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Pirates of the Caribbean (video game)
Encyclopedia
Pirates of the Caribbean is a 2003 computer game for Windows
and Xbox
, developed by Akella
and published by Bethesda Softworks
. The Xbox version was the first U.S. console game developed in Russia. A PlayStation 2
version was also originally in development, but was later canceled.
An unrelated game by the same name was also released for mobile phones, as was a Game Boy Advance
game.
in which the player, as Captain Nathaniel Hawk, goes on a series of quests for any one of the countries that control the islands of the Caribbean
in the 17th Century. The player can buy new ships, recruit a crew and hire officers who will follow Hawk on his quest and help him in battle. The game features gameplay that takes place both on land and at sea, and allows the player to upgrade their character by earning skill points and gain new abilities.
The game was originally developed under the name Sea Dogs II, and was to be the sequel to Sea Dogs
, which was released in the year 2000. Apart from the pirate theme, the setting and the presence of the Black Pearl
, the game otherwise has few connections to the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
film, which was released around the same time as the game.
The PC version of this game is one of the first video games with multi-threaded code that is optimized for the Intel's Hyper-Threading
technology.
Actress Keira Knightley
, who played Elizabeth Swann
in the film series, voiced the narrator (a single cutscene at the beginning) in the game.
The governor sends Hawk on a series of quests to aid him in the war against France: Nathaniel is sent to investigate the condition in Oxbay; prevent a supply ship from reaching Oxbay; unload English troops in the jungles of Oxbay and rescue the English spy from the clutches of the French.
While preparing for his next quest - annexing Oxbay, Nathaniel meets his old friends: Danielle Greene and Ralph Fawn. However, Ralph is killed when the soldiers arrive to arrest Danielle and Nathaniel himself is captured and imprisoned. While in prison he gets to know an old ex-cannoneer Edgar Attwood who was fired for drinking too much rum. He can be later hired by the player into his crew.
Some time later governor Silehard arrives and tells Nathaniel that a big mistake has occurred. He sends Nathaniel Hawk on another series of quests until Nathaniel meets an old inventor who aids him in finding a treasure that could defeat the ghost ship called the Black Pearl.
There is also a large number of side quests. For instance, in one such side mission Horne is enlisted to help a Dutch colonist find several kidnapped children.
is the captain (although when one looks at the code for the game, Barbossa is set as the ship's default captain). It cannot be destroyed. At night you see the Black Pearl's crew as skeletons. It can only be seen during the middle of the game and the end of the game—however, some people have reported seeing it at random points in the game.
The ship can be found randomly around the world, normally mostly near towns.
There will also be warnings in town if the Black Pearl is sighted nearby.
.
and Xbox
, instead it tells the story of a younger Jack Sparrow and how he escaped from the island after being betrayed by his crew.
gave the game a 5.5 claiming:
"Though the game looks and sounds like a quality game design, the focus on graphics and sound just can't help along the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean on the Game Boy Advance just isn't that much fun to play."
The average review score for the game is 4.9 out of 10.
.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, developed by Akella
Akella
Akella is a Russian software company specializing in the development, publishing and distribution of computer games and multimedia products. The founders of Akella met in 1993 and decided to start a company together, and in 1995 formed Akella...
and published by Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
. The Xbox version was the first U.S. console game developed in Russia. A PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version was also originally in development, but was later canceled.
An unrelated game by the same name was also released for mobile phones, as was a Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
game.
PC/Xbox version
Pirates of the Caribbean is an action role-playing gameAction role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
in which the player, as Captain Nathaniel Hawk, goes on a series of quests for any one of the countries that control the islands of the Caribbean
Caribbean
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...
in the 17th Century. The player can buy new ships, recruit a crew and hire officers who will follow Hawk on his quest and help him in battle. The game features gameplay that takes place both on land and at sea, and allows the player to upgrade their character by earning skill points and gain new abilities.
The game was originally developed under the name Sea Dogs II, and was to be the sequel to Sea Dogs
Sea Dogs (disambiguation)
The Sea Dogs were English adventurers of the Elizabethan era.Sea Dogs may also refer to:* Sea Dogs * Sea Dogs * Portland Sea Dogs, a baseball team* Saint John Sea Dogs, a hockey team...
