Pirates of the Caribbean from Bethesda Softworks and Russian developer Akella actually has little to do with either the upcoming feature film or the popular Disney amusement park ride of the same name. But considering the spotty track record of both movie-licensed and Disney-licensed games, maybe that’s a good thing. Pirates is actually very similar to Akella’s previous effort, Sea Dogs, a 3-year-old PC game that featured open-ended role-playing elements, ship-to-ship combat, swashbuckling, trading, and more. Pirates has all these same elements, giving it a free-form sort of feel that’s reminiscent in some ways of Bethesda’s own The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Some technical issues and a somewhat steep learning curve may unfortunately get in the way of your enjoyment of either the Xbox or PC version of the game, and despite the generally impressive visuals, you’ll need to use your imagination to fill in a few blanks as you play. But if that’s OK with you, you’ll find that Pirates of the Caribbean offers a refreshing and entertaining experience that successfully evokes a sense of what it might have been like to live a life of danger and adventure on the high seas.

In Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s the 17th century, and you’re Nathaniel Hawk, a sharp-witted captain of his own modest ship. He’s trying to make ends meet in the Caribbean, a collection of small islands ruled over by European nations including the English, the French, the Spanish, the Dutch, and more. The Caribbean archipelago is home to some good weather and plenty of lucrative natural resources, which have made it an obvious draw for the world’s powers–as well as the perfect place for pirates and privateers to set up shop. The game’s story begins when the French make a play for an English colony, and Hawk barely escapes with his life. He ends up helping put the French back in their place and then becomes embroiled in a greater plot, which even has some supernatural overtones. The presence of some undead pirates is apparently what ties this game in with its namesakes, but other than the occasional encounters with the living dead, you’ll find that Pirates of the Caribbean pretty much plays it straight.