The game actually takes the liberty of extensively covering lots of information from Dead Man’s Chest in an attempt to catch players up with the story and missing bits not in the films. The story behind the third film is also in the game, but as almost the second half of the entire story, it may have been maybe a good idea to not market it solely on the third film. But then again, Disney and marketing are like best friends; that’s why the game has been advertised solely upon the fact of playing as a digital recreation of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. Shameless. Back on topic, the plot from At World’s End is handled nicely enough so as not to spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it, but as half of America has, there’s not really any sense in explaining any further than “It’s Pirates of The Caribbean with supplementary material.”

The gameplay is a mix of faux action and a faux-pas of platforming. What does that mean? Players can control Jack, Will, or Elizabeth as each character is unveiled throughout the game, and take on all the pirates anyone could ask for. Unfortunately combat isn’t fun at all. Sword fighting is simply an effort of hitting the A button. Once to parry, another to stun the enemy as they turn their back, and then taking them down with a final blow. There are other moves, such as grabbing with the Y button or punching and shooting, but they all do just about the same amount of damage. None of the enemies are particularly threatening and seem to wait in line to be taken out, which leaves the combat at a nice middle ground between mediocre and bad. I think the exact word is lifeless.

There are a few highlights such as dueling with another character, which almost plays out like a 2.5D fighter, featuring high and low attacks, along with proper blocking and counters. The part fans will like is the pirate smack talk that may be engaged in should each swordsman become locked within the other’s weapon. Seriously, you can do that. With a plus always comes a minus, or even better a “what is happening in this game?” For instance, in this particular game under criticism, you may perform voodoo magic thanks to Jack’s voodoo magic powers which have never been heard of or explained until Disney Interactive wanted to make things even flashier than they should be. By collecting enough Shrunken Heads and holding the trigger buttons and A, he will initiate a “Jackanism” to help move forward in the level or just kill everyone in sight with the now-enchanted sword. This is good for getting the audience to make a face like they were asked to perform a complicated calculus problem with no prior training and only having been given a handful of grass. That’s really the only explanation I can come up with.

Throughout each stage are collectibles, such as seven bottles of rum, which will award an Achievement upon having found all of them. Of course, these take exploring to find, which involves some platforming that also feels very contrived. There are context-sensitive jumps, along with an odd balancing act and a bit of deadly ledges to slowly cross, but none of it feels as good or plays out as well as the Prince of Persia feel they had surely tried to accomplish. Each level is also filled with loot and other pirate junk that can be used or snatched up, such as a gun or metal piece to open a cage. Along with a co-op mode, the occasional duel, a bit of having to juggle between characters so they don’t die, or collecting all the loot you can, there isn’t much variety or life in the game.

What players will notice, however, are the flashy visuals. It’s fun to watch Jack’s hair bounce around, and Davy Jones almost impresses just as he did in those first minutes debuting on cellulite. The game is visually pleasing at parts, mostly on the characters’ details, water, and some of the animations. On the other hand, a lot of it can be very brown, just as the current-gen titles seem to have suffered in an attempt to be more real. Many parts played underground or in a cavern tend to be drab, while there is the occasional beautiful Caribbean Sea setting that one would have expected, most of the time seems to have been spent getting Jack Sparrow to look as much like the film’s so that they would have a pulling point in commercials. Along with visuals comes a soundtrack that helps the game along but does no more or less, adding to the mediocrity of the final product.

As much fun as it should be to fight hideous sea men and pirates, a good game comes from more than just pop culture. Pirates of The Caribbean At World’s End survives when it comes to paying tribute to its source material, but that’s about it. This works on two levels, as the source material began as something charming and fun, but boiled quickly down into a convoluted story filled with special effects and a sentiment that actually turned out to backfire and turned into something that was just there to see. The game became something that is just on shelves with an icon as the boxart –there to play, but why would you want to? When a game based on a blockbuster hit receives high production funds, it shows. It shows in the boring gameplay dressed in the summer’s current feature film just to make another quick buck. Unless you’re dying for achievements or are a fan of the films, there’s no reason to buy or even rent At World’s End. Instead, leave it to the films to do all the work for you, it’s easier and costs less.