The "Jackism" special attack is an incredibly useful weapon when you have a large mob to clear, and do not want to go through the monotony of slicing them to death for half an hour. Holding the two triggers and pressing 'A' unleashes an eruptive sword slam on the ground, killing all within about ten feet of you. The sword then begins to glow green, killing all enemies with a single swipe and collecting their souls. It is a frustrating process because the enemies around at the time the attack is unleashed all automatically die without collecting their souls and the glowing sword's short time-frame dependant on how many shrunken heads you have at the time you activate it. Starting the process with three heads (the maximum you can carry) in your possession will lengthen the attack time, but it still seems far too short.
The enemies do fight back, though in limited fashion. While fighting, gamers will notice a red circle appear below an enemy. This is your clue that they are about to attempt a super attack. A quick flick of the left-stick in their direction and pressing 'A' will counter their attack, typically killing them in the process. This is a blast the first time or two you successfully parry an enemy's attack, but gets stale fast; as the gameplay is incredibly repetitive.
Boss battles are no less bland and redundant, as gamers enter a mini-game of sword battle. The screen shows a duel with one of the main characters doing battle with a main enemy and three bubbles, up, middle, and down. The bubbles slowly flash to indicate where you must flick the left-stick to block the attack. Block enough attacks and you go on the offensive, gradually attempting to slice away the life of the boss. None of the battles feels much different or more difficult than the next, making gamers experts of the weak system long before the first boss battle is over.
When not plagued by sleep-inducing battles, the game offers some frustrating objectives. The objectives are not difficult, they are just not well explained and are further marred by an annoyingly inaccurate compass and pathetic map. The game offers a compass in the upper right-hand portion of the screen, which is supposed to point you toward your current objective. Since the compass is limited in its directions and the game is a 3-D world, it makes for some infuriating level navigating. Making matters worse, the game's map (viewable by hitting 'back') is far too small and is about the least detailed map ever offered in a game. If navigating the levels was not bad enough, the game's shoddy camera system will make you want to forget you ever played the game by the end of the first level.
The game really should change its subtitle to "Curse Of The Horrible Camera". You are likely to spend just as much time wrestling with the camera as you are doing battle. While most gamers think of a fixed-camera system as the worst-case scenario, Pirates has come up with something worse. You control the camera, inverted, with the right-stick. Sadly, the floaty controls will leave you feeling as drunk as Captain Jack Sparrow. No matter how long you play the game, you never truly feel 'in control' of the camera; which badly hampers gameplay, given how much you are required to swing it around to see what is in around you.
Pirates Of The Caribbean is a terrible waste of a potentially great franchise. There is a great Pirates Of The Caribbean game out there, just waiting to be made. This is not it. Swashbuckling and sailing the high seas has never felt so boring.
