Pirate vs. Pirate
Although Disney has gone to great lengths to keep PotCO suitable for the entire family, there are PvP options available, which include free-for-all mayhem matches and team matches. According to the lore, the pirate code discourages pirates from killing each other, so you are given a token that temporarily transforms you into undead form before you engage in PvP. Undead pirates aren't immune to dying again, but it presumably stings less because you weren't alive to begin with. PvP takes place in instanced areas outside the main world, which you queue up for through a menu, and wait until there are enough players for a match to start. It doesn't seem to be all that popular at the lower levels, leaving you doing more waiting than fighting, but you can continue to quest while in the queue, with some limitations.
Parlor Games
A pirate's life isn't just sailing, plundering, and swashbuckling; there's also gold to be won at the card table. It's a familiar diversion from hacking, slashing, and shooting which a lot of people enjoy, as is often the case with mini-games in MMORPGs. You can even try hiding a card up your sleeve, but you risk landing in jail if you get caught.
Room for Improvement
PotCO isn't aimed at the World of Warcraft crowd, so it's understandable that many features in bigger, more expensive games, such as crafting and economy, have been left out, in part to keep it simple. Nevertheless, there are some simple aspects of PotCO that are still rough around the edges, such as the navigational aids mentioned earlier, and the need to be right next to someone to add them to your friends list, among other things.
The spawn system is particularly bewildering, with enemies of vastly different levels popping up right next to each other, both on land and at sea. You'll take out a level 2 skeleton and suddenly have a level 12 skeleton attacking you from behind. Even in low-level areas you need to take quite a bit of care to avoid higher level mobs you have no chance against, often right near the entrance to a zone. I've seen many players turn back just because they assume they must be in the wrong area for their level. It's a similar situation at sea, where you can finish off a level 2 sloop only to be ambushed by a level 22 frigate that destroys you in two volleys.
For a game that isn't overly demanding graphically, it gets unusually choppy at times. Ship combat tends to be particularly laggy, perhaps because the ocean zones are fairly large and some ships have multiple players onboard. Needless to say, it can add another layer of guesswork to manning a cannon.
The Bottom Line
PotCO is a relatively amibitious effort from Disney with a solid variety of gameplay and an innovative approach to representing the movies in a reasonably priced online world aimed at younger audiences. The game certainly seems well-populated, although it's difficult to say how many of those are just giving it a try with a free account. On the downside, because it follows the online roleplaying game format quite closely, it's weaknesses in that department are very apparent. The interface could be much better and I can't even guess at why they decided on such a peculiar spawn arrangement, unless it was simply to reduce the number of play areas they had to build. That said, PotCO does have its charms, and it wouldn't be hard to get your money's worth out of a subscription, at least for a month or two. I'm sure there are plans in place for additional content and improvements to gameplay, so if you're up for some family friendly swashbuckling in the service of Captain Jack, head over the official site and get started.
