Game developers always seem to have difficulty in finding original subjects for massively-multiplayer online games-- that is, getting away from the whole elf-dwarf-human fantasy theme. What could be a better theme for an MMORPG than pirates? The topic offers action, the option of building an extensive map, and original characters.
It was no surprise, therefore, that Disney took their "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise a step further and launched Disney Pirates of the Caribbean Online. With players starting out as pseudo apprentices of the legendary Jack Sparrow, the game cunningly integrates characters from the Pirates movie series in a personalized quest of becoming a pirate. There are some dozen islands available, and quests take place both on sea and on land.
Great Audio, Poor Visuals
The game's sound quality is most impressive. The voice-overs are very similar to the originals and the uppity pirate soundtrack is not so tiring. The action is a step up from the click-to-kill features of many RPGs, with different combat systems with different weapons that become more diverse as the player's skill advances.
Unfortunately, being used to higher quality graphics of MMORPGs such as World of WarCraft, the graphics in Pirates don't live up to the likes of games looking for more professionalism. While this game would have proven to be more interesting with a realistic interface, the developers chose a very indefinite stance of having it look half-cartoonish and half-realistic. The biggest flaw about Pirates Online is that the servers are still pretty slow in loading new scenes, so there is a lost sense of continuity to the game.
One impressive graphics factor, however, is that your character can be customized to very fine details. For instance, in building your face, you can tweak every feature of the face-- from eyes, to nose and chin. Unfortunately, hair options aren't as diverse.
Inconvenient Chat Features
While one is able to forge alliances, the communications features (a very important feature for such massively-multiplayer games) is cumbersome. This results in little or limited communication among players, something the developers may want to improve in its upgrades.
Who is Playing this Game?
The demographics of the current players seem to be all over the place- especially since the game is hosted on a Disney site, which features mainly children's games. But the game obviously has some "adult" elements, such as gambling for gold by playing poker (would Disney want to be promoting that for kids?) and some level of violence, such as blood. The game lacks appeal for a specific target player, incorporating many interesting gaming elements, but ending up as a poorly-composed collage.
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