 10 hours to 100% the entire thing, but `Star Wars 3' took well over 24hrs.

The shorter game life is actually a blessing in disguise as the game becomes more approachable for new players to the series. The once complex character selection is toned downed as there are fewer skills to learn than in previous games. It is the source material itself that undermines the game; the `Pirates' films are all pretty samey when turned into LEGO and lots of levels occur on ships. It is these ship levels that are the weakest; dark, confusing and cramped - the open feel of the later LEGO sequels is lost. With its simplified approach some players will find `LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean' the easiest in the series to handle, I thought it lacked some of the intelligence of games such as `LEGO Indiana Jones 2'.

Pirates of the Caribbean is perfect for the LEGO Fix, iconic characters, locations and music! The game takes you through the 4 movies, each containing 5 levels, the level selection area is SO much more organized that LEGO Indiana Jones 2 and LEGO Harry Potter. The game is about 10 hours long, however if your going for all the collectibles and characters, the game length can triple. The graphics have gone a long way since LEGO Star Wars , considering it's LEGO, the lighting effects and environments are detailed and nice to look at. Coming into this game, don't expect anything unique added to the game, i do like the fact that it's a lot easier to stay on tight ledges, and the combat and sword fights are VERY in-depth. the usual " i don't know were to go" aspects are still here, even if you've seen the movies, the puzzles still can be confusing. Your going to get a lot of flashbacks, just like any LEGO game, the characters speaking is just mumbling, but if you've seen the movies, your really gonna recognize the cut scenes here, with some LEGO humour added into the mix. C'mon, STILL no online Co-Op! You've would've thought after all these LEGO games they would have added online Co-Op...
As long as your not tired of the LEGO games, this is a awesome! A Definite buy.

I play this and the other lego games on PS3 with my 6 year old on co-op. A great way to play. The graphics on this game and the levels are fantastic. Some of the characters and abilities are great, I particularly like the walking underwater guys! It is a bit more challenging that some of the other franchises which is a good thing as the last one (harry potter) was quite a bit of 'destroy everything and see what happens'.
The reason this is not getting 5 stars is because it is bugged and at least twice we have had to start a level again because something hasn't triggered. When it did happen it was not obvious so a lot of frustration ensued.

Great game spoiled by bugs.