Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned Previews
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First, we stop by IGN:
The idea of "choosing your fate" takes center stage in Armada of the Damned. Early on in the game, players will decide if they will play as a legendary hero, or a dreaded one. Although this choice is rigid (you can't play both sides at once), the gameplay will remain flexible. In other words, players can still make the occasional "good" or "evil" decision, even if that decision opposes their original selection. But Sterling will ultimately end his journey as a legendary captain or a dreaded one. You can't be the Neutral Captain Sterling, after all. That'd be just silly.
This defining choice extends into several aspects of the game -- it doesn't just influence the story. Sterling's appearance, personality, weapons, attacks, quests, and even the game's endings are all affected by the player's choice. The legendary Sterling is a showboating, handsome adventurer, while the dreaded Sterling is haunted, dark, and uses supernatural power to decimate those that stand before him.
Then we hit GameSpot:
A vitality meter sits below your health bar that lets you perform special abilities, like taunt. By taunting enemies, they will do less damage and take more damage from you. If you finish a taunted foe, there's a chance that the debuff will spread to the remaining opponents onscreen. Combat includes a lot of well-timed button presses, as you can string some four-hit combos if you time your attacks correctly. The team wanted to make your moves as "piratey" as possible, so your combat animations will change. You won't always just be slashing; you'll throw in a punch here and there, a head butt, and a good kick to the groin. As you level, you'll gain points that let you upgrade your passive and aggressive skills so that your moves are constantly evolving. The developers talked about how they didn't want combat to feel repetitive, so there's a lot of focus on making sure that regardless of which path you take, you'll have a solid skill set that lets you get into the role of being a true pirate.
The other part of combat comes in the form of ship battle, which encompasses a good portion of the game, depending on how much time you like to spend at sea. We were given a short demo on a test bed where we were behind the wheel of a dreaded pirate ship, firing at cargo and war ships that were within range.
And, finally, AtomicGamer:
We also saw the Nemesis take to the high seas and do battle with an assortment of British and Spanish ships. There are sail shots, hull shots, and crew shots and each will be particularly successful against different kinds of ships. But one type of shot that is effective against all types is the "Wrath of the Deep" Dreaded special attack, which calls down a cinematic stormstrike on the enemy for a one-shot kill.
Aboard the Nemesis, we also noticed a lovely she-pirate named Penny, who was in the first mate position on deck. While the Propaganda crew wouldn't tell us anything about her, they did mention that there will be many different first mates and other crew members to choose from. We don't know if you'll be able to romance any of them, though we think that's a distinct possibility.
