Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End [X360]

"The average man will bristle if you say his father was dishonest, but he will brag a little if he discovers his great-grandfather was a pirate." -- Bern Williams

There is nothing like the thrill of playing the role of a pirate, especially if you're not being shot at with cannons or stabbed with rusty swords, but instead sitting in the comfort of your own home with a game controller in your hand. Formerly known as Buena Vista Studios, Disney Interactive Studios is glad to give you that chance, and to play as the most flamboyant of pirates, Jack Sparrow, in an adventure spanning the second Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the third and upcoming movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

In development with the well-versed English developer Eurocom, At World's End, the videogame, will bridge the two movies, telling the story of the second, while taking literary license to fill in details and flesh out stories where possible, and finish with the third movie. The third-person action-adventure game enables you to take on the role of the starring trio of characters, Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, and Will Turner, as you use swords, guts, wits, and some two-man team swashbuckling to fight off a slew of money-grubbing pirates on May 15, when the game ships (10 days before the movie hits theaters).

At World's End is a fully realized, roaming 3D world that takes the tropical Caribbean landscape from the movies and provides wild new escapades for you to play in. Johnny Depp's personal reincarnation of Keith Richards as Jack Sparrow is flawlessly captured with smart motion-capture work and surprisingly hilarious animations. You'll see little flourishes in every aspect: when Sparrow is simply walking/staggering down a pier, as he fights against enemies, or when he wields a sword. While the game nails the likeness of Johnny Depp, it unfortunately doesn't use his actual voice, or those of Keira Knightly or Orlando Bloom. But at least the stand-in voice actors still sound good. The game also features all original music inspired by themes from the two movies.

At World's End mixes adventure, combat and exploration under the hot sun of the southern hemisphere. You have full 3D movement while wielding a sword, and by simply hitting a button once, twice, and three times, a combo series chains together. You can swing vertically and horizontally, grab characters and throw them, pick up and throw weapons, and un-holster guns in the middle of it all. You can choose to lock on to an enemy (using the left trigger on X360 or left shoulder button on PS3), and duel with them close-up in a Soul Calibur-esque clash of swords. A circular health bar indicates your life resources while a horizontal meter indicates your swordsmanship power. After successfully stringing together attacks, each character's power is built up to create a finishing move on an enemy. While fighting, you can evade in contact-sensitive situations, employ specialty moves, and combine forces with Will and Elizabeth by using each other's help to acrobatically fend off attacking hordes. Examples of this are back-to-back fighting situations, summersaults over each other's backs and more.

The game isn't all fighting, however. As Jack explores more islands and secret locations, he gains a reputation among other pirates. Jack and his crew will want to explore the landscapes in search of weapons, items, and of course, what all pirates really want, heaping bounties of shiny loot. You'll play on islands, cliffsides, beaches, jungles, and pirate ships, encounter physical puzzles, use the analog or Sixaxis (on PS3) to tenderly navigate balancing beams, and even face off with the sea's deadliest foe, the Kraken.

In all, Pirates offers you two compelling reasons to consider its purchase. For gamers, you must ask yourself: When was the last time you got to fight as a drunken pirate against the Kraken? (Never.) And for the more casual movies-goers, when was the last time you got to play through the side-stories of two wild pirate movies? (Never part two.) For console-particular folks, the only major differences between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are Achievements for the 360 version and minor visual disparities.

What are you waiting for? Uncork that dusty bottle of dark rum your creepy old Caribbean grandmother gave you for Christmas last and drink to the oncoming event of the summer, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End the movie and the game.

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