Everyone’s a Pirate!

Closing

Yarrr!

Among the things Shochet told us was that there will be consensual PvP. Nope, you won’t be able to run around sneering and shouting “Yarrr!” as you merrily gank the newbies, but you will be able to engage in an old-fashioned sword fight with another character if that character is game. You can also get into ship-to-ship battles; and since ships in PotC can be manned (or, yes John, womanned) by crews, there is even such a thing as crew-versus-crew combat in this game.

After some great conversation and highly quotable information from Shochet (who described himself as “just a game designer”), the PR folks from Buena Vista swept back onto the scene and we were told that while we could quote Walker all we wanted, and we could describe the things that Shochet was telling us, we were not allowed to quote him. Shortly after that, Shochet was whisked away and we were essentially dismissed, which wasn’t so bad…we’d got what we came for (with the exception, perhaps, of a few great game designer quotes).

As we left the crowded booth, John spotted a couple of attractive young Buena Vista employees, dressed a bit more scantily than the PR people and other folks who wore “Staff” t-shirts. “Are you booth babes?” he queried with delight.

“Noooo,” the girl’s laughed, “We’re not booth babes.”

John drew his camera and fired off a few quick shots as the ladies beamed. “Well, you are now!” he cheered. You just can’t keep a booth babe magnet like John down.

“We’re not booth babes.”

When all is said and done, I wouldn’t expect a hard-core sort of MMO from Pirates of the Caribbean . This game definitely has a family-friendly look and feel (right down to the parental controls to keep chatters from running amok and corrupting the kiddies). Those who’ve enjoyed games like World of Warcraft or Dungeons & Dragons Online might find PotC a little too simple for their tastes, but for kids and their families ready to take the next step beyond throwing pies at the bad guys in Toon Town, being a notorious pirate could prove to be all the adventure they’ll need and more.