Consider this a heads-up: Propaganda's seafaring action-RPG is looking pretty cool.
Though I've ridden the ride like eight or nine times, I've never seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I think I just got caught up in some serious pirate burnout, brought on by too many lame indie rock chicks and all the stupid "YO DOG PIRATES AND NINJAS SHOULD FIGHT" crap that came and went a few years back. That and I guess I haven't really enjoyed anything Johnny Depp has done since Blow. Anyway, with that in mind, it shouldn't surprise you to hear that I wasn't really too keen on checking out the latest game to bear the name, Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned. But this Propaganda-developed action-RPG looks pretty promising and it's set before the films, giving the game a cohesive universe to work with without forcibly strapping its narrative to that of a simple movie.
Me timbers are shiverin' already. Armada of the Damned is designed as an action-RPG with a combat system that includes basic light and heavy attacks, a pistol that can be worked into combos, blocks and parries on defense, and special moves that require you to fill a meter before they can be deployed. That combat system, along with a lot of other things in the game, are impacted by the moral decisions you make as you quest your way around the high seas. Though it sounds like the game's developers are attempting to make those moral choices less obvious than a simple "are you good or evil" decision-making process, it eventually puts you in the role of a legendary (good) or dreaded (bad) pirate. Your abilities, skill tree, and even the look of your pirate ship are governed by that role. Though I don't normally play the evil path in games unless I'm reviewing them, the dreaded pirate is armed with a gigantic anchor that you bust out during combos. Certain special attacks, such as one that slams the ground and pops enemies up into the air with a surprise geyser of water, make great use of the anchor, as well. Special attacks are governed by a meter that fills as you fight.
Piratas! The quest being shown off at Disney's pre-E3 event had me making my way to the highest point on an island, where an idol needed to be tinkered with. The end choice essentially asks you if you want to keep the idol for yourself or carve your own face onto it. The carving is the "legendary" choice, because even though defacing an item of worship isn't especially "good," you are, after all, still a pirate. The immediate result is that keeping the idol causes the ensuing boss fight to come along with some additional enemies--in this case, creepy-looking crab men. But there's a longer-term impact, as well. Apparently carving your face into the idol gains favor with the locals--since you look just like the thing they pray to--and gives you discounts on local goods. Keeping the idol lets you sell it for a lump of cash... and sends the entire island crashing down until everything of worth is destroyed. It sounds like you'll have to return to this specific island later in the game if you want to truly see the effect your actions caused.
It's just one example, but it was a pretty effective one for the brief time I spent with the game. It sounds like you'll have plenty of other opportunities to shape the world as you see fit and experience a long, twisting narrative. To hear Propaganda's Dan Tudge tell it, there are around three novels' worth of dialogue in the game, or around 180,000 words. I realize that isn't exactly a useful number, since games don't often get broken down into word counts, but hey, that at least sounds big.
All of that action is backed up by a great-looking stylized world that will feature some familiar locations from the films. It'll also feature the open sea, as you'll be able to put together a crew and set sail. Ship combat--including ramming other ships into tiny pieces--will also be a factor, though only the on-foot stuff was on display for this demo. It was certainly enough to leave me interested in seeing more. You'll be able to hit man-sized crab monsters in the face with an anchor yourself this fall on Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3.
You had me at crab monsters... I like crabs. But also the talk about the idol and how your actions can influence certain things to happen, I like that kinda thing. And I like pirates. Only thing is I'm pretty sure I tried a POTC demo for the other game and I wasn't much of a fan. A super evil pirate ship sounds pretttyy tempting though!
I always found the "Pirates" universe extremely generic and pretty uninteresting but if they can put some good gameplay mechanics on top of it and flesh out the world a little better than the movies do then I'm down.
@Rhaknar: I was kidding. I was referencing the Bombcast from two weeks ago where Jeff said, "I've got to get my write-ups done, there's no excuse not to do them."
Am I alone in this, or does anyone else think that the dichotomy between "legendary" and "dreaded" is just about the dumbest thing ever? Really, I'm curious.
(And also, when you think of "legendary", are you picturing Barney Stinson saying it in his completely unnecessary, elongated fashion?)
I don't know why they have to divide characters in half with the moral choice thing. Why can't they just put the energy into developing the character instead of splitting him in half.
" One word: Disney. Could be good, but a pirate's game made by Disney? I have my doubts. "
It's published by Disney. It's made by Propaganda. "
Nice, still Disney will probably step in in case of anything outside the boundaries of common fairy tales. :( "
Uh, what? The movies already had crazy Lovecraftian monsters and skeleton pirates. Plus Disney owns companies like Mirimax that made a little movie called Pulp Fiction. "
The monsters and skeletons had nothing of exceptional i think. It could be good, but i fear it will be traditional and fairy taley, as Disney has a name to defend, and being associated with a game that presents something a little more mature can have repercussions. But we'll see.
