Home | News | Reviews | Previews | Hardware
Pirates: Legend of Black Kat
Score: 80%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: Westwood Studios
Developer: EA Games
Media: DVD/1
Players: 1 - 2
Genre: Adventure

Graphics & Sound:
Pirates is very hit and miss in the visuals department. There are moments where the game looks great, and just when you are about to say how great things look - something happens that make you bite your lip.

It is obvious that Kat is supposed to be the main attraction in the game. From her sleek, graceful moves to her skimpy leather outfit, Kat just screams 'sexy pirate chick' - until you see her bowlegged walk, then you just have to have a quick chuckle.

The same goes for every environment in the game, which suffer from some nasty texture pop-up. When you are standing near objects, the amount of detail is amazing - from grass to paintings on some rock textures, however once you get a few feet away everything becomes a blurry mess that really detracts from the game.

Again, the water steals the show, well almost. During naval battles, the water does some nice reflective effects, and while it is not the best I have seen, it is still great to see.

Sound is what you would expect - nice Caribbean, pirate-type music. Where the sound really suffers is the voices. Every line is delivered with such a flat tone, it is less than impressive.


Gameplay:
Psst - avast there...

Ye come seekin' adventure and salty old pirates, aye? Sure you've come to the proper place...but keep a weathered eye open mates - there be plundering pirates in every cove, and Davey Jones waiting for them what don't obey.

If the title did not give it away - this game is all about the respectable art of piracy, well sort of. Since this game was about pirates, I was hoping to be able to board ships and plunder villages - leaving my fiery wake all across the Caribbean.

Instead I got Tomb Raider, only instead of a gun wielding treasure hunter, there is a sword wielding one. This is not to say that Pirates isn't fun - because it is, however there is so much exploring that you have to do to move the story along, it is easy for things to get bogged down. There were countless times where I just felt lost. I wanted to know 'why' I had to go to this island or that one. Thankfully, as the game progresses, things do become a little clearer, but not by much. In addition to the main story, there are several side-quests Kat can embark on, however I found them to be a little too vague, so I was unable to complete them all.

Some of the most enjoyable parts of Pirates are the naval combat areas. Yeah, it's a little more arcade than sim - but blowing the hell out of forts and unsuspecting ships is so much fun it is hard not to squeeze even a little bit of enjoyment out of it. When you start your pirate career, your ship is unimpressive - but as the game progresses, you can buy newer, more powerful ships. It takes awhile, but once you get the Man O'War and its 36 cannons - watch out Caribbean.


Difficulty:
Pirates manages to be challenging without being overly frustrating. The enemies you encounter are easy; but still require some thought when engaging them in combat. Some of the bosses, such as Blackbeard are easy to beat; however others, like the giant crab, require your full concentration and quick reflexes. What really hampers Pirates is a faulty camera system. Half of the battles that I thought were hard would have been a lot easier if I was not worrying about adjusting the camera and fight.

Game Mechanics:
Pirates would have benefited from a better combat system. Its current system is great, but I would have liked a little more control over my thrusts. When I think of pirate duels, I usually think about the great fencing duels found in the old Errol Flynn movies. This is what I wanted to see instead of the common 'hack, hack, slash'. Kat does have some great moves, but only during special attacks.

While I would have liked a little more piracy - namely the ability to board ships or sack villages, Pirates is still a fun adventure and worth a look.


-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker

This site best viewed in Internet Explorer 6 or higher or Firefox.