The first Pirates Of the Caribbean (The Curse Of the Black Pearl) game was released for the Advance. Playing this game, I am mystified that Disney can even lay claim to it being based upon the film, as the only thing that remotely resembles any element of the film are the names of the characters. There wasn't even any effort made to make Jack Sparrow look like Jack Sparrow. Jack is on an island in the beginning, where he picks up gold coins and kills crabs with his sword. Then it's on to Port Royal, where he runs around trying to find bags of gold confiscated by british soldiers and gathering bottles of potion to restore his health. Once I did that my mission was to destory ships in the harbor by lobbing cannon balls at them from my own ship. I stopped there, not because I wasn't enjoying the game, but because it was about 2 am and I needed to get my silly butt to bed. The whole time I was playing I kept thinking, 'what version of the film did the Disney people see? Because it sure as hell varies from the DVD version.' Still, the graphics are decent, with a wide pallette of colors, the sound is likewise good and the game itself is fun to play, if a bit easier than I'd prefer. Also, it does not automatically save the game between stages. More accurately, it saves but like older console games it gives you a passowrd to remember, and if you don't write it down you're going to find yourself starting over the next time. That's kind of a pain in the ass and makes POTC: TCOTBP stand out from the newer games. Codes and passwords are utilized, but they're usually (as in the case of Resident Evil: Deadly Silence), part of puzzles in the gameplay and you can choose to save your game at any point via an 'ink ribbon' or internal checkpoint system. My mistake was in not anticipating this. I guess the newer games have spoiled me a bit (lol). Overall play and the look/feel of the game make it enjoyable and learning how to get Jack from one place to another does provide a bit of a challenge so it's still a pretty positive gaming experience. Just don't forget to keep a memo pad and pen handy in your carrying case for the passwords. Like the old-school games (Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, etc.), the passwords are a randomly generated series of numbers and punctuation. One could try to remember them, but...well, good luck with that.

The second game in the series (Dead Man's Chest) has much better graphics, the characters look like the ones in the film (all the way down to Jack's trademark swagger), and there is a wider range of weapons and objects to pick up and toss at enemies. While it does have some parts that don't even vaguely resemble the film, at least half of it incorporates bits of dialogue, images and other series elements. Also, the difficulty level is higher in Dead Man's Chest than in 'Curse Of the Black Pearl' which makes it a bit more challenging (and in my humble opinion, more fun). By far one of the best parts is that as you go through you build up 'savvy', which is a signature attack that renders your enemies powerless while you open up the whoopass. A choice of three characters (Jack, Will or Elizabeth), and the ability to buy better weapons also enhance gameplay. You may not always need newer or bigger weapons, but it's a hoot to try out something you're not already used to fighting with. Not the most difficult games I've ever played, and it differs from the action of the film in a lot of ways but overall I consider it to be one of the better film-to-game adaptations.

At World's End is the best of the three. You start out with Will, change over to Elizabeth then go on in the final stages to play as Jack. The puzzles are better, the mechanics a bit more difficult and the play is not always intuitive so you have to give it a little more thought (figuring out that you need to kick something so you can climb up to get to another place, etc.). The graphics have evolved to a thing of beauty; gorgeous color and greater clarity. Great sound as well. I haven't seen the film yet (SO panting to see it, what Larry refers to as 'Pirates Blueballs' - he says I'm also suffering from 'Harry Potter Blueballs' because the book is due out in a few weeks and I'm practically vibrating from the want of it *pant pant drool drool*), so I really can't say if gameplay follows the film's storyline, but the game itself is throughly enjoyable. Right now I'm playing as Elizabeth and just got finished with the 'Liar's Dice' mini game with Gibbs, Will, Pintel & Ragetti - quite challenging (and fun)!!

I had been a little hesitant to buy any of the GameBoy Advance videos because the reviews on Amazon were less than favorable, but I got a decent price on a couple of them (Fairly Oddparents 1 & 2, and I have to say, they're better than I expected. The graphics are a bit blocky sometimes and some of the colors seem to bleed or overlap at times, but it would be silly to expect to achieve that degree of file compression without creating a few flaws in the process. Considering the degree of compression that the video required I think Majesco did an excellent job!! The sound is great too - nice and clear. Each cartridge contains four episodes, and thus far I haven't noticed any truncating, either. All of the episodes look cpomplete to me. In comparison with the current favorite media player (VideoNow Color), the images aren't as crisp but the GBA Videos have the clear advantage in terms of portability, both of the console and the cartridges themselves. Overall, a great investment - especially if you're taking the family on a long trip. For some reason Trent runs screaming from the VideoNow player (probably because autistic children have issues with anything loud or sudden), but I'm sure he'll love watching these episodes on the DS.