Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest [PSP]

As Johnny Depp's latest blockbuster is packing movie theaters nationwide, so comes the inevitable flood of licensed games. Dead Man's Chest, a PSP action-adventure not to be confused with the DS game of the same name, broadly mirrors the plot of the movie and stars the iconic Jack Sparrow. But despite the odd spark of creativity and promise, this is another in a lengthy list of hurried movie tie-ins that won't amount to a great deal.

If you've played any other third-person action adventure since about 1986, you know the drill. You control Jack as he swings on ropes, flips switches, explodes barrels, but mostly fights his way from one end of each level to the other. Along the way you'll score extra points for dispatching bad guys with particularly piratical style, hunt for hidden treasure maps, and enjoy Jack's well-acted mutterings as he moves from one fight to the next.

Each enemy type requires a different combo to defeat them; the regular guys will drop from a few speed attacks followed up with a power attack or two, but those that carry two swords need that combination reversed. Luckily, the exact button you need to press is always floating ethereally above each bad guy.

Flippancy aside, this system neatly prevents the gameplay from degenerating into the button-mashing that sadly characterizes so many other third-person action games. It's not, however, without its flaws: when fighting large numbers of enemies you'll take a few hits no matter how tight your style, and over time this can kill you without any real fault on your part.