LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Hands-On) (Nintendo 3DS) Preview

UK-based development outfit, Traveller’s Tales (or TT Games, as it now seems to go by), has made a name for itself by creating a whole slew of different LEGO-based video game adaptations of popular Intellectual Property. Starting off with the excellent LEGO Star Wars, then quickly moving through LEGO Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Batman and even LEGO Rock Band! Some may start to think of the word ‘overkill’ here, but the success levels of each successive release goes to show the demand is as high as ever, and the stream of high scores rolling out from various media publications around the world highlight how TT Games has managed to expertly dodge the ‘rinse and repeat’ formula some other developers use for regularly updated series.

Cubed3 was pleasantly surprised to find that there were several new games on show at the recent Nintendo 3DS Ignition UK launch party, one of which was LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, which is set for release in Europe in May alongside the first in the new trilogy of movies, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. After sampling the delights of LEGO Stars Wars III: The Clone Wars on 3DS lately and finding that Traveller’s Tales was not exaggerating when it stated the Wii game has effectively been transferred to the smaller screen without any loss of quality, getting the chance to trial LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game was a great surprise and delight.

The idea behind this upcoming Nintendo 3DS release is to re-create as many of the memorable moments from the movie’s illustrious history, bringing the best moments to life via LEGO mini-figures in fantastic worlds built out of LEGO bricks, complete with enemies that when despatched crumble into tiny blocks and spray LEGO coins all over, ripe for collection. In the final game, players will be able to take on the role of more than 70 characters as they work through various pirate adventures and witness numerous hilariously quirky LEGO cut-scenes. There are several Nintendo 3DS-exclusive features to be found, such as the chance to use the 3DS system’s Play Coins in the game itself, the inclusion of a ‘chance encounter’ system, plus high resolution visuals that are easily on a par with the home console iterations and obviously add an element of 3D that is lacking elsewhere.

The main focus of the 3DS demo, though, was the new Pirate Duel aspect, although there was also the chance to quickly wander around building LEGO structures, an unusual part where an animal had to be ridden in a circle, and the opportunity to destroy anything in sight, which is always a great pleasure. In the official Press Release, the Pirate Duel element is classed as a mode whereby players cross swords with nearby 3DS owners that have played and stored the ‘Extra Data’ of LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game on their SD cards, thus allowing for a StreetPass exchange to take place. Via the clever Sleep Mode function of the 3DS, automatic detection of other systems occurs and the LEGO pirate from a stranger’s game will appear in your version, ready and waiting to be battled against.

These Pirate Duel sparring sessions have players rapidly tapping the ‘B’ button to gain the upper-hand when swords clash, then following the on-screen prompts to block, then hack and slash away at the opponent until they succumb to your mighty strength. At this point, Play Coins are awarded that can be used to unlock other new characters for use in the main adventure. It has not been confirmed whether or not Play Coins earned via the 3DS pedometer will be available for use in LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, but if the game draws from the Play Coins system actually built into the 3DS, then it would be unusual for it to block coins from other sources being used in-game.

Once victorious, the LEGO pirate under your control gains experience and when enough points have been accrued, eventually the player will start to increase in stature, climbing the power ranks and gaining new rewards such as extra health, new moves and even other characters. The Pirate Duels concept is a smart way to use StreetPass and goes to show that developers are working hard to find the best use of this facet of Nintendo's new 3DS hardware.

As for how 3D LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game is, the setting of the demo was not particularly conducive to showing off the true depth the parallax 3D imaging technique can bring to an adventure, but if LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is anything to go by, the main journey itself will be littered with fancy 3D effects that leave gamers stunned.