Pirates of the Caribbean Online
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| Pirates of the Caribbean Online | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Disney Online |
| Publisher(s) | Disney Online |
| Distributor(s) | Disney Online |
| Platform(s) | PC/Mac |
| Release date | October 31, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | MMORPG |
| Mode(s) | Online |
| Rating(s) | ESRB:Everyone 10+ |
| System requirements | Windows 2000/XP/Vista:
Mac:
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| Input methods | Keyboard, Mouse |
Pirates of the Caribbean Online is an MMORPG created by The Walt Disney Company, based on their film series and theme park attraction of the same name.
The game software is free to download, and players can choose either "Unlimited Access" for a $9.95 monthly subscription fee, or a free-to-play "Basic Access" version which restricts most of the game content and displays advertisements in part of the game window. The game is officially available to players in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada only. Disney also will announce this online game to be distributed in South East Asia by AsiaSoft in 2009.
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[edit] Gameplay
The game allows each player to create his or her own customized pirate avatar. A player can create up to four pirates with Unlimited access, or two pirates with Basic access. During gameplay, these pirates interact with several major characters from the film series, including Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Hector Barbossa, Tia Dalma and Joshamee Gibbs. Each of these non-player characters assigns quests and/or instructs pirates on the use of weapons. Typical quests require pirates to defeat various enemies and creatures on land, and to sink enemy ships during battles at sea. The game's quests follow a central storyline in which the pirate helps Jack Sparrow to recruit a crew and retrieve his ship, the Black Pearl.
Major enemies in the game include the British Royal Navy, a fictionalized version of the East India Trading Co., and undead skeleton pirates who are commanded by Jolly Roger. Jolly Roger (voiced by Steven Blum) turns Captain Bo Beck into a skeleton and forces the player to walk the plank at the beginning of the game. Roger seeks to destroy Jack Sparrow, who he blames for turning him into a living skeleton. As pirates complete quests and defeat enemies, they earn "notoriety" (experience points/levels), gold, and gain access to additional weapons. A pirate's weapons include cutlasses, pistols, voodoo (the game's variation of magic points), throwing daggers and grenades.
The game's virtual world includes several island locations from the film series, including Port Royal and Tortuga, as well as additional islands such as Cuba. A pirate can sail from island to island by ship, either as captain or as a crew member on another player's ship, battling enemy ships while in route. Pirates can also board certain enemy ships (known as flagships, and recognizable by the flag icon above their name tag) and attempt to defeat the enemies on board for additional gold and notoriety.
With Basic (free) access, a player's progress is limited and eventually requires an upgrade. Basic access also penalizes all experience gained by the player by 40%. The player can only use the cutlass, the pistol and the voodoo doll, and cannot purchase a stronger boat, having been given a small sloop (an update has allowed basic access members to buy light galleons). Upgrading also allows the player access to more minigames (e.g., Texas Hold 'em) and areas, as well as the ability to form a guild.
The game also has similar (yet slightly reduced) safety features as Toontown Online, with a "Speedchat" chatting system and controlled naming of characters and ships. Players could connect with other players world-wide and chat with them. Similar to the online game, Guild Wars, Pirates Online has many weapon features.
[edit] History
The game was developed by the VR Studio, a group of technologists and artists that are part of the Walt Disney Internet Group. It is the second MMORPG developed by the VR Studio, the first being Toontown Online which launched in 2003.
The game was first announced by The Walt Disney Company on April 26, 2005.[1] It was originally scheduled to be released in summer 2006 to coincide with the release of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, but its release was pushed back multiple times.[2] The game went through two beta testing phases during 2007 and was officially launched on October 31, 2007.[3]
[edit] Reception
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This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can (April 2008). |
The game has had mixed reviews overall. The game was criticized for the restrictions on "Basic Access" player content, as players who wish to experience the full game must pay a monthly fee. People who played free experienced extremely limited gameplay. The character could not be leveled up fully, only three weapon types are available, two types of ships are available, and many more restrictions. However, newer improvements, such as adding a weapon the "Basic Access" players, and adding one new ship to those players did allow them to expand on their experience in the game. However in the case of Unlimited Access, it would better suit the situation if customers were required to pay a one-time only fee, such as AdventureQuest, another online game, though not multiplayer. [4]Also, the game has been criticized for frequent lag and lower than expected graphics quality. However, it was praised for its ship based combat system, cinematic effects, and voice acting. It won the Game Industry News' 2008 Online Only Game of the Year award.
[edit] References
- ^ Disney Online Developing Pirates Of The Caribbean Massively Multiplayer Online Game - PC News at GameSpot
- ^ Gamasutra - Disney Updates On Pirates Of The Caribbean MMO
- ^ The Walt Disney Company (2007-10-31). "Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online Sets Sail". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
- ^ G4 - X-Play - Reviews
[edit] External links
- Pirates of the Caribbean Online - Official site
- Game Created with Panda3d
- Disney's Online Worlds - Pirates Online Section
- Pirates of the Caribbean Online Wiki
- Pirates Online Forums and Fansite
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