July 23, 2007 - Cap'n Jack Sparrow is back with At World's End, but dun be makin' like pirate's gold and turn a fool, as it's far from parallel to t'movie. Disney decided not to go ahead with Dead Man's Chest aside from a couple of handhelds, and now they've attempted to squash the last two parts together in this latest release, leaving us with a mess of a story. But nonetheless, AWE looks great and sounds great, and that's enough to keep someone entertained for awhile. I'd even go out on a limb that it's probably one of the best movie to game renditions I've ever played (although that's not saying a whole lot), and it would be perfect for the youngsters.

The first half of the game pans out to be Dead Man's Chest, or in other words, the recovery of the heart of Davy Jones. Ending with the encounter with the Kraken, the second part begins and ends the story that should have been the sole focus from the get go. Even if you have watched the second film, you'll be confused as to where exactly you're at in the story, as the cutscenes only grab the very core parts of the film, and everything in between unfolds differently. Of course you will recognize certain scenarios, dialogue, and locations straight from the movies, but the majority of the game is in itself original.

AWE's world is still extremely representative of the movie, even if a little on the broad side of things. Character models are spot on in comparison to their actor/actress counterparts. Quality visuals don't come to such a title often, but it does happen. All in all it's disappointing to see such graphics go to waste on such a mediocre game. AWE continues to surprise in the fact that none of the actors lent their voices to the game, yet I was tricked into believing they all had until researching the game after; all are sound-a-likes. Too bad the dialogue is written terribly, as these voice actors really have some talent. In-game cries and yelps, grunts and moans are kept to a minimum, which is good as it's probably AWE's weakest side in the sound department.

Although you get the opportunity to play as Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, and Will Turner, Cap'n Jack will obviously be your main role throughout. You'll even get to fight for all three at the same time, switching from character to character by pressing the D pad. There's a trick to these sections of the game, mostly dependent on speed and driving it to the tougher enemy, but overall it's still not much of a challenge. Dying doesn't mean anything except a little backtracking to the last checkpoint, which are abundant throughout the game, so there's really no worry.

You'll end up in Tortuga and Singapore among others, sword wrangling until your thumbs turn black. These fierce pirate face-offs are fun if you're in the third grade, but may be too shallow for older gamers. The trick to defeating them is simple; spot the enemy, get within attacking range of the enemy, sword slash the enemy followed by a punch followed by a slash, enemy will spin to expose back, slash enemy in back to kill enemy. If you are still excited, go get AWE right now. The levels are linear, making your magic compass pretty useless. Enemies re-spawn in 'tougher enemy' fights and most other times just come out of nowhere, especially in Davy Jones locker with its open desert like layout. As aforementioned they will put up little resistance, hitting the floor soon after engaging you in battle. With the tougher enemies you'll have to wear them down and then finish them off with a special finishing move, earned by completing parts of the game. Certain sections will have you fighting without your sword, simply just hands and feet. Your sword is still usually handy, strapped to your belt, but you're not allowed to use it. You can also collect flintlock ammo, allowing you to shoot up to three shots. Consistently funny is a combination of grabbing and then tossing an enemy over a cliff or into water. You can also whip them into a bunch of oncoming enemies, resulting in a pile up of awkwardly fallen gents. Along the way you can collect knives, grenades, and metal poles (which I believe are candlesticks) to use as weapons or to open doors. All are simple enough to use, just remember my third grade comment.