Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned

Format Xbox 360

Developer Propaganda Games

Publisher Disney Interactive Studios

Genre Action, Adventure

3 Comments

If the Pirates of the Caribbean movies taught us anything, it's that not all buccaneers are ruthless cutthroats and villains. Some of them are rebellious cockerney geezers, others are heartbroken old men with tentacles growing on their chin.

In this open world RPG, you choose the destiny of rookie swashbuckler Captain James Sterling.It doesn't start well, as he's drowned by an evil Spanish admiral called Aldonado. But as we know from the increasingly weird and incomprehensible films, no one ever really dies in the Pirates universe.

You're miraculously revived and set on a quest for revenge, performing either 'Legendary' or 'Dreaded' acts along the way. It all looks and plays very much like Fable II and, like Lionhead's game, it also avoids classing every action in clear-cut moral terms.

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Legendary acts are typified by their bravery or foolhardiness in the face of danger. Design director Devon Blanchett compares it to the films: "There are so many times when the characters are in peril, but they treat it so light-heartedly that it's funny - or you're not too worried about it - but there's still a sense of drama."

Stealer's Wheel
In one mission, you're tasked with pinching a magical wheel from Aldonado's cliff top fortress. The 'Legendary' act would be to (badly) disguise yourself as a Spanish lord, put on a dodgy accent and charm your way inside. The 'Dreaded' alternative is to storm the island, kill everyone, then run away cackling maniacally.

The alignment of your character determines his combat moves, his appearance and even the tone of his voice. All of Sterling's lines were recorded twice, which makes everything much more convincing if you go Dreaded to the max. In this case you'll start to become cursed and will be forced to roam the seas looking like something Gunther Von Hagen might stick in one of his exhibits.

What separates Armada of the Damned from other open world RPGs is that about 40 per cent of the action takes place at sea. There's a huge area of the Caribbean to explore, based roughly on the geography of the 1700s. The ocean has realistic water physics and the weather can change for the worse in an instant.

There's also scaleable difficulty, meaning that you can go anywhere without the risk of being crushed by overly-powerful foes.
This is a prequel story, set roughly ten years before Curse of the Black Pearl, so we probably won't be seeing a cameo from Jack Sparrow. Some minor characters will return, but it's potentially a risk for a franchise built on Johnny Depp's awesome performances. On the other hand, it could work in Propaganda's favour.

The developer can free itself from the movies' incomprehensible plot and potentially create some much more memorable adventures on the high seas.

Ben Talbot