Pirates of the Caribbean

Lots of games let you be rough and mean heroes?but how many let you be a swarthy one?

You've no doubt noticed by now that the RPG drought for Xbox owners has well and truly ended. The best part about this sudden bounty? There isn't any total crap among the bunch: Pirates of the Caribbean, despite becoming a movie license at the last minute (it was originally called Sea Dogs II), succeeds at the great majority of feats it attempts.

Describing Pirates' gameplay can be difficult. If you have PC game experience, then "Sea Dogs, except more of it" should be enough explanation. Otherwise, think of it as a sort of nautical Morrowind: As a rank-and-file sea captain in the 17th Century, you're free to make your name any way you wish, whether it be by legal trading, naval battles, or the old "Yarrr, cut 'is throat and bring me the wenches" bit. There is the outline of a plot above all this, but you're often given the leeway to ignore it completely.

Your time in Pirates is divided between exploring island landscapes and sailing the seas between them. The land sections are nothing special, really?the controls are like a tank, the graphics are effective but samey, and sword fighting boils down to a PC-style clash of RPG statistics. Go out to sea, though, and it's a completely different story: The weather effects are beautiful (the storm sequences are downright scary), and pulling off a successful ship capture is an exhilarating experience once you manage it.

The dogged PCness of Pirates will undoubtedly turn off some console owners. If you can deal with it, though, you'll find an engaging RPG that rewards the effort it takes to master.

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