ElbinoBunny
To make up for her having to play through Cocoto Magic Circus last night, tonight my wife and I pulled out Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game for Nintendo Wii. It was released in 2011. It was developed by Traveler’s Tales and published by Disney Interactive Studios.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game follows the formula of most Lego games. The game seems to attempt to recreate the film it is based on scene by scene in a sort of parody: switching things up where necessary for younger audiences, to make the Lego blocks work with what is happening on screen, or just to make things more comedic for the audience. It really feels like you are replaying the movie in Lego blocks. The first four movies are represented, so it looks like there is no shortage of adventure awaiting us as we complete this game.
What made Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game a good title for us to play is that it is fully two-player cooperative. A second player can drop in and out of the game at any time by pressing the “+” button on their wiimote. Players can change which character they wish to play within the current scene by pressing the “c” button on the nunchuck. This is a fantastic game for two players to spend several hours having fun enjoying a single game together.
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game will let you be a team player or a jerk backstabber. Friendly fire is turned on by default, so hitting your fellow player will cause them to take damage. I haven’t checked if there is an option to turn off friendly fire, I need to look into that. True to her competitive form, my wife would hit me to knock me away from getting “her” treasure. The treasure totals collected will show up separately during the level, but they get combined at the end of the level. This game is truly a cooperative gaming experience, so there’s no need to be mean.
Sometimes I’ll get into an area in Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game where I am scratching my head, unsure what to do next to progress in the level. I have therefore constructed a formula for progression that has served me quite well when working through a new area in this game’s levels.
1. Kill all enemies in the area. Make sure all damage that can be levied toward you is neutralized.
2. Examine the environment for things that can be built. Many environments are strewn with random Lego pieces that can be put together to create an item that is necessary to progress further in the level. Pressing the “Z” button puts pieces together. If you are stuck, walk around pressing the “Z” button.
3. Run around and look for items that show either a “c” button above them or a picture of another character that is required for you to play as in order to use that item. There were several things we had to do that required controlling a dog, or that could only be done by a specific character like Captain Jack Sparrow.
4. Use Captain Jack Sparrow’s compass to find anything that might be necessary in the area, dig for it, and use it.
So far, the gameplay in Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game has been very linear, but the game does not always hold the players hand and tell them exactly what they should do next. I think the game creators struck a refreshingly good balance between creating a challenging, fun experience and guiding players appropriately in how to play their game. After beating the first level, access to the beginning levels in all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies are unlocked, and the player can travel from the port to the current available level in any of those movies.
Quite the contrast to last night’s game, my wife wants us to complete and stream our progress in Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game. I have had quite a bit of fun with it myself thus far. Obviously this would be a good title for children; the ESRB recommends this title for ages 10 and above. But I would also say this is a fun title for adults that want to play a nice relaxing game at the end of a day where they would like to enjoy only a moderate, light mental challenge while they laugh, have fun, and are entertained.