After playing, and finding myself wholly enjoying, Disney Interactive Studios' last movie tie-in Meet the Robinsons, I had high hopes for what could be done using a property I was familiar with. This is where Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was supposed to step up and show why Disney's decision to put a greater emphasis on gaming from here on out was a brilliant decision on their part. While it's not completely up to the task, a decent set of extras, a well-guided sense of context and a thrifty price tag give this version the advantage over its prettier but dumber next-generation siblings. If you have a hankering to step into the shoes of Sparrow and company to get yer pirate on, you could spend your $30 far worse than picking this title up - like coupling it with another $30 and wasting it on the PS3 or 360 versions.

At World's End the movie, after a short intro, opens with Captain Barbossa, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and the crew of the Black Pearl working towards reviving Captain Jack Sparrow, actions that came without question from those who saw the last movie, Dead Man's Chest. Yet, At World's End the game opens not only where Dead Man's Chest the movie opened, but where Dead Man's Chest the game opened, with Jack escaping from the Turkish prison. The back-tracking continues as you relive many of the important events from Dead Man's Chest, taking at least three or four hours to even reach what can be considered 'new' material. Once there, the same 'play the major moments' mindset continues until the end of the game.

For starters, the overwhelming majority of people who play this game are in no need of a retelling of the second movie, as they have at least seen it once. Rehashing almost the entire movie in anything less than one level (hell, one cut scene) boggles the mind. But to rehash what has already been turned into gameplay in another game is flat-out ridiculous. Was this to extend a game that was shaping up to be too short without having to pay someone to invoke creativity to extend and add to what the movie brought to the table? All I can say is that there is little chance that decision can be truly justified as for the betterment of the game.

Regardless of where in the Pirates timeline the game stands, the story it tells never fully adds up, though it does a better job of sticking to the source material than the next-gen versions do. It is as if the game's story was written based on an outline of the events instead of the movie (oh wait, movies) instead. Despite Will's disdain for Jack throughout the series, they work together here on many occasions with little animosity. Will never sees Elizabeth and Jack's kiss and finds out she is the one who sent him to his doom during what would be the conclusion of Dead Man's Chest instead of a decent way through At World's End. Jack is tasked as the errand boy for the Conclave during the events of Dead Man's Chest, though no reason for this is given, which is necessary for gamers to rationalize such unselfish actions coming out of Jack. And that's just the bow of the contradiction ship, as far too many moments come out not as a complementary retelling, but as a completely new adaptation. The game provides little explanation to anyone who has never seen the movies, yet spends a lot of time confusing those who have, making for some very odd decisions on the developers' part.

These story moments are told through cut scenes using the in-game graphics, which mix horrid graphics and ho-hum voice acting with realistic animations and a decent original script. It's a treat anytime Jack is involved in these moments, as his eccentric movement is captured perfectly, and thankfully he is given most of the screen time. I only wish the character models didn't appear to have been created for the PlayStation 2's launch, as they lack moving mouths, fingers and hair traits that have been seen on lesser titles on the PSP. But those are nothing short of mind-blowing compared to the backgrounds, which start out with an acceptable amount of texture and detail before morphing into an ugly N64/PSOne hybrid of blurriness and slop. By this game's account, Isla Cruces is not a jungle paradise, but a moldy, flat forest with some weird looking water.

The gameplay at least eases the pain your eyes will take on playing this game. Ditching the clumsy, slow and broken gameplay of the next-gen titles, the PSP version of At World's End lets you just hack and slash to your heart's content without enemies becoming helplessly stunned after a couple hits, without your characters walking around as if their shoes are filled with concrete and with a block button. Secondary weapons, grappling and special moves may not play much of a part in this version, but that's a minor omission. There are a few combos to unlock as time goes by, but really, it's all about using the same combo on the same enemies, over and over again. Rival battles take the battle to a secluded 2D plane, letting you and an opponent battle without interruption from cronies. Though you can brute force your way through these with ease, they at least capture the fast pace of sword fighting, instead of turning it into a soggy, boring mini-game. It's nothing genre-defining, but it sticks to what works.

