Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Pirates of the Caribbean Online: A Quick Look at Disney's PotCO
Stradden
Managing EditorMember CommonPosts: 6,696
MMORPG.com Staff Writer Carolyn Koh has been sailing the high seas in the newest MMOG offering from Disney Online in the form of Pirates of the Caribbean Online, a game targeted toward audiences ages ten and up.
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of... squeee! It's Jack Sparrow! OMG! Yes, that was the introduction to Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online. There are a couple of things I need to speak on for this readership before we go into the First Glance impressions of PotCO.
Firstly, Disney's PotCO is based directly on their movies. When I first described it to a friend and his then fourteen year old daughter, that was about all she could talk about. OMG! You get to meet Johnny Depp on line? Well, kinda sorta, your avatar meets Jack Sparrow and the story is about helping him recover his ship, the Black Pearl.
Secondly, PotCO is targeted at the tween to teen demographic, yes, ages ten and up. It is family fare and the system requirements are low. I mean low. Windows 2000, 800 MHz or faster processor, 512 MB RAM, 32 MB 3D graphics card, low. It ain't cutting edge pretty. Players are entering a world familiar to them via the three movies, and many will want to play just because it's Pirates dagnabbit! Arrrr! And they've been seeing the Ads on the Disney Channel and Saturday morning cartoons. That however, is not to say that this isn't a legitimate MMOG, or that hardcore enthusiasts won't enjoy sailing the high seas of the Caribbean with their kids.
;)
Read the whole thing here.
Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Comments
It is already out?! Wow seems like it had a really smooth launch. Anyone currently playing?
~Greatness~
Currently Playing:
Nothing
I was looking at this one. Although, the writer explained it perfectly. "It is an upgraded ToonTown." Thats one of the reasons I don't want to invest my money and time into a game which really isn't there except to entertain little kids.
My son used some Christmas money to buy At World's End last night, which made me decide again to sit down and watch all the movies. Sounds like something I'd love to share with him!
I think the OP is spot on though. It is a very fun game, aimed at family oriented theme.
However the avatar and ship combat is actually quite good. (though the graphics are not that intense)
But like I said, give it a try yourself.
Yep My six year old loves the game, and I like the fact that Disney does such an awesome job of keeping the Asshats and perverts that haunt such games muted. As a Parent i can set her up with speed chat, and she uses pre loaded phrases to communicate, and best of all she can only receive other speed chat tells and Says.
Well at least grownups can actually enjoy this game playing with their kids, not like some games like Angels online which would drive any parent batty.
I beta'd the game, and glitches aside, there wasn't much wrong with it, for what it is.
What it is, is an MMO for younger kids. All of the reading, and grinding and economic elements of some MMOs just aren't kid friendly, and besides, who wants to team with the hyper-active 12 year old who's going to get the whole group killed anyways?
My biggest problem with the game was balance, though. As you go up in level you are automatically given new missions. This stuff is usually for a little bit of gold, or a new weapon or something. Not bad rewards, but the problem is you'll be working on these missions for the next 10 levels to come because the objectives always, ALWAYS suck. You just hit level 2? Well, head to this level 20 island and hunt down 40 of these monstrously huge man-eating fly traps! You hit level 5 and want your voodoo doll? Awesome! Now travel to every island and get 10 random body parts from 40 random creatures! And guess what!? All of them are stronger than you!
That formula continues for a long time. Probably through the rest of the game's content.
I think most people thought he was cursed to sail on the ship every 10 years which is wrong...
The Flying Dutchman is to ferry dead souls from the sea into the netherworld. The captain was picked by Calypso, goddess of the sea. He would be allowed to spend one day ashore with she who loves him dearly before taking up his responsibilities to ferry souls for ten years. His heart would be put in the Dead Man's Chest and given to his loved one while he would hold onto the key. After that, according to writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, if he found his loved one waiting for him, he would be relieved of his responsibilities to live the rest of his life with his loved one, and Calypso would pick a new captain. If his loved one was no longer faithful or had disappeared after the first ten years, he would remain on the Flying Dutchman for eternity, being allowed ashore once every ten years, until he found his loved one or until his heart was taken and punctured.
The story's writer's have confirmed that Elizabeth's faithful love to WIll for the ten years frees him from his curse. So Will was back for good at the end. There was supposed to be a scene between Calypso and Davy Jones that explained this, but it was cut out from the movie. Since Elizabeth remained faithful for those 10 years, the spell was broken. Davy Jones couldn't break the spell because he broke Calypso's heart and betrayed his duties as the captain of the flying dutchman.
tired playing it for a bit....not my cup a' tea
rather funny to play but of course its very simplistic in its design and i belive on purpose soo.
What i dont like about game is the map function not sure its only in the free account but keeping in your head how to get to certain places can be a real pain in the arse.
for instance in quest you had to first get to one place on the island and you didnt know where and when you finally found it i found out that you had to get to another place inside that place to get wher you wanted.
is it so hard to get like a marker on the map where it has the name on all places you have been to and how to get there in some way or another, Or just a way to insert notes on the map ?
now you have to write down left -left-right or similar on a piece of paper so you dont have to run a around lik e crazy if you forget where you have been.
-Semper ubi sub ubi!
always wear underwear
I consider myself a serious MMO player, and have to disagree. In terms of raw gameplay mechanics, it's better than most MMOs, and way better than the current sea faring competition. It's quite fun for a while, from the avatar combat, with it's wide variety of skills, to the entirely uninstanced naval combat out on the open sea, with or without a crew of friendly players manning your cannons.
That said, well yeah, it does lack depth.
Every character gets every skill, so there's really no customization or individuality at all, aside from appearance.
Characters don't even have any sort of functional inventory, so no loot drops, other than gold, and icons that basically just translate to instant gold. You upgrade your gun, or your cutlass, by purchasing it at any weapon shop, and it just automatically replaces the old one. Of which there are only three tiers of each weapon. No variety, just first, second, and third level items.
The big open sea is great for being uninstanced, but it's very small. There are only a few islands, and they're all within visual range from the very first moment you leave the starter port to look around. Can take a little while to travel around, due to the pacing of travel, but I never felt much like I was exploring.
Anyhow, those are my gripes, but it's still worth trying, even for serious MMO players, simply for being fun for a while. Not many games let you operate a sea vessel, and those that do, do a much less enjoyable job of it, and unlike them, this game actually has enjoyable avatar gameplay, too.
When I want a single-player story, I'll play a single-player game. When I play an MMO, I want a massively multiplayer world.
I play it with my kids
It's a nice diversion on cold winter days when we really shouldn't be outside anyway.
And, to be honest, I enjoy it more than I enjoyed PotBS. The graphics are pretty rough around the edges though
Took me a while to forgive that.
And yeah, it's pretty repetitive... then again, it's for kids.
"A ship-of-war is the best ambassador." - Oliver Cromwell