Developer: Travellers Tale
Publisher: Disney Interactive
Rrp: £14.99
Released: 24th May 2011
Available on Steam
Played using: A Xbox 360 controller
Before I start I want to apologise for the brevity of this review, the problem is that all Lego games (the licensed adventure type ones) essentially play the same way. The key difference between them, for the most part, is the execution. Since I’ve already reviewed Lego Star Wars I’m going to be skipping much of what has already been mentioned in that review (controls and such) unless it changes something significant.
Right, now that that’s been said lets get on with it!
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean is far and away my favourite of the Lego series I’ve played thus far (bearing in mind I have yet to play Marvel, the movie tie in or Batman 3).
Part of the reason I prefer this to the others is because the animation feel more smooth than the Star Wars series, which is understandable as by this point they would have created both the Harry Potter and Indiana Jones series.
My love for this particular foray though also comes from the way the game absolutely captures the feeling and aesthetic of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Everything from Jack Sparrows mannerisms to the music of the series has been faithfully translated.
For the most part the control scheme for this title is much the same as it was for the Star Wars installment with a few minor changes, that depend on the i deciding character you’re controlling. For example, in the films Jack Sparrow has a compass that points to his hearts desire and that item has been incorporated into the game. Jack can use his compass (the B button) to find items hidden around the level, some of these items will be required to progress through the game while others are just little decorative bonuses.
If you hold down the Y button a radial menu appears where you can select whatever characters you have at your disposal. This differs slightly in freeplay where you can press the left or right triggers to cycle through what characters you have in your roster.
There are lots of little touches that separate this game from the others that came before such as the loading screens between levels have the main characters depicted as paper cutouts. This effect is also used for certain parts within some cutscenes as well.
Speaking of the cutscenes, they are unskippable until you have completed the level previously which is quite irritating if your game crashes mid level.
Just as with Lego Star Wars there are many things to collect in this game such as mini-kits (this time taking the shape of a ship in a bottle), red hats (taking the place of the red blocks) and compass items. Collecting all the compass items and minikits on a level will each grant a golden brick. These golden bricks allow you to construct structures in the hub world which in turn allow you to purchase red hats.
Perhaps it was just my particular rig but for some reason the game would occasionally crash to the desktop without warning at seemingly random points. I tried to work out what was causing this but never found a answer.
On the whole I do feel this game is well worth the asking price, even though it does have a limited replay value there is just something about this game that keeps me coming back. Although you may want to hold off on buying it for a while because, at the time of writing, there is apparently another film being created which will likely require buying the whole thing again
If this interests you then perhaps try;
Lego Star Wars
Lego Lord of the Rings
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
