LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is the ninth LEGO video game to be made and the seventh Pirates of the Caribbean video game (fourth console video game).
History[]
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean was announced in May, 2010, by Traveller's Tales Jon Burton, and on November 18, 2010, by Traveller's Tales Mark Stone. The game follows the previous LEGO video games: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman and Harry Potter Years 1-4.
It was released on May 10, 2011, to coincide with the release of the fourth installment of the film series. It was developed by TT Games and distributed by Traveller's Tales and Disney Interactive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable and Microsoft Windows.
LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is based on the Pirates of the Caribbean Pirates of the Caribbean films: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest, At World's End, as well as On Stranger Tides, which was released May 20, 2011. It featured over 70 characters from the franchise, and its flagship drop-in, drop-out co-op gameplay. The 3DS version uses the StreetPass feature to activate sword fights.
Characters[]
- Captain Jack Sparrow
- Angelica Teach
- Will Turner
- Elizabeth Swann
- Tia Dalma
- Joshamee Gibbs
- Anamaria
- Marty
- Weatherby Swann
- James Norrington
- Davy Jones
- Captain Hector Barbossa
Gameplay[]
Gameplay is similar to previous Lego games in the series. The game uses the same two player drop in drop out co-op mechanics used in all the Lego games. The hub in this game is called The Port. From here, players advance through the game, unlock characters and extras, and as players get further through the game, The Port will evolve and get bigger, revealing new areas to unlock and discover new things. Like past titles, different characters have different abilities. For example, everyone (except characters like Davy Jones who can walk under water) can swim under water, and members of Davy Jones's can breathe whilst doing so, Captain Jack Sparrow has the ability to use his compass, which points him to hidden items throughout the level, Will Turner has the ability to throw axes at targets to complete objectives, while female characters such as Elizabeth Swann have the ability to jump higher than other characters in order to access areas unreachable to other characters. The 3DS version uses the StreetPass feature to activate sword fights.
Development[]
The game was officially announced on 18 November 2010. The game was developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Disney Interactive Studios. It was released in May 2011 to coincide with the release of the fourth film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
A demo was released online at the beginning of May 2011. It includes the very first level in the game 'Port Royal'. It is, as the name suggests, set in Port Royal and is based on the first few chapters of "Curse of the Black Pearl", including the scene in which Will duels Jack and when Jack and Will commandeer the Dauntless and then steal the Interceptor.
Trailers for all four movie story modes of the game have all been released and a debut and teaser trailers have been released too.
Reception[]
The game has received positive reviews. GameSpot gave 6.5/10 for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, while 6.0/10 for PSP, 3DS, and DS. IGN gave 7.5/10 for PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and DS, while 8.0/10 for 3DS. GameZone gave the Wii version an 8/10, stating "LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is an impressive action-adventure game that’s fun throughout its entirety. Fans of past games or the Pirates license should play this game without hesitation."
Eurogamer rated the game a 8/10, stating that "It's true that those who've played the last two or three Lego titles might experience a little déjà vu, but the rest will likely find that a pirate's life is very much for them."GameInformer rated the game 7/10, stating that "LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't enhance the LEGO franchise as the Clone Wars game did a few months back, but it offers another well-executed entry."
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game was the third top-selling video game in May 2011. As of May 2012, the game has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.