" Am I alone in this, or does anyone else think that the dichotomy between "legendary" and "dreaded" is just about the dumbest thing ever? Really, I'm curious. (And also, when you think of "legendary", are you picturing Barney Stinson saying it in his completely unnecessary, elongated fashion?) "
It feels about 2 years too late, yes. Like saying "da bomb" in 2003. They missed the boat on the morality gimmick. Pun intended.
@Jeff: Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors, and his acting in Pirates was top notch. First really swash buckling, likable character I had seen in a long time. Perhaps since the original Indiana Jones. Anyways you should give the Pirate movies a shot. Grab the Blu-ray trilogy set, and not only enjoy the stories but the mind blowing visuals. If you do, tell me how you liked them.
Ooooh, can't wait. Loved the first movie and i am fascinated to know what they will do with the fiction/world. Pirates of the Caribbean is not a bad world to set a pirates rpg in...
And i kinda hope that they will have a Jack Sparrow like character in the games, that would be really fun but wouldn't be surprised/mind if there isn't.
" Am I alone in this, or does anyone else think that the dichotomy between "legendary" and "dreaded" is just about the dumbest thing ever? Really, I'm curious. (And also, when you think of "legendary", are you picturing Barney Stinson saying it in his completely unnecessary, elongated fashion?) "
It feels about 2 years too late, yes. Like saying "da bomb" in 2003. They missed the boat on the morality gimmick. Pun intended. "
You mean its not cool to say "DA BOMB" anymore? Omg..what have i done...
On a related note what the hell else would a pirate be if not those two. Moral choice is not going away, mainly because there isn't a way to have a game have infinite possibilities. Some choice is better then no choice.
" Am I alone in this, or does anyone else think that the dichotomy between "legendary" and "dreaded" is just about the dumbest thing ever? Really, I'm curious. (And also, when you think of "legendary", are you picturing Barney Stinson saying it in his completely unnecessary, elongated fashion?) "
It feels about 2 years too late, yes. Like saying "da bomb" in 2003. They missed the boat on the morality gimmick. Pun intended. "
You mean its not cool to say "DA BOMB" anymore? Omg..what have i done... On a related note what the hell else would a pirate be if not those two. Moral choice is not going away, mainly because there isn't a way to have a game have infinite possibilities. Some choice is better then no choice. "
I don't take issue with the moral choice thing; rather, I think the moral dualities are named in a stupid manner. Can't one be both legendary and dreaded? Why does legendary have to mean good?
Looking good...I've long thought a good game could be made out of the Pirates universe, if it was done right. And this is looking like it's being done right.
I wonder how similar to Captain Blood (the videogame) this is going to be. This game seems like a recent announcement; where as, Captain Bllood was announced quite some time ago.
" Am I alone in this, or does anyone else think that the dichotomy between "legendary" and "dreaded" is just about the dumbest thing ever? Really, I'm curious. (And also, when you think of "legendary", are you picturing Barney Stinson saying it in his completely unnecessary, elongated fashion?) "
It feels about 2 years too late, yes. Like saying "da bomb" in 2003. They missed the boat on the morality gimmick. Pun intended. "
You mean its not cool to say "DA BOMB" anymore? Omg..what have i done... On a related note what the hell else would a pirate be if not those two. Moral choice is not going away, mainly because there isn't a way to have a game have infinite possibilities. Some choice is better then no choice. "
I don't take issue with the moral choice thing; rather, I think the moral dualities are named in a stupid manner. Can't one be both legendary and dreaded? Why does legendary have to mean good? "
They're skirting wordplay like famous and infamous. Problem is legendary has never been linked to positivity. Monsters are legendary, etc. But in fairness, most moral extremes in games have stupid names. A simple good and bad would suffice but then they wouldn't have a good/bad vernacular unique to their game. Its all branding.
" Am I alone in this, or does anyone else think that the dichotomy between "legendary" and "dreaded" is just about the dumbest thing ever? Really, I'm curious. (And also, when you think of "legendary", are you picturing Barney Stinson saying it in his completely unnecessary, elongated fashion?) "
It feels about 2 years too late, yes. Like saying "da bomb" in 2003. They missed the boat on the morality gimmick. Pun intended. "
You mean its not cool to say "DA BOMB" anymore? Omg..what have i done... On a related note what the hell else would a pirate be if not those two. Moral choice is not going away, mainly because there isn't a way to have a game have infinite possibilities. Some choice is better then no choice. "
I don't take issue with the moral choice thing; rather, I think the moral dualities are named in a stupid manner. Can't one be both legendary and dreaded? Why does legendary have to mean good? "
They're skirting wordplay like famous and infamous. Problem is legendary has never been linked to positivity. Monsters are legendary, etc. But in fairness, most moral extremes in games have stupid names. A simple good and bad would suffice but then they wouldn't have a good/bad vernacular unique to their game. Its all branding. "
Well I don't think they are even trying to make it a good choice. I mean aside from obvious parallels from other games to align with good or bad i think that legendary actually works for the exact reason you said. You are a pirate. I don't remember any happy go lucky good pirates.
Also about what SunKing said, you could totally be legendary and dreaded. But that would be such a long title. The Legendary Dreaded SunKing. Using only one of those sounds so much better!
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