User Reviews (1 - 11 of 29)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Very Unique Gaming experience

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: February 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I just picked this game up yesterday and have just partly gotten into the game. So far, this is a very tightly programmed, visually stimulating offering from Westwood Studios and EA Games. You play as a young female pirate (Katerina) whose mother was a pirate long ago. You play in two different modes, one is like tomb raider, exploring islands for treasure and mystical items while running your sword through baddies. The other mode is the very well done ship battles where you pilot your pirate ship, blasting forts and other ships out of the water with your cannons and assortment of other special weapons. In additon to the main game, there is a great two-player option where you and a friend can sail around fighting each other's ships. The more ships you sink, the more powerful ships you can take over use. The voice acting is very professional and music is heroic. The cut scenes are very well done and don't interfere with the playing while giving you the backstory. Overall, this game offers a little bit of everything to the adventure gamer. It's not the best game ever made, but it's very entertaining and addictive (which is important). Like the Legacy of Kain and Final Fantasy titles, I've found it hard to put the game down because I can't wait to see what's around the corner or on the next island.

HIT THE HIGH SEAS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: May 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

While not the most technical of videogames, Pirates roped me in with it's simple game play, lush colors, and the ability to become a pirate (a hot one at that). While I should have been sleeping (I work nights), I spent waaay too many hours a day playing this game until I finally finished it. The best thing about finishing? I was ready to start all over again. First things first though, I still need to find the last couple of buried treasure chests and the final few shells. So buy this game and hit the high seas. There's nothing better then sinking an enemy ship before bedtime.

Nice visuals, okay storyline, fun gameplay.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: May 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

My wife and I actually got fished into buying this one after playing the demo. (It is a one player game, but still fun to play together.) Even in the demo the game's strengths were readily apparent - some minor flaws came to light as we continued with the full version, but no show-stoppers.

First, the good stuff. The game environments are gorgeous. The islands look great, the water is clear and blue, the clouds in the sky look real. As you're sailing along, you can see schools of fish swim around, solitary squid wiggle by, and playful dolphins leap out of the water and leave splashes when they land. The creatures are different in different parts of the map. Near one island there's a great looking whale and you can even hear the whale song in the distance. Very, very cool.

The two different styles of gameplay also keep things interesting. The "exploring the islands on foot" part is pretty standard fare. You collect treasure and quest items while defeating various enemies. (This is not a platformer, so there are only a few quest items rather than hundreds.) The "rule the seas" part of the game is great - you sail around fighting the bad-guy ships and defending yourself from other pirates. (The graphics shine again during the sea battles. Each cannon shot is rendered individually with a puff of smoke at the cannon. You see the cannonball flying through the air and if you miss it splashes into the water. If you hit, you see chunks flying off the target. When you do enough damage to the enemy ships, they explode. Sometimes you'll get an instant replay of the ship's destruction showing the final cannon shot up close in slow motion.) Switching between the two styles of gameplay is a lot of fun.

The (PS2) control scheme is pretty easy to pick up (though because this is an adventure game, X is an attack and sometimes I still hit X to jump like I was in a platformer.) The controls are pretty much the same for exploring or sailing, which makes it easy to switch between the two. The left stick controls movement and the right controls the camera. I don't have many complaints about the camera. It stays where you leave it relative to Kat or the ship unless you move it around. In the ship battles you can pull way back to get a great tactical overview or zoom in close for detail. While exploring, you can pull back enough to see around corners or get right behind Kat's head to see what she sees. The only thing I don't like is this: she can't look up.

There are some other minor flaws that I'd like to see tweaked a little in a sequel. For instance, the inventory system only lets you carry a certain amount of each item, no matter how much other stuff you are carrying. (Both personal items for exploring islands and ship related items for the open sea work the same way.) I don't mind a maximum inventory, in fact I kind of expect it, but I'd like to be able to decide for myself what to stock up on and what to leave home.

Also, as Kat grows in skill and power she gets better swords so she can dish out more damage, but other than gaining more health levels her defense doesn't grow. She gets no shields or armor or anything like that. Get surprised by some of the critters in the game and you can lose half your health instantly. Perhaps that was a conscious decision on the part of the designers to encourage careful play, but a little armor would sure be nice.

The storyline is not going to win any awards for dramatic writing, but it works for the game. The cutscenes are pretty good and the voice acting is well-done. The score is great, with some fine dramatic music (a few more tracks would be even better.) I'm not the first to make the comparison to a B-movie matinee or a formulaic novel: it might be a little cheesy, but you didn't come here for literature, you came to have a good time. "Pirates" certainly delivers that.

