The pirate genre is one that seemed to go from sparse to bountiful rather quickly. Years ago there were not that many games that dealt with the time period and then, of late, quite a number have entered the scene – including a couple that sailed into massively multiplayer online seas.

Pirates of the Caribbean Online is an offering from Disney that works off the movie license, dropping in some of the familiar screen characters, like Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan, while trying to make the experience in the game world uniquely the player’s story.

It begins with a prison break and much of what you do in the early going seems to be carefully orchestrated. But don’t think of this in the same frame as that other pirate MMO, Pirates of the Burning Sea. Disney’s entry is a kid-friendly, family-friendly offering that is intuitive, easy on computer specs and it does not require much in the way of deep thought or character planning. 

You do get to create a character and while the options are hardly robust, you can create a character that fits in nicely to the open world. The game does touch on some of the films' moments, including the enemies, but everything has been reduced to a low common denominator. For example, combat is merely a matter of clicking away. But the clicking with the mouse is not without reason. In fact, it is a timed attack and if you hit the timing just right, you will be able to chain together attacks for bigger damage.

As you fight, you gain experience and that leads to more Notoriety (which translates into allowing the player to ‘buy’ new skills) and more skills. However, the game does come in two flavors – the free to download and play taste, and then the one where you play a small monthly subscription and get to experience all that the world has to offer. The free-to-play version will be fine, but you will find yourself handcuffed if you try to scale up your character to truly compete down the road.

The “play for free” option comes with some distractions, like the ads that ring your game window, a lower priority for server access and a level cap. If you pay $9.95 a month, though, you can get rid of the ads, lift the level cap and enjoy all the game has to offer. As a business model, it seems to be a case of tantalizing the player with a bit of a taste of the game and then requiring them to pay if they want the full course.

As for the quest system, the game has the fetch variety and the ones where you have to fight and defeat so many mobs of this or that variety (from garrison soldiers, to skeletons to crabs). There is also ship combat and that can be entertaining. Because the game is played online, players can put together crews with a captain to navigate and fire the general cannons while individual players, as part of the crew, can aim and fire individual cannons. This can be very entertaining, and add a challenge to the game’s general mechanics.

Visit a tavern and you can gamble your coins in games of poker or blackjack. The game really does have a lot to offer and for the most part, this is a game that rewards players with a lack of a serious death penalty and an MMO experience that could only be considered on the 'lite' side.

The game also has PvP, but this is purely consensual and, again, there is no real penalty for being defeated. In this regard, Pirates of the Caribbean Online seems to understand its target audience and cater to them.

The game does have a few failings and they fall in line with the multiplayer aspect. In order to put together a crew, you have to visually be near one another in the game. You can’t just warp into a location and crew up. Also, while the graphics are serviceable, they are hardly cutting edge; this, though, falls in line with the fact that this is a game that will work well on lower-end systems.

Pirates of the Caribbean Online is a lighthearted affair that is for families. As such it is very kid friendly and does an adequate job of portraying the world of Jack Sparrow in a manner that should bring a smile to the face of those who truly enjoy the game. However, don’t expect the “free to play” idea to do much more than lure you to pay to play. If you want to enjoy all this game has to offer, it will cost you.

Gameplay: 7.0
Combat is a timed-click experience and the game seems to be rendered down to its lowest common control denominator. There were a few times when the connection unexpectedly was cut short. But crashes were not the norm.

Graphics: 6.8
The animations are decent, but the graphics are hardly anything that will challenge a good system. That, though, is the idea.

Sound: 7.0
The game has solid sound that mimics the movies.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Concept: 6.8
As far as an MMO model is concerned, the game does not tread any new territory. The subscription model is a big tease.

Multiplayer: 7.0
There is multiplayer fun to be had though you may have to work a bit to get to the place where you can explore that aspect of the game.   

Overall: 7.0
This is an “MMO lite” game, which means it should be fine for families and kids. The combat can ramp up on occasion, surprisingly so, but the ship combat is fun and the game does a very nice job of moving the player along with its quest system. Don’t expect a hardcore MMO experience and you will find this game entertaining and a nice representation of the world depicted in the movies.