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View Full Version : Im sending back Pirates



CharlieHustle
07-02-2003, 10:35 PM
I got this game today.. ANd i have been playin it since 6pm. Its now 1130 and i wasnt impressed with this game at all. First of all i thought the ship battles was tight as hell, but this game isnt as good as morrowind IMO. My main gripe is the controls, mix this with the steeeeeep learning curve, then you are in serious trouble. If the controls would have been the exact same as MW then that would be on no problem, but it is very hard to fight foes and then try to back away only to see your char. turn around is ridiculous. half of the time you are being jumped by four foes so it spells instant death. Its like fightin that damn rat in the fighters guild quest at level 1. also, there is not a map at all for this game, so you spend most of your time wonderin where to go. also the NPC's have very little info to give you, all you have to do is talk to the bartender and he tells all. im goin to give this game a try through this weekend, and if it doesnt grow on me, then IT GOES BACK!!!

pepitonet
07-02-2003, 10:57 PM
keep the testing up and keep us informed cause i don't want to get disappointed by a game like i did with Gladius,BlackStone and some other rpg for xbox

CarGuy
07-03-2003, 06:42 AM
Even though it's frustrating i still dont think i'll take mine back. The steep learning curve ensures i'll be playing this for a long time and that means i'll get my money's worth. It's rare to find a game this deep. I'm VERY happy w/ my purchase. I just need to find a map of the islands, where the hell am i supposed to go!? :cuss: :D

Spellfire
07-03-2003, 10:25 PM
I bought this aswell and returned it the next day. Unfortunatly I was hyped to get this game in hopes of it being in league with morrowind. I hoped to have another rpg to play before kotor. To my dismay, it is not worth the buy.

To make it simple and short, every battle that I have run in to has thrown me into a fight against four or five guys and one stab from three of them and your dead. The fights are slow, constantly blocking with a quick jab, and then hitting the block button again to cover your ass. The sea battles are slow and very difficult. You end up taking so much damage, it will banrupt you. No map, so island finding is difficult aswell.

Besides the combat, I was dissappointed mainly with the exploration. There are so many boundries, you can't go anywhere. It says 'explore islands, jungles, caves' on the box, but in the jungles all you do is enter from the shore or town and there is a small open area that has maybe two or three exits to another area. Very limited. The towns are similar. The only places worth visit are taverns, and stores where you get all your information. Townsfolk don't offer much. The only 'side quests' are the same type of missions that are given to you by tavern owners or store owners...there is no excitment in scouting out quest to do and damsels to save.

Camera angles and loading screens finished off the dissappointment of the game as minor annoyances. When you near a door the camera shifts, which is a minor pain. In one town you may incounter several loading screens form one section to the next as well as entering homes. Even the islands are broken up to several loading areas. Both just minor drawbacks which could be over looked if the other aspects of the game were better.

The whole trading cargo betweens islands, boading ships, naval battles, seiging forts and island exploration sounds great, but it is not done well. The musical score is good and the graphics are amazing. The gameplay kills it though. Sorry, but Bethdsa did not do it right this time. Your much better waiting for the morrowind game of the year edition.

SlightlySycho
07-03-2003, 10:56 PM
Bethesda only published it. Akella developed it.

To be blunt, I think the Pirates of the Carribean license ruined this game. I'm just betting that Disney had this game rushed to meet the movie's release date. Because this game feels rushed . . . REAL rushed.

The only good thing about this game are the graphics . . . and even that's not completely trues. The weather and water effects are amazing . . . and there's grass that rustles as people walk through it, and waves when the wind blows. But the character models aren't too hot. If you thought Morrowind's models were bad, prepare to be disappointed.

Sound's even worse. Thirty seconds in the game, I actually found myself considering muting the music. THat's how much I hated it.:cuss: Plus, while I was walking across an island during a storm, there was no storm sounds. Just the sounds of my footfalls.

And, worst of, as so many have already mentioned, the combat is incredibly cheap. There's none of those "Ease-You-Into-The-Game" elements that made Morrowind good for beginners. Even at level 4, most of the enemies arround me can accomplish one hit kills. And it's really embarrassing getting killed by a monkey in three quarters of a second.:cuss: Plus there are the sea battles . . . those wretched, wretched sea battles.