Simply a fun and wonderful game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The best way i can describe Pirates "The Legend of Black Kat" is to say it is akin to going on a very long disney ride. This game is that fun. It is perfect for those who do not want the overly complex challenges that so many newer games have. While still challenging, the game actuallyn allows you to just sit back and enjoy its beauty.

As mentioned in other reviews, you have both land and see battles. The land battles feature some very simple to use but extremely fun, sword techniques. One improvment I would suggest is to have a sprint button..many times you want to be able to move faster but cannot. You also have many special weapons on land including this really awesome mini barrel bombs that you need to really time to maximum the effect. The graphics are so nice that you may just want to explore each island for sheer sightseeing enjoyment.

The sea battles are awesome. You literally shoot cannonballs and watch them soar into the distance..trying to shoot at the right angle for a connection. It is truly addicting and you have limitless angles from which to view.

Overall this is just a wonderful game that truly lets you escape to a fantasy world.

I give it my highest recommendation

A great adventure

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I am a Tomb Raider fan, but my biggest complaint about the Tomb Raider games is that the puzzles seem near impossible to solve without the aid of a walk-thru. This game is very similar in look and feel to Tomb Raider, but you can focus your attention on having a great time meeting all of your mission objectives and exploring different islands and battling new enemies, rather than trying to figure out what order you should jump onto the blocks of a pyramid without falling to your death several hundred times. I think this game shows a newer trend in game design: how about making a list of objectives so that you know what you're supposed to do next? How about providing a map that you can access at any time, so that you know where you've been and where you need to go? Metal Gear Solid has a similar idea, but they bury mission objectives into hours upon hours (literally) of gabby and tedious cut scenes. There are cut scenes in this game, but it isn't overdone. The bottom line is, the game is just plain fun, pure and simple. And it is addicting. It's worth renting, and if you have a few gamers in your household, it's worth buying, because they will fight over who gets to play this game next.

A must-own for Tomb Raider fans!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I love everything about this game. The graphics are top-notch. You play a pirate named Katarina ("Kat") and you explore numerous lands, fight other pirates on your quest for treasure. I can't wait to get back to my Playstation to play it again!

It's time for adventure

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is great. There is the person-to-person combat on land, and there's the boat battles at sea, which provide a nice variety for any adventure gamer. You search for treasure and battle bad guys while visiting many different enchanting islands, and overall it's very pleasant. And it's so delightful when you upgrade your ship. The sword fights are good, but it's not as cool as Devil May Cry. The sea battles are a hoot because you must control the velocity, direction, firing, distance and camera of your pirate ship all at the same time! It's difficult at first, but once I got used to it, I loved it.

Thankfully, there is an easy, normal and hard mode so you don't get too bored/frustrated. So you know, this is not a game with an intense storyline, so don't expect a hardcore RPG. But there are some nice cutscenes to aid the story every once in a while. It is a free-roaming world, but you are given a list of objectives (map retrieval, etc), so you still know what you're doing. I liked that you can collect seashells which let you see over 200 pretty pirate-related images in the main menu. I found the sound to be good as well. Who cares if this game is not that revolutionary? This is the most entertaining game I've played recently. A great buy! Go Katarina!

Our Family Favorite

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The three men in the house (30 something/5/2 LOVE this game! It was such a hit as a rental we HAD to buy it. The game has a lot of depth..lots of items to collect from many islands to complete the game(my husband loved this as it was more complex). My 2 year old and 5 year old love to just do sea battles against each other picking their color "sails" and type of boats to fire cannons at and out manuever/ram each other. It is worth the [$$] in entertainment value (our most played game by far)and a MUST have in your PS2 collection at [$$]! I like the beautiful graphics at sea..but am only a spectator.

Pirates: Legend of the Black Kat

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The game is addictive..... I find myself going back to it, to wage another battle with a Manowar or to hunt for more treasure.
The only frustrating thing I find is that sometimes the camera is difficult for me to direct in the direction most helpful while I am in combat.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: February 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Westwood comes through with another great game. I bought this because westwoods comand and conqer games are so good. The graphics are really good. The game is sort of like Tomb Raider meets Zelda. There are very creative worlds to explore and tons of different things going on. It is not your basic 1st person shoter. I am sure most people would agree with me after they play it for a while.

Review Page: 1 2 3 Next 

Actions