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By Lonnie on February 24th, 2002
Introduction Way back when the ps2 was first launched westwood announced, Pirates of Skull Cove. To be honest with you, when I first saw the game a few years back the first thing that popped into my head was, "Oh god another Laura Croft wannabe on a boat". After spending some time with the game I was proven wrong. The game will most definitely be a sleeper hit due to the amazing success of Maximo. However, most prefer to compare this game to Drakkan. Having not played Drakkan I will not attempt to compare. Anyhow, Read on.Presentation The waves splash against your ship throwing you back and forth along the sea until you reach your fathers fort, You find him murdered, all you have left is a letter your dying father had wrote somehow knowing you would come to visit. You discover the truth about your mother and must continue on your journey. Katarina’s mother had also been a pirate, however, her father had vowed to hide the truth from Kat, in hopes that she would live a normal law abiding life. Kat’s mother the great Mara Rousseau had been among the best of the best pirates. The story can be a tad bit confusing at first. Your father tells you in his letter where to find your mothers belongings, then you shall begin your journeys.Graphics & Sound During the land missions Pirates looks fairly dated. However, the incredibly large levels and beautiful character design more than make up for it. It’s no surprise that the game looks slightly dated, it has been in development for a long time. The most graphically beautiful aspect of the game would definitely have to be the shimmering waters. The way the sky reflects on the surface of the water is purely orgasmic. The music is typical of what you would expect to hear in the movie Hook or Peter Pan. It sets the mood for the game very well, Thunder also sends chills down your spine when playing at loud volumes. For me the coolest part was how your ship seems to creak in real time with the motion on the water. You can tell a lot of time was put into this bad boy.Gameplay The interesting part about Pirates, is that there is really two games in one. The game is essentially and Action/Adventure Platformer. However the levels are islands, and you must travel to each island via your ship. When at sea you control the ship around each island and are able to battle other ships, as well as fortifications on land. This option is also available from the main menu as a two player aspect. When on land the game handles a lot like that Xena warrior princess game EA tried to fool us into buying for the PSX a few years back. Don’t get me wrong here, Pirates is far superior. You have several items that you can find along the islands, as well as a complete arsenal of swords. The funnest part is unleashing a five attack combo on a skeleton warrior. Along each island you will come across parts when Kat informs you that she smells gold.
Eventually you will reach a point where you can actually dig up the buried treasure, this adds a lot of depth to the game because there are hundreds of items hid across the island chain. Collecting them all will give you a lot of replay time. There is also the art gallery that is accessed once you find specific shells along your way, Each shell contains a few images. Overall there is enough packed in here to keep you busy for some time.Lasting Appeal If you are looking for something different than the typical slice and dice platformer, Pirates may be for you. It offers enough variety to make it worth the purchase. Don’t let the hype surrounding Maximo cloud your judgment.Conclusion Westwood has always been known for their computer games, So I wasn’t sure what to expect on their newest console outing. I was surprised as I think most of you will be too. Pirates is definitely worth the purchase, as you can expect to get over 20 hours out of it, not to mention the multiplayer aspects. |
