Bethesda hooks new Pirates of the Caribbean game

Move over, WWII-themed shooters. The new genre of the moment is...pirate games? Yes, riding the wake of the success of Walt Disney Pictures' Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a fleet of pirate-themed games has pilfered the industry, and the list continues to grow.

Bethesda Softworks today announced that it will be publishing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. The game is based on the aforementioned Curse of the Black Pearl, and it's being developed by 7 Studios, which is currently at work on another game based on a movie license, Fantastic Four.

The game is being distributed by Bethesda under license from Buena Vista Games, the interactive division of Disney that owns the rights to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Though BVG recently announced it is spearheading games based on the Disney films, it is not involved in the production of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.

As its name indicates, the game is quite obviously focused on Jack Sparrow, the smarmy yet charming pirate portrayed by Johnny Depp in the film. Gamers will swashbuckle their way around the high seas, looting, swordfighting, plundering, and engaging in other piratical behavior.

The action will take place on both land and sea, with players being swept away to dank caves, shipwrecks, and other Caribbean locations. Jack will learn as he goes, as progressing through the game yields more combat moves and deadly attacks.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow is one of several pirate games recently released or scheduled for impending release. Bethesda started the flow in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean, which was originally supposed to be Sea Dogs II and was not slated to have any affiliation with the blockbuster movie. The Game Boy Advance was host to the first Curse of the Black Pearl-based game in 2003, though it faired much worse with critics and audiences than its silver screen counterpart. Sid Meier's Pirates! looted PCs last year, and it will land on Xboxes in July. Puzzle Pirates, a family-friendly collection of minigames, was released earlier this month on the PC. Tortuga: Pirate's Revenge will be released later this year for the PC, and 2006 will see two additional Pirates of the Caribbean-based titles, Pirates of the Caribbean Online for the PC and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest for the DS and PSP.