Pirates: The Key of Dreams
Encyclopedia
Pirates: The Key of Dreams is a shoot 'em up
video game by developers Oxygen Games
for WiiWare
. A prequel
to Oxygen's Nintendo DS
game Pirates: Duels on the High Seas
, it was released in Europe on July 18, 2008 and in North America on July 21, 2008. It costs 1000 Wii Points
and takes up 125 Blocks.
to retrieve an artifact known as "The Key of Dreams" from notorious pirate Blackbeard
. The story mode takes place over 10 levels.
Players directly control a sailing ship, seen from an overhead view, to do battle with. Players can recruit various crew members, such as navigators and master gunners to upgrade the abilities of their ship, in addition to their weapons which include cannons, mines and rockets.
In addition to the story mode, Pirates: The Key of Dreams also features a single player skirmish mode, where the player battles the computer in a variety of arenas, as well as an offline multiplayer battle mode that supports up to four players. There will be 35 skirmish/multiplayer battle maps in addition to bonus ships not selectable in the story mode.
, which gave it a 4.7/10, felt the game "looks good and holds promise" but also hinted at rushed development and sloppy design. They also agreed that the single player was boring and held little challenge, and that the multiplayer mode was a "waste of time" with anything less than four players.
Eurogamer
thought the game was "a bit shallow" with a control system they felt was counter-intuitive. Believing that this results in the game with a "very finite shelf life", they gave the game a 6 out of 10. N-Europe criticised the game for being short and overpriced, but with some extra life to be found in multiplayer; they gave it a 5/10.
Shoot 'em up
Shoot 'em up is a subgenre of shooter video games. In a shoot 'em up, the player controls a lone character, often in a spacecraft or aircraft, shooting large numbers of enemies while dodging their attacks. The genre in turn encompasses various types or subgenres and critics differ on exactly what...
video game by developers Oxygen Games
Oxygen Games
Oxygen Games is a developer and publisher of video gaming entertainment for major console platforms including the Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 2 and Sony PlayStation Portable, as well as for the PC...
for WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
. A prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to Oxygen's Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game Pirates: Duels on the High Seas
Pirates: Duels on the High Seas
Pirates: Duels on the High Seas is an adventure game for Nintendo DS. It was developed by Oxygen Studios and published by Oxygen Games. The game is a sequel to the similar WiiWare title, Pirates: The Key of Dreams.- Plot :...
, it was released in Europe on July 18, 2008 and in North America on July 21, 2008. It costs 1000 Wii Points
Wii Points
Nintendo Points are a currency that Nintendo uses for its Wii and Nintendo DSi systems through the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop respectively...
and takes up 125 Blocks.
Overview
The plot sees players, in the role of a navy captain, sent undercover in the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to retrieve an artifact known as "The Key of Dreams" from notorious pirate Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
. The story mode takes place over 10 levels.
Players directly control a sailing ship, seen from an overhead view, to do battle with. Players can recruit various crew members, such as navigators and master gunners to upgrade the abilities of their ship, in addition to their weapons which include cannons, mines and rockets.
In addition to the story mode, Pirates: The Key of Dreams also features a single player skirmish mode, where the player battles the computer in a variety of arenas, as well as an offline multiplayer battle mode that supports up to four players. There will be 35 skirmish/multiplayer battle maps in addition to bonus ships not selectable in the story mode.
Reception
WiiWare World gave the Pirates: The Key of Dreams a 5/10, calling it a "mixed bag". They were disappointed in the single-player mode, believing it to be repetitive and short lived, with "little real challenge". They were also puzzled by the general lack of music during the game, and felt the game further suffers from very frequent pop-up messages that disrupt the gameplay. However, they found the multiplayer battle mode to be "relatively decent", though they believed it would have benefited by taking the mode online. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, which gave it a 4.7/10, felt the game "looks good and holds promise" but also hinted at rushed development and sloppy design. They also agreed that the single player was boring and held little challenge, and that the multiplayer mode was a "waste of time" with anything less than four players.
Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
thought the game was "a bit shallow" with a control system they felt was counter-intuitive. Believing that this results in the game with a "very finite shelf life", they gave the game a 6 out of 10. N-Europe criticised the game for being short and overpriced, but with some extra life to be found in multiplayer; they gave it a 5/10.