If you want a down to earth, well rounded, ship/land based naval game set in the sixteenth century; POTC will deliver.
You begin the game as an unknown freebooter with a small ship. You follow the onscreen script as a sort of tutorial and learn how to move about on land, fight with a sword and pick up items. From there you disembark from your ship with the choice of doing pretty much whatever you want. You can choose to deliver cargo as a trader or fight for one of the five nationalities (six including Pirate), or anything else that can make you some "coin".
Much of the game play is similar to SD1 and the controls are almost identical. Contrary to what some may say, I found the controls to be rather simple and easy to learn although bothersome to change. Character relations with people grow throughout the game and your reputation will change based on the choices you make. For example, if you deside to play the game in a cut-throat fashion, killing all who step in your path and plundering every ship you see, you will begin to be feared and this will have an effect on those you talk to.
The learning curve is steep but add's an element of realism to the game. You need to use your judgement when traveling at first or risk being attacked by pirates. The graphics are astounding, showing every ripple in the water and every drop of rain. Sunsets are moody and filled with emotion, it is really something to see. Ships will now have a crew bustling around on deck although their animation is somewhat blocky and pre-mapped (it all looks the same after awhile).
The soundtrack is great for anyone whose a favorite of those long classical scores (i.e. Master and Commander) and will change with your environment. You can now get ambushed in the city and will have to defend yourself with sword, knife, pistol, or whatever else you happen to have. Items are abundant throughout the game. Some give you skills, others for combat but you can view them all in the (albeit clumsy) inventory menu.
Unfortunately the game has some downfalls. Character interaction sometimes seems a little rushed and the game has some issues with bugs. The Bethesda website devoted to POTC is a joke and hasn't been updated since the game shipped to stores and no official patch has been released to the public. This is where my 3/5 star rating comes from.
However now for the best part of POTC, the mods. A number of websites have posted mods for downloading, one in particular is called the "Build Mod". It incorporates an array of upgrades such as new ships, wearable clothing, 100's of new quests and characters to interact with, and the ability to change the character you play as (you can now be Johny Depp, Will Turner, or a ton of others). Ontop of this you can now berth ships at islands and feed your crew so they don't mutany. If only this mod had been released with the game, then it deserves a 5 star rating.
Bottomline: POTC is a great addition to the Sea Dog's line but falls short of being as good as it could've been. If only Bethesda could have released a good patch for the game or an expansion, fortunately the player created mods have solved most of the problems and actually added some elements. For fans of Sea Dogs, there is no other choice.
-Xantier M. Werner