As for the world map, one should have been included with the game. Hell, one should have been available via one of the menus. However, I've figured out that if you click the right thumbstick button, you can zoom out and pan around the map. It makes finding your destinations easier. The downside, however, is that this doesn't pause the game or anything. This means that if a pirate or something materializes near you while you're trying to find your destination, your ass is grass.:watchout:

So far, I've been terribly dissappointed. But I'm going to stick with it, and hope [pray] that the game gets better. Might as well. I blew fifty bucks on it that I'm not going to see again any time soon.:cry:

Arven
07-03-2003, 10:57 PM
Yuck. I'm glad I waited for gamers' reviews of PotC. I was looking forward to it, but from the way it sounds, I'll be passing on this one. Renting, maybe. Here's what I don't like (from what I'm hearing): the steep learning curve, the way the fighting sounds, the awkward controls, the lack of variety in conversation, the lack of a map, and how easily you get your ass kicked. No thanks, doesn't sound like much fun.

Spellfire
07-03-2003, 11:03 PM
Trust me, at least rent it. I wish I would have waited for consumer reviews too. All the previews and interviews I read for the game were misleading. I might have read atleast 7 previews and 3 interviews. It seemed to be like morrowind, but with pirates. Not so. :(

SlightlySycho
07-03-2003, 11:11 PM
And while I'm on my rant, can I just point out how woe-fully f**king inadequate the bloody manual is? It gives nothing but the most glancing details about how the menus work. The friggin' manual is only 32 pages long. Now, if you haven't played the game, that may seem perfectly fine. But let me give you a comparison to consider: the manual for DOAX Volleyball is forty-five pages long. That's a game you can pretty much play with nothing but the A and B buttons. You don't even really need the directional pad.:eek:
:cuss:

CarGuy
07-03-2003, 11:52 PM
Yea, the game does have a "flimsy" feel to it like it was rushed. Kinda like Indiana Jones. I think it's a good idea to stay away from sea battles until you get a better ship. I also avoid storms. And if you use block and your gun tactfully you should be able to hold your own in fights. What keeps me going back is not the exploring (that was waaay over hyped, probably a little self hype thanks to morrowind) but perhaps getting a bad ass ship, gain a fleet and ruling the sea! aaarrgh!! I still can believe it's possible to take on forts, that's still a long ways off for me... To anyone playing this game for the first time: Stay away from storms, save often, dont engage in any sea battles, and Shoot-slash-block... I still think it's too early to judge this game fully, their might be some rewarding stuff down the line.... I'm gonna hang in there :cheers:

Spellfire
07-04-2003, 08:06 AM
I won my first ship in the first battle I engaged in...lucky I guess. I boarded that sob and won it. After that I engaged in several, just to get the feel...didn't turn out so well. I hope you find more down the line. I would have stuck with it, but I just got the trade in value of $30 while I still could.

Nameless00
07-05-2003, 05:40 PM
Originally posted by CharlieHustle
like fightin that damn rat in the fighters guild quest at level 1.
Do you mean that you had trouble with the rat in Morrowind?

frog11983
07-05-2003, 07:42 PM
Originally posted by Nameless00

Do you mean that you had trouble with the rat in Morrowind?

Man, I've lost my share of battles with the rats early in the game... felt like such a loser.

CharlieHustle
07-06-2003, 04:57 PM
yeah man, when i fisrt started off in that game i was like at level 1 or 2. Those rats in that lady attick kicked my ass.

CarGuy
07-07-2003, 03:16 PM
I took back Pirates today. Picked up DOA3 and Timesplitters 2.

Xorg
07-07-2003, 10:22 PM
I got my copy of pirates on saturday but i only played it saturday night and sunday morning so far, the controls are kind of akward but after i got used to them they werent so bad. The ship battles were hard so ill just have to wait until i get a better ship and the fighting is okay, when there are around 4 or more guys i just run away, works really good, until i get a high level, 3 or less guys i can actually take on and kill them, all i do is slash them then back up and shot them, so far im having fun with this game a keeping it. If it werent for Disney this could of been a lot better, damn them

Arven
07-08-2003, 08:56 AM
I went ahead and bought PotC, after hearing a lot of positive reviews at TXB (after the initial complaining about chugging, bugs, difficulty, and controls passed). I've only played the game for an hour, so I'm in no position to give a review, but I will mention a couple things.

