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Though simple, LEGO Pirates' gameplay works exceptionally well. You'll also find that some crowded sequences involving many allies, NPCs and enemies can quickly grow frustrating as you attempt to keep track of who you're fighting and who's helping you. As a result, my so-called friends would push me off platforms as they attempted to reach a goal I had no immediate plan to achieve. On occasion I found the computer was far more eager to accomplish something than I was. Some of the more important additions to your roster will also allow you to visit previously-unreachable areas, giving you access to more loot and more collectibles. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as collecting the dozens upon dozens of playable characters is addicting. Outside of a key half dozen or so, most of these folks are just clones of the essentials or completely superfluous.
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Not every character is all that useful though. Some characters are required to achieve specific tasks – Jack Sparrow uses his compass to find critical objects that are hidden, Will Turner can throw his axe to hit targets and so on. Up to two players can take control of a variety of characters, smash everything in sight to discover hidden objects and rebuild devices to gain access to new areas. That's what LEGO games have been for years, and that proves to be the same here. Less complicated, and very familiar, is the gameplay of LEGO Pirates. Remove dialogue or shift to storyboards, and it proves nigh impossible. Even when the movies themselves were trying to painstakingly spell out their labyrinthine plots, it was a challenge to keep up. It's here that Traveller's Tales occasionally struggles. But in the later films, as most of us know, things get a little convoluted. In its early moments, the Pirates franchise is very clear – Jack Sparrow is a pirate, Will Turner is a heroic blacksmith. However, some cutscenes (when not directly featuring in-game graphics) will use stylish storyboard-esque animation to quickly keep players up-to-date on what's happening. Characters silently act out emotions and plot points.
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Play Continuing a long-standing tradition, LEGO Pirates features no dialogue and no subtitles.
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