It's hard to argue the status of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as modern day classics They've got it all - action, romance, political strife, and most importantly a timeless character like Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow. So after toy lines and countless other licensing deals, there was really only one thing left to do - why, make a LEGO game out of it of course!

By now, you know the formula for the Lego games, and not much has changed here. All of your favorite moments from each of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (yes, even the upcoming fourth film) are recreated in charming and blocky LEGO fashion. Your job is simple - run around the world's, smash as much stuff as you can all while solving puzzles and fighting in the occasional combat situation. That's not to say though that nothing has changed, as there's some pretty cool surprises thrown in; and when they work they're great, but when they fail, they do so miserably, making the game hard to enjoy at some parts.

From the get-go it's hard not to like LEGO Pirates. The blocky toy versions of characters Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbosa, Elizabeth Swan, Jack Sparrow and just about everyone else in the Pirates universe drip with charm. Like the previous Lego games before it, dialogue is traded for wordless (there are some grunts and other noises thrown in) re-inactions that you can't help but smile at. LEGO Pirates works for the exact reason the LEGO versions of Star Wars and Indiana Jones worked better than LEGO Batman, it's a recreation of scenes from a property that resonates with us, so seeing them in another form is incredibly entertaining.

"The developers did add a few new touches to gameplay as well..."

The core gameplay elements of the Lego series remain unchanged with Pirates, and they're a blast to play through. It's just as fun as ever to run through and smash everything you can find in the level and collect LEGO studs. Also, in true LEGO fashion the puzzles are fun, but never too taxing. The developers did add a few new touches to gameplay as well, like the ability to use Jack Sparrow's compass to find buried treasure.

Not all of these new inclusions are good ones however, as LEGO Pirates is rife with flaws. Chief among these flaws is the new feature of having very large parties following you around. While this may seem like a good idea, it presents a ton of problems. First off, each of the characters has their own special ability, only you're not informed of most of these abilities so finding the right character amounts to little more than a series of frustrating trial and error experiments. Also, with as many as twelve (twelve!) different members of your party at any given time, it can be quite time consuming and frustrating to try to get the one you want. Oh, and the ones you're not controlling just tend to stand there or run around when you're trying to fight off mounds of respawning enemies.

"...it doesn't excuse the game's biggest flaw - there's still no online."

Just like in the previous LEGO games, clearing a level will open up free-play for it, allowing you to use any of the game's 70-plus characters to try to find all of the treasure and hidden items. This all amounts to one thing - if you're willing to, you're going to be playing LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean for a long time - a really long time. That's all well and great, but it doesn't excuse the game's biggest flaw - there's still no online. You mean to tell me after years of LEGO games, after three Star Wars games, two Indiana Jones, a Batman and a Harry Potter; I still can't play co-op online with a friend? At this point, it's pretty much inexcusable not to have an online component in a game like this.

Though it may have it its flaws, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean is still as fun as you'd expect a Lego game to be. Fans of the series of movies especially will find plenty of fun in the tale of blocky Captain Jack