First, I confirm what others have said about the difficulty and the lack of user-friendliness. I feel at sea at sea, if you know what I mean. I'll figure it out eventually. It's appealing in a way, because I know there's a whole lot to get better at and lots of room to grow; starting at the bottom gives you an appreciation of progress.

Second, I'm finding it pretty immersive so far. I like the character designs, the dialog, the music, and the environments. I spent a long time just looking at an evening sun over the water. As much as can be expected with only an hour of gameplay, I'm immersed; I'm there. That's one of the most important features of an RPG for me, and PotC is not disappointing in that regard. If I am immersed, the difficulty will not stop me from playing.

Third, in my first hour, I've had a little slowdown and a couple of momentary freezes, but nothing major.

I feel good about the purchase so far.

RudedogX
07-08-2003, 09:03 AM
Well, judging from what I've heard about this game, it seems like Morrowind in terms of the slow downs and whatever else, so I think I'll just wait till the game goes down in price.

pepitonet
07-08-2003, 06:04 PM
yup that's the same thing i am doing but crapy games take too long to go down look at Black Stone still at 49.99 everywhere here where i live(mn) so does the other crappy gamne metal dungeon.

MrCandymann
07-08-2003, 09:41 PM
Some are impatient. I guess many people aren't incorect in their prejudice of console gamers. From the comments I've read here, it seems most are impatient 'donkey kong' gamers who want something simple. I'm glad they came out with something a little more complex for the system; if it were online I'm sure I wouldn't hear many of those high- pitched PSO voices. It was difficult at the beginning, and I always saved before sea voyages and loaded at any storms or battles - the damage to ships was way too expensive, and extremely difficult to survive - plus it was rarely worth it to sink the ship, little else is given than exp. After 're-rolling' my character (knowing the game better) I didn't leave the ship deck without gaining 2.5 levels, followed the story, got some nice officers that completely compensate for my leaders lack of skills like sailing and commerce, and eventually got set up. The story gives an opportunity to get your first large ship and also tens of thousands of dollars if you give it a chance - I've upgraded since then, and now sail a nice 250+ crew ship, and with my cannoner, can burn up much of the sea. My trade route with the revived Oxtown makes me lots of cash when needed, and I haven't even gotten in serious merchantry or smuggling or even using a fleet (for longer than a half hour; when I had two ships I decided my income couldn't afford it, so I sold one to better support the larger). I've easily played 12+ hours of this game and like it alot. I've only visited a few towns. There is alot left for me to do, and I could have beaten most other xbox games by now. IN ALL: learn it, get the hang of it, figure out controls, get hooked up with stuff and have your main character with some melee (if you practice at the start you're fine, I've had him solo some of those 'five enemies surrounding you' battles, all up to your fencing skill). Very pleased, much more than I expected. I like the graphics MUCH BETTER than morrowind - much less dark and better lighting (I couldn't get myself to be anything but televani because they had the only cool housing). Get good its good.

Gameman732
07-09-2003, 08:13 AM
Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean {POTC} from Bethesda Softworks is an open
ended, action r.p.g. that strenghthens Bethesda's reputation for producing
great games with numerous bugs/faults.

P.O.T.C. is a action r.p.g. set in the Caribbean Islands circa 1600. You assume
the role of Nathaniel Hawk, captain of the ship, Victory. As Hawk, you'll be able
to choose what type of Captain you'll be. A dastardly rogue or charming hero, in
either case, there will be repercussions from the choices you make

Gameplay is somewhat difficult at first. The control isn't intuitive and you will find
the included manual of little help.The early missions will find you getting killed and
your ship sunk repeatedly. Trial & error (mostly error) will be the way thru most of
the first few missions.(Save Often !)

Many Owners of this game have complained of pauses, choppiness & stutters
during gameplay, with the problems disappearing after a half hour or so of
gameplay.The problems have been attributed to levels being slow to cache.

The graphics are, in a word, beautiful! The sight of your ship on the open sea, by
the light of the moon, must be seen to be believed.The land levels are mostly so-so
but, are more than adequete to keep you immersed in the game.

The music and voice acting are like the graphics. In some places, they are simply
amazing. In others, just average. The NPC characters don't have a lot to say and,
you'll find that a lot of the dialogue is repeated. What is there is pretty good and
sometimes quite funny. So let's recap...