, which was released in the year 2000. Apart from the pirate theme, the setting and the presence of the Black Pearl
Black Pearl
The Black Pearl, originally Wicked Wench, is a fictional ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. In the screenplay, the Black Pearl is easily recognized by her distinctive black hull and sails. The ship was originally named Wicked Wench before she was ordered burned and sunk by Lord Beckett...
, the game otherwise has few connections to the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
film, which was released around the same time as the game.
The PC version of this game is one of the first video games with multi-threaded code that is optimized for the Intel's Hyper-Threading
Hyper-threading
Hyper-threading is Intel's term for its simultaneous multithreading implementation in its Atom, Intel Core i3/i5/i7, Itanium, Pentium 4 and Xeon CPUs....
technology.
Actress Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
, who played Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann
Elizabeth Swann is a major character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series produced by Walt Disney Pictures. She appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and its two sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End...
in the film series, voiced the narrator (a single cutscene at the beginning) in the game.
Plot
After a fierce storm, Captain Nathaniel Hawk arrives on the island of Oxbay. His first mate Malcolm Hatcher is retiring, and so Hawk must hire a new first mate and crew. As he leaves Oxbay, a French armada attacks the colony and captures it. Hawk manages to slip away and warn the English governor on Redmond Island, Robert Christopher Silehard, that Oxbay was attacked.The governor sends Hawk on a series of quests to aid him in the war against France: Nathaniel is sent to investigate the condition in Oxbay; prevent a supply ship from reaching Oxbay; unload English troops in the jungles of Oxbay and rescue the English spy from the clutches of the French.
While preparing for his next quest - annexing Oxbay, Nathaniel meets his old friends: Danielle Greene and Ralph Fawn. However, Ralph is killed when the soldiers arrive to arrest Danielle and Nathaniel himself is captured and imprisoned. While in prison he gets to know an old ex-cannoneer Edgar Attwood who was fired for drinking too much rum. He can be later hired by the player into his crew.
Some time later governor Silehard arrives and tells Nathaniel that a big mistake has occurred. He sends Nathaniel Hawk on another series of quests until Nathaniel meets an old inventor who aids him in finding a treasure that could defeat the ghost ship called the Black Pearl.
There is also a large number of side quests. For instance, in one such side mission Horne is enlisted to help a Dutch colonist find several kidnapped children.
The Black Pearl
The Black Pearl is in this game but it is unknown if BarbossaHector Barbossa
Hector Barbossa is a fictional character and pirate in the Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean. Barbossa was first introduced in the series as the main antagonist of the first film, and pirate captain of the Black Pearl after committing mutiny against the ship's former captain, Jack...
is the captain (although when one looks at the code for the game, Barbossa is set as the ship's default captain). It cannot be destroyed. At night you see the Black Pearl's crew as skeletons. It can only be seen during the middle of the game and the end of the game—however, some people have reported seeing it at random points in the game.
The ship can be found randomly around the world, normally mostly near towns.
There will also be warnings in town if the Black Pearl is sighted nearby.
POTC Build Modification
The PC version of this game was later modified by the PiratesAhoy http://www.piratesahoy.net community. This project eventually became the unified POTC Build Mod. The Build Mod heavily patches and updates the game, and as of August 2009 is in its 14th Version. Visit http://www.potc.moddb.com or http://wiki.piratesahoy.net for further information.Game Boy Advance version
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 video game for Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
.
Plot
The game doesn't share storyline with the Bethesda game for WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, instead it tells the story of a younger Jack Sparrow and how he escaped from the island after being betrayed by his crew.
Reception
The reception for this game was largely mediocre. 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...
gave the game a 5.5 claiming:
"Though the game looks and sounds like a quality game design, the focus on graphics and sound just can't help along the fact that Pirates of the Caribbean on the Game Boy Advance just isn't that much fun to play."
The average review score for the game is 4.9 out of 10.
Mobile phone version
The mobile phone version was developed by Flying Tiger Development and published through Walt Disney Internet Group on July 25, 2003, in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
External links
- Pirates Forums Unofficial Forums