Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned Previews
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Kotaku:
Pirates is, like Fable, an action-RPG, which these days means that you play it with the button-mashing of an action game but can expect your character's abilities to branch and morph in some ways. The main branching involves the type of pirate you control in this prequel to the famous movie series. You can be a Legendary pirate, an agile swashbuckler seen in the top shot of this post. Or you can be a Dreaded pirate as seen in the shot to the left here, a powerhouse with a hard edge. They represent the poles of Pirates' morality system and they affect how some quests will unfold. For example, a developer told me, a Legendary pirate might need to disguise himself and trick his way into a ballroom. A Dreaded pirate might instead need to bombard the palace containing that ballroom with cannons shot from his ship.
VGRevolution:
As captain Sterling gamers will be controlling his destiny to become either a Legendary of Damned Pirate. As you progress down your chosen path you'll witness the game change with your choices. If you choose to become a Legendary Pirate you'll see Captain Sterling be welcomed into towns like a celebrity. The will also change as you'll have a swagger to your walk and your ship will take on a more classy look. Gamers who choose to follow the Damned path will witness Sterling become decrepit and hunched over, he'll be looked at as an outcast when making his way through port.
360 Rant Rave:
Narrative illustrates that Captain Sterling came across the wreckage of a ship, but he would not be deterred by the poor repair of the boat. Deciding to save the craft and turn it into the pirate ship Nemesis, he tasked himself with seeking out the missing components that would be required to accomplish this goal.
The perspective then shifted to land combat. Here Captain Sterling was seen as a flurry of action, not unlike the melee in God of War. Sterling employed a series of attacks, from tripping, to stabbing an antagonist in the toe and uppercutting him afterwards. As an oddly familiar tactic, Dreaded characters may even utilize an anchor in combat.
And gamrReview:
The demo takes place on an island with a gigantic volcano that is nearly eruption. Quests can be found throughout the game that will help you grow your reputation, skill set, and inventory. The first quest prompts you to obtain a figurehead for your ship. So you fight your way to the top of the volcano until you are met with a choice. You come across an idol. You can take it or leave it. Taking the idol will destabilize the volcano and anger the King Crab (yes, you get to fight a crab boss). When you fight the King Crab, he will call for reinforcements. If you had not taken the idol, the fight would have been easier. Additionally, when you return to this volcanic island later in the game, you discover the volcano has erupted, the town is gone. Maybe you should never have touched the idol.
At any rate, this is a great example of how small choices you make will have profoundly larger consequences and effect the whole outcome of the game. Of course, do not expect the game to end the same way every time. Also, I only got a glimpse of the land combat. I am more excited for the sea combat, which I am told is a huge part of the game. I cannot wait to play around on my ship, customize my crew and wreak havoc on the pirating world.