Gameplay............................................................................................ ............7.5
The steep learning curve and controller setup brings this score down

Graphics............................................................................................ ...............9.0
The water effects are among the best ever on Xbox.

Sound............................................................................................... .................8.0
The musical score by The State Academical Philharmonic Orchestra is master-
fully done and the narration/npc voice acting though uneven at times is overall
very well done.

OVERALL SCORE.........................................................................................8.5
An open ended action rpg with at least 50 hours off gameplay. As a general
rule, if you liked Morrowind, you'll love Pirates ofthe Caribbean.

Remember, this review is one persons opinion. Your gameplay experience maybe
totally different.

CarGuy
07-09-2003, 01:09 PM
When i found out that after you beat it you can't save the game i took the game back. Even after the game lost my save i tried to stick with it. Small things did it in for me:

You cant loot bodies. They die and disappear.

The weather only changes after you load another area. Unlike morrowind where you can look up and see the stars, moon, weather changing etc. Plus they only have a few shots of the sky.

I lost 15 hours of gameplay when i got a bad save file

The wilderness area's are narrow and linear. "Exploring" is no more than taking a path from point A to point B with intersections along the way leading to dungeons.

The game freezes more than Morrowind. A LOT more.

Like i said once you beat it that's it. Make sure you keep the save before you beat the game.

Apparently, the only life in the sea in the 17th century is one really bad looking species of shark.

The main story seems rushed and you never feel like you can take a break and do some smuggling, trading. It's also boring too.

Can't change clothes.


Oh well, i got a free movie ticket out of the deal.

Arven
07-09-2003, 02:25 PM
I returned PotC today, after playing for about six hours. I experienced slowdowns and glitches like I'd never seen before, and then a series of crashes that forced me to reset my Xbox and start over (and over, and over) -- four crashes in two hours.

I'm not a perfectionist, but I expect (no, require) better performance than that from my Xbox games. I bought an Xbox because I don't want to deal with PC-like glitches, stutters, freezes, crashes, and bugs. This game is filled with them.

I'd strongly recommend a rental first, to see how it performs on your system. YMMV, I have a launch-date Xbox.

It's too bad, because I can tell there's a good game underneath all that mess, which I won't be able to enjoy. Good thing KOTOR is right around the corner, or I'd be real disappointed.

Slayer02
07-14-2003, 09:59 PM
I love this game. only a few complaints 1) The white screen of death (play it and see what I mean) 2) occasional load freeze 3) occasional lag 4) collision problems when sword is drawn. Otherwise, I love it. Also, for those going "bankrupt" from battles, avoid them at first, put your ability point in "Trustworthy Lad" and do contraband, if you have enough room on your ship, a load of ebony to Oxbay or Redmond can bring in 100,000+ gold. Also, the controls are easy to learn, unless you lack a brain that can adapt to something. Also this is NOT MORROWIND WITH BOATS. Jeez, it is not morrowind, it was not developed by Bethesda. P.S. Lower your expectations a bit and you might enjoy it. Give it a try.

CharlieHustle
07-15-2003, 12:14 AM
Well hell, if i take your advice, then i might as well get nfl fever, or kabuki warroirs also. hell even throw in nba live 2002 with that also. All i am sayin is that this game isnt what its was cracked up to be. There is too many problems for me to keep givin this game a try, also what really ****es me off is that this game doesnt have an autosave. You how many times i die and i have to start all over, and i mean all over too. Basically i just expected much better coming from anything from the house of bedestha even if they didnt develop this game they should have higher standards.

MerimacHamwich
07-15-2003, 12:49 AM
Sounds like Charlie just doesn't know how to play games properly.
:P

Slayer02
07-15-2003, 02:19 AM
Originally posted by MerimacHamwich
Sounds like Charlie just doesn't know how to play games properly.
:P
Amen. God gave you memory, think you would remember to save once and awhile. Besides, good gamers don't die. :D :D :D

CharlieHustle
07-17-2003, 12:04 AM
well, not really, i was just used to playin splinter cell and brute force lately and they have this feature called autosave. its very innovative, they save during random completion spots in the game. Also if im right MW had this same feature where if you do save, you can use this autosave slot, and not overwrite your other saves. also pirates just didnt appeal to me, and to think of it, i got this game the day it was released. anyways, kotor is here now, so pirates is in the store now.