Mindless swashbuckling thankfully receives a break from center stage from time to time courtesy of exploration (which leads to side missions), mini-games and Jackanisms. Exploration is a bit of a double-edged sword; some areas give you a sense of freedom to explore at your leisure, while others are set to confine you to a very finite, claustrophobic path. Each level has a set of side missions, from collecting random items to getting slapped by a set number of women in Tortuga, which reward you with unlockables for their completion. This is one of the areas that the next-gen versions one-up their younger sibling, as the awful graphics take away all the joy that could be gleaned from exploring the famous locales from the movies.

Mini-games, which are playable with up to three friends outside of the main game, can be found in each of the game's towns. These include Pirate Dice (the game Will uses to discover where Davy Jones keeps the key used to unlock the Dead Man's Chest), Pirate Poker and Davy's Hearts. None of these are deep or necessary to moving the game along, but they are fun distractions, with surprisingly decent A.I. that helps give the games some staying power. Each game is fully created in 3D, with the occasional voiceover. Options such as card decks and characters used are available if you have unlocked them, as are special charms, which can be used to give you an unfair advantage. Long after you've finished the main quest, don't be surprised if you find yourself coming back to these extra games to help pass the time.

Jackanisms round out the total experience. Unlike in the next-gen versions, where this term is used for boring, screen-clearing special moves that Jack has, they are interactive cut scenes that really capture the essence of Jack Sparrow (not really the other characters, but luckily they don't really have any of these moments). By mixing in button presses with directional pointing, you'll help Jack get past trouble in ways that only the great Captain can. If you fail though, you can't always try again right away, which is a bit of a letdown. My favorite happens early on, where Jack must navigate past a horde of British soldiers gathering on a dock. By hitting the right buttons, Jack distracts all the guards by getting one of them slapped by a woman, knocking over a bucket and being as sneaky as possible. Animated brilliantly, each Jackanism really captures the essence of the movie and character.

Sadly, there is no ship-related gameplay here, other than fighting on one. With all the monotonous fighting, sailing (if developed correctly) would have proved an engaging distraction that would have helped further the game's ability to entertain and draw the player in. The game based on Dead Man's Chest had it and we have a huge chunk of that game right here - so why can't we get some nautical love too?

As I mentioned above, the graphical side of this game leans heavily into the negative in almost every facet. The sound department doesn't suffer as much, with the rousing score found in the movies transported over with few hiccups, along with a wealth of sound effects. None of the main cast is present in their voice acting roles, despite the industry's turn toward this being an assumed feature, which is a huge disappointment, as those tapped to fill the shoes lack the passion and sound to consistently be suitable replacements. Jack is about the only one whose sound-alike hits the spot more often than he misses. But for some reason, all the speech sounds grainy coming out of the PSP speakers, as if coming out of a cell phone. An overabundance of sound bytes adds flavor to all aspects of the game, be it winning a hand of poker, killing a scrub or chatting up a NPC.

Lasting appeal is fairly extensive, with a main quest coming in around ten to fifteen hours, a few more hours for side-missions and the longevity of the mini-games. This isn't a game you'll be dying to replay once finished, but somewhere down the line, maybe after a Pirates movie marathon, you'll get the itch. The mini-games, either alone or with friends, should prove to be the only reason you'll carry the game around with you. It would have been nice if the mini-games were fleshed out a bit, say at least with a bracket or tournament to play through, but as simple distractions attached to a larger title, they succeed in adding value to the overall package.

When it comes to complimenting the movie experience, the PSP version of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End appears to provide the best experience. You come for the mildly entertaining main quest and you stay for the mini-games - all for the thrifty $30 price point. Don't worry - despite being half the price of the supposed 'ultimate experience' on next-gen consoles, you come out a winner shopping on the cheap for your Pirates experience. And what's more pirate than getting more for less?

Reviewed by Tony Peters for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).