I started this game with an open mind. Those who have read my review of Cars may be aware of the 'movie tie-in curse' that hexes many such games, although not in the case of Cars. I didn't want it to claim another victim, but it has, this time in the form of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. The film may not be the most obvious choice for a game and there is a feeling that the developers didn't really know what to do with it. Not having seen the film, I can't tell whether this game follows its plot (and thereby spoils it) or not. What I can tell you is that if it is anything like this game then I wouldn't bother going to the cinema, wasting your money on the overpriced popcorn and trying inventive ways to sneak a Big Mac in there.

The game's plot casts you as Captain Jack Sparrow, the crazy, drunken, Keith Richards wannabe. After surviving the mysterious ghosts of the first film, Jack now discovers that he owes a blood debt to Davey Jones, captain of the ghostly ship, The Flying Dutchman. Captain Jones demands that Jack repay his debt with his very soul, so Jack must fight, with the help of his old friends Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, to find a way to be freed from this debt, or he'll be doomed to a life of eternal damnation as Jones' slave.

Looking at the back of the box, you can be forgiven for thinking that you've stumbled upon a bargain: 2 Games in 1! On the one hand you have a Prince of Persia-style hack and slash puzzle romp and on the other hand you have a Warship Gunner-style ship/cannon battle simulation. It sounds like the perfect combination of piratey elements, right? Right? Wrong! Much like Crash Tag Team Racing's blend of platforming and racing, neither section has been developed fully, with the ship section feeling like an afterthought.

After the disappointing Prince of Persia: Revelations, I was sceptical at how playing the same type of game on PSP, this time with Jack Sparrow instead of the Prince, would actually work. I needn't have worried… it doesn't! Whereas Persia had fantastic graphics, a great story and some fancy movements to bolster the often lacklustre gameplay, Pirates doesn't have any of this. Rather than capitalising on the surreal, comic character of Sparrow, what made the audience love him (and garner Johnny Depp an Oscar nomination) has been ignored in favour of generic action. It was the humour of his performance that sold the film, not the swashbuckling, but the bumbling, drunken mess-up driving the film along. This could also have resulted in a horrible game, but it would have felt more in line with the tone of the movie itself.

When you begin, you have the option of choosing which game to play. The ship multiplayer section is almost relegated to 'bonus game' status, when it should have been integrated into the main game; however, you can understand why they didn't bother taking it further after you've played it. The section follows typical Deathmatch rules, with such options as Capture the flag or Most ships sunk. Though well designed (and the graphics at times are better than the main game), the implementation itself is poor. As your cannons are positioned on the side of your ship, this means that you must sail sideways in order to get any shots in. This is not just difficult - it is next door to impossible and across the road from mind-numbingly frustrating! This is not helped by fiddly controls, which are so difficult to figure out that at times you will just button mash until something happens. One idea that could have been interesting is that of boarding and invading an opposition's ship. I say interesting, because I don't actually believe it can be done, as I never actually achieved this over the space of several games, including one against a second player who didn't do anything! There is nothing spectacular nor innovative here and it's doubtful that you will spend much time in this mode, unless you're playing against friends and relish in sinking ships while yelling, "Avast there, ye salty seadog!"

The levels look good at first, but as with most things in this game, as you progress you'll notice the progression (or lack) of actual level construction. It feels like the designers created a few basic templates and then added/removed a few bits of garnish from the floors and walls. No level stretches beyond a few rooms and walls, and this isn't helped by the dull mixture of fighting and puzzle solving. These puzzles are indicated by a skull and crossbones icon, and after the first few levels the use of this feels slightly patronising, taking away some of the puzzle elements, as you are not given the chance to logically figure out what to do. Unfortunately, most of the time… no scratch that… at least 90% of the time, this involves the setting up of gunpowder barrels. As you can guess, these are used to blast through locked doors or bring down walls to gain access to new areas. As a one-off puzzle it's fun to blow up a wall or a door (as it was in Buffy) but on repetition, this becomes very tedious. The only other task is the use of ropes, which can be used to get higher or lower, slide beyond perils or swing upon, Tarzan-style. This is possibly the best part of the game, despite the skill and pinpoint accuracy needed.

The fighting is as basic as you can get; despite looking a bit like Prince of Persia, it doesn't have the same flair and fanciness. At times this is a good thing, as it makes the game easy to pick up and play without a lot of fiddling and awkward controls, although that's not to say that the actual gameplay is easy as you go along. Despite the simplicity of the combos, they can still be confusing, and the fact that various enemies require a certain combination of moves to oust makes for frustrating play. This idea is great for bosses, but for a normal opponent it doesn't really feel good to be forced to play in a certain way. Combos end with you either knocking your opponent to the ground, which can help if you are dealing with a number of them, or with a gruesome kill where you either behead them or skewer them like a kebab!

As you progress from level to level, you can increase your notoriety through the number of kills and (most importantly) how you execute those kills. If you can use an item or piece of scenery then your notoriety points increase more, and this can be achieved simply by lobbing a bottle at an enemy, or cleverly dropping a chandelier on someone's head. This feature forces you to think more about how you're going to confront and kill your opponents, rather than just running in, sword slashing, and it's a great idea. However, things can be a little hit and miss, as due to the camera you can never react quickly enough to see if it has worked, before the guy you missed has run through and started hacking at you. Yes, as with most games of this nature, we are cursed with a terrible, terrible camera to view the action. To say that the camera is poorly implemented would be an understatement. At times it swings wildly around, giving you an almost FPS view before returning just in time to see yourself being stabbed to death. The more you try to use the camera to help you view the level, the more you feel it is a pointless exercise; no matter how hard you try, you find that it's simply not possible.

The graphics are an odd mixed bag of elements. As with much of the game, you sometimes feel that they spent a long time on one element while allowing others to languish in mediocrity. The characters look realistic enough, if everyone looked like a puppet. At first I thought this was an effective way to recreate Jack's drunken walk, but then later I discovered that all the characters move like this, and it can be very distracting. However, I must commend BVG for making Keira Knightley look less like the pre-pubescent boy that she does in real life. All other characters follow the same format of pirate or guard, whose only visual difference in variants of the two types is in their colour of clothing.

During cut scenes, the animation is not as good as it should be; at points it looks like something from the PSOne and I know that the PSP can do so much better than this. It is here that the game shows all its flaws, as faces have few emotions, making them look like victims of a botched Botox treatment. As none of the cast were involved, we are presented with imitators who all do their jobs well. It's here that a lot of entertainment could and should have been provided, but unfortunately the scenes add very little to progress the story and after the first two they will be skipped by most players who hate forced 'Peter Kaye-style' comedy.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is another victim of the movie tie-in curse, being nothing more than a cheap cash-in of a big film name. It's a crying shame that the developers couldn't have put more effort in, as it feels like two good games only half completed and thrown together, and surely it's not that hard to make a decent game based around pirates? Neither game is worth the price on its own; together they compliment each other like faeces and cucumber. Maybe rushed deadlines and the need to have the game coincide with the film's release are to blame. If so, virtually every area, bar the audio, has suffered considerably for it. Fans of the films may enjoy this, but those looking for a great gaming experience will not find it here. At best it is a mediocre few hours of play and at worst it is a slap in the face of Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64. And yes, I am going that far back to find a movie game that is not cursed!

Reviewed by David Simpson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).