Lego Pirates of the Caribbean

The Disney film series recreated in Lego form.

Having already tackled some of the biggest movie franchises in the world, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter, developers Traveller's Tales decided to turn their attention towards Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean in 2011, coinciding with the release of the fourth film in the series: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

The video game's plot spans across all four movies and features a wide range of characters, including Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and Davy Jones. So how does it compare to previous Lego instalments and will it succeed in appealing to Pirates of the Caribbean fans?

Gameplay

Anyone who has played earlier Lego games will find the main gameplay elements extremely familiar. As you would expect, the game focuses on solving puzzles, collecting objects, building things and fighting enemies. The hub feature, seen in previous entries in the franchise, is renamed The Port and it expands as players progress.

Cooperative multi-player mode returns, allowing a second player to drop in and out as they wish, without needing to start over. This works on a split-screen basis, avoiding some of the problems associated with early Lego games.

Playable characters are Lego recreations of their movie counterparts and many of them have unique abilities, which come in handy at specific points. For instance, Captain Jack Sparrow is able to use a compass to find hidden objects, while Elizabeth Swann is able to jump higher, in order to reach areas which are inaccessible to others.

Strengths and Weaknesses

One of the major plus points of the game is its family-friendly nature, which allows people of different ages to enjoy it equally. Graphically, the game is strong, with water reflections and cut scenes in particular looking very impressive. The Hans Zimmer soundtrack is another stand out feature and gameplay is addictive and fun, although it may feel repetitive to those who have played other Lego games in the past.

Unfortunately, the sense of déjà vu that will strike regular Lego video game players is not the only problem. For example, the level of difficulty is fairly low, appealing to younger players, but occasional design flaws pop up, making it tricky to know what you are supposed to do. In addition, the game has no online play at all.

Nevertheless, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean makes effective use of humour and recreates the best moments of the film franchise, delivering a fun experience, even if it is slightly lacking in real innovation.

Pros

• Family-friendly game play
• Great use of humour in the cut scenes
• Excellent soundtrack
• Visually impressive

Cons

• Occasional level design issues
• Lack of online game modes
• Little in the way of gameplay innovation