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Pirates of the Caribbean Online

(2007, Online Video Game - Massively Multi-player Online Game (MMOG), Rated E10+, Play it on: Mac/Windows)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 10.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Become a pirate and join Jack Sparrow in a MMORPG.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 10–13

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    The game promotes cooperative gameplay requiring planning, communication, and coordination.
 

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    It's a Pirate game. You are doing Piratey behaviors such as breaking out of jail, stealing things, killing men from the British Navy and the East India Company, and playing Poker and Blackjack. Voodoo is also practiced in the game.
  • Violence:

    There is piratical person-to-person combat and naval combat. Cartoonish rather than realistic combat with lots of "Hollywood" style flourishes but no graphical blood or gore. You can use pistols or cutlasses but opponents simply fall over. Cannons can be used to sink ships but no bodies are blown up.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    Clean. Profanity filter cannot be turned off.
  • Consumerism:

    There are two versions. The ad-based game contains banners advertising products aimed at children: from Disney's own products such as their latest DVD releases, to other children's games such as Pokemon on the Nintendo DS. There is also an ad-free version that costs $9.95/mo.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    It's a Pirate game and although there are taverns, with barrels of grog and barmaids, there is no overt depiction of alcohol or tobacco consumption.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Pirates of the Caribbean Online was written by Carolyn Koh

Parents need to know that this is a massively multiplayer online game in which you become a pirate and that the pirates in this game are violent. There is no graphic blood, but you may be asked to kill crabs and wasps. You can fight with cutlasses and pistols, but opponents simply fall over. Cannons can be fired from ships which break masts and cause ships to sink, but you don't see bodies flying. Your major opponents in this game are other humans, not fantasy monsters. There is a Voodoo theme in the game where you wave a funny looking ragdoll and throw "hexes" which produce a greenish grey smoke effect. The game can be played for free in a frame which contains advertising for age-related product. In the free version some game content will be restricted. For the ad-free version, you must pay $9.95/month, but since this is an online game, content is constantly added. This game is one age bracket up from Toontown Online and carries through all of Disney's original child-protection and security settings, such as the ability to lock down free chat and a profanity filter that cannot be turned off. Many families play this game together and naval combat actually requires cooperative play as one person has to sail the ship, while others can fire cannons. Quests often also are more easily completed in a group and some require several players to play cooperatively in order to succeed. As with any MMORPG, kids can get sucked in and find they want to spend a tremendous amount of time in this world.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about how important cooperation is within this game. Do you think the naval battles were realistic of what pirates used to experience. Who is the most famous pirate you have heard of? What did Pirates really do? Does Voodoo really exist?
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More on Pirates of the Caribbean Online

What’s the Story?

This game is based on Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movies; your ultimate aim is to assist Jack Sparrow in recovering the Black Pearl. Along the way, players create their own pirates, dress them, and advance their characters by acquiring reputation in various skills such as swordplay, voodoo magic, sailing, obtaining treasure, and acquiring larger ships. Close

Is It Any Good?

The game actually leads the player through the storyline with well crafted quests and directions. The in-game tutorial is friendly, and the game is simple enough to play that an in-depth instruction manual is not required. First time players will be amazed at the quality of the cut scenes, which actually place your created character in the "movie," where you interact with familiar characters like Jack Sparrow, Tia Dalma, Elizabeth Swann, and Will Turner. To keep to its family friendly motto, players are defeated, but do not die. Instead they fall unconscious and wake up in jail. Another aspect of this game is the Player versus Player gameplay: players can go head to head with another player in an "arena" but when this occurs, they are not human. They are "cursed" and transformed into skeletons.

Young fans of pirates in general and Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean will be pleased with Disney's effort to craft an online game for the tween population who have outgrown ToonTown Online. The game is a fun romp and sailing on the high seas looking for enemy ships to lob cannon at with your kids can be a blast. Younger children may get frustrated at the more difficult quests or fights, but rest assured that in an MMORPG, there are many things to do. From playing cards to searching for treasure, from fighting with cutlass and pistol to using voodoo magic and naval battle.

A free version of the game supported by advertising in the form of a framed window is available for families to check out before committing to the full subscription membership. Close

Publisher’s Details

Released on 10/31/2007, price $9.95/mo, not online enabled
ESRB rating: E10+ (for Alcohol Reference, Simulated Gambling, Violence)

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See all 9 member reviews

Most Recent Reviews

  1. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    Lives in New Jersey
    I rate this title on for age 11 and give it 5.0
    • My highlights are:
    • Educational
    • Good role models
    • Safety isn't an issue

    It's a-okay for almost everyone! :)

    Pirates Online is a rather fun, yet easy game. I find it to be very entertaining and I'm sure children(and adults aswell) of all age groups will enjoy playing it. There is very little to be concerned about in terms of "innapropiate content" in my opinion. There are several things which(might) be innapropiate for some younger kids, such as bars, mentioning of drugs, minor violence, ETC. but nothing that most kids don't already know about(and that parents don't nessecarily "approve" of, but don't mind it.) Great game all-in-all, I suggest you try it :)

  2. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in Utah
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 5.0

    i cried

  3. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in Oregon
    I rate this title off for age 13 and give it 1.0

    0_o This game is for kids? Really?

    This game isn't THAT recommended for kids. Once the free trial(s) ended, it was boring. Pros: The free trial is longer than Toontown Online, it's got some good ships that you have to look up in order to get to know, and that's about it. Cons: You have to be a member to have Fullscreen, as far as I'm concerned, there IS blood in it, it's not very fun, and it's not quite for ages 10+. Overall, I rate it 1/5.

  4. Kid Reviewer Age 9
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 5.0

  5. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 9 and give it 5.0

    i just want to say......

    ok i know i wrote a reveiw already but i just wanna say... there is know blood.. and yes you have to kill stuff but stuff like jolly rogers army like.. undead pirate and undead bandit. the only time players fight each other is in pvp ( pirate vs. pirate ) and you only go in pvp if you choose to do so. and your not really a bad guy. your a pirate who's trying to perserve the pirates way of life while the navy and eitc ( east india trading co.) try to eny it and bring the new world to the caribbean. witch by the way the have replaced port royal and tortuga. but your main goal in the game is to get the crew of the black pearl back together so you can get it back from the navy. and you dont sink other players ships only navy and eitc ship's. the only time you sink another players ships are in ship pvp or pirateering. and players can report people if they are being rude or something and disney does do something cuz i know some people who have had their account closed by disney. not me but people. so the game is very safe as long as you watch out for the people you are around. other then that the game is very very fun im on all the time and its safe. they also have their GM's ( game masters ) who are people that work for disney come on for partys holidays tavern take overs. all kinds of stuff. like i said im on all the time its very fun. so try it.

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