Splice the mainbrace, etc. You've played Lego: Star Wars. You've played Lego: Batman. You've played Lego:
Harry Potter. Perhaps you've even played Lego: Rock Band. A massive hit
with children and adults alike, the Lego series stands out as one of
the most successful licensed games in video games history.
But the next Lego game is really off the hook.
That would be Lego: Pirates of the Caribbean, which will release to coincide
with the launch of the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger
Tides, next May. The studio behind the other Lego console titles, TT
Games, is handling development -- and considering they've yet to put out
a dud, we're pretty confident they'll steer this one safely into port.
Which would make a change. It's not the first time Disney has attempted to
bring the rich humor and mythology of the Pirates of the Caribbean world
to video games: there's been a whole treasure-chest worth of terrible
cash-ins foisted on unsuspecting gamers over the franchise's history.
Critics keelhauled the lot of them, with the (debatable) exception of PC
release Pirates of the Caribbean Online, a World of Warcraft-like online world that had moderate success at its 2007 launch.
It's also familiar territory for Lego fans. The Danish block-maker has
maintained a successful line of pirate-themed toys for over two decades,
but in recent years rival construction-toy brand Mega Bloks has had the
license to produce sets based on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Whether or not this release means Lego fans can expect Jack Sparrow
minifigs to start appearing on the shelves of their local toy emporium
remains to be seen. But if they do, we'll have our pieces of eight
ready.
