Cutthroat Island: A takeoff on the story of a female pirate (played by Geena Davis), and it was a movie most people either loved or hated, but it was overall in good nature and seemed a bit better that the typical pirate drama. There's a long enduring fascination with pirates, and certainly an ample interest in women who swashbuckle as good as they look. Hence, the creation of movies like Cutthroat Island and now, a game, Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat for PS2. Published by Electronic Arts, this adventure title promises to to take you on the adventures of Katarina de Leon. She arrives at the besieged castle of her father only moments before his death. In these last fleeting moments, Katarina learns more of her lineage - that her own mother was a pirate. Before his last breath, her father  shows Katarina the remnants of her mother's legacy, a Jolly Roger. It is now up to Katarina to avenge her father's murder - and to destroy the enemies who get in her way.

Pirates consists of a captivating combination of on-foot/melee combat, and ship warfare. You will find yourself switching back and forth, giving you a nice variety as you travel through the game. Make no mistake, this is a blend of both fact and fiction, and shortly into your journey, you will learn that not only is Katarina capable of issuing physical attacks, but she can also gain items or equipment which allows her to unleash more devastating powered-up attacks. The animations of her attack movements are quite nice, seeming more like a dance that an attack. Action takes place in third person, and you can change your view as you run. You are also allowed to block attacks, but the battle system doesn't get much more complex beyond that - a relief to low-maintenance gamers who are looking for something different than a demanding action title.

Once you hit the seas, the controls are also fairly easy to manage. One stick controls the direction and speed, while the other stick controls your view. As you might expect, your attacks will largely depend on your ships size, speed, and particular weapons. It is nice to see that the ship selection wasn't "dumbed down," even while the controls were made much simpler for non-seafaring gamers. For instance, the familiar placement of cannons on the side of your first ship will force you to pull up alongside your enemy and fire well (since they will be firing back, of course). AI seems fairly on track, so if you're not careful, it won't be long before your ship is immersed in a ball of flame. As the game progresses, you will also be able to update your ships, including weapons to better fend off those nasty enemies. 

So what is your ultimate goal? You will travel to five different islands to gather information, wreak your revenge on the bad guys, and collect your plunder. What's the treasure? Well I'm not going to spoil any surprises. What I can tell you are some of the other items you'll collect along the way. First of all, I mean really, what would any pirate game be without the plunder? As you traverse the grounds, you will either locate visible treasure chests or Katarina will have a "sixth-sense" about hidden treasure and you can dig in your shovel and unearth it. This might seem tedious, but you can located secret items that will greatly enhance your performance. You will also need to fight off a variety of enemies who will drop gold, jewels, or items for your collection. Another interesting feature are "magic circles." When Katarina has the appropriate skill/power-up, she will be able to activate these magical portals. These portals will often help you travel to area where plot-dependent items are, so you don't want to skip them!

Graphically, Katarina looks and moves gracefully. Cut scenes go between average and impressive. Enemies in a certain areas can look like little groups of clones, and considering the simplistic battle system, it can add to the monotony. However, her moves are beautifully choreographed, and it really seemed like an exceptional amount of effort went into making Kat a beautiful and capable fighter. The background are perhaps best highlighted by the differences in ship design and the indication that the oceans of Kat's world are still impressively untainted by pollution. It's a nice effect to see the depths of the oceans and reefs over which you sail, and the game is randomly highlighted with some of these shining examples.

Adding to the cinematic/adventure feel of Pirates is the score for the game. The team really threw their all into creating an immersive score which brings up memories of the classic "romantic" pirate flicks of the silver screen. The best music really comes into play during cutscenes - but when it does strike, it strikes well. Some of the sound effects are kind of blah - especially the bongo-drum sound that you will constantly hear as you pick up gold or jewels. 

Overall, Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat feels like a couple more months might have helped make this an over the top title. As of right now, it's likely to really impress strict adventure fans - but perhaps feel a little dull to faster paced gamers. Everything from the graphics to the sound to the gameplay shows serious effort to create a better than average pirate game that has broken more than a few stereotypes. 

Graphics: 7
The graphics are for the most part, pretty average, with a couple highlights that keep the game from falling sub-par. Katarina's movements are well "choreographed" and the title screens are rather pleasant and crisp.

Sound: 7.5
The score may have very well been the aspect of Black Kat that received the most attention. It has dramatic and beautiful movements and they work very well for the almost "melodramatic/cinematic" feel of the game. The actual voice acting doesn't draw too much attention to itself.

Concept: 8
I'm always game for historical action/adventure, and I've got a bit 'o the buccaneer blood myself. I really like the idea of a game based on the adventures of a female pirate - and Pirates does do it in a respectful and honorable manner.

Multiplayer: 7.5
"Sea Battle" is the answer to the golden age of sail for gamers who don't really like to play hardcore sims/strategy. This is pure action with an impressive number of different types of ships - each with their own plusses and minuses. I especially enjoyed taking the helm of a Privateer. 

Overall: 7.2
If you've got a penchant for pirates, or interesting female leads, you should go out and rent this title to see if you'd like to commit your PS2 time to Katarina and her adventures. It's also T rated, which allows for a wider range of buccaneer-fans to go on the adventure.