Lego Pirates of the Caribbean Review

There is a long-running misconception in the gaming community that the Lego games are simply for kids. While this may have been the case for the first few installments in the series, developer Traveller's Tales has constantly refined and improved its Lego-branded offerings to reach a wider audience. The latest entry, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, is a further improvement over its predecessors, and one in which gamers of all ages will find something to love.

Fans of the series will immediately be impressed with the level of detail and authenticity shown for each movie. From the original Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl to the upcoming POTC: On Stranger Tides, all the films get represented in distinct story arcs split into five chapters each. The characters are rendered with outstanding animations -- especially Johnny Depp's incredibly eccentric Jack Sparrow. How the animators were able to capture so much of the caricatured nuance in Depp's performance, and then transfer it into a super-simplified Lego minifigure is beyond me. As you control Jack, you'll notice his arms flail with a slight flimsiness just like his big-screen counterpart. Animations during the cut-scenes are especially excellent, with gesticulating hands (or claws) and simple facial contortions conveying the mood each character had in the movie. It really is amazing how much these mute representations of plastic toys can emote without ever uttering more than a grunt of gibberish. Speaking of which, what little voice work there is depicting the movies' dialog is quite good. Jack Sparrow's occasional scream, as he haplessly falls into each perilous situation, is a spot-on impersonation of Depp himself.

Ana Paula Lemes Vanessa Simmons Chyler Leigh Julie Berry Lori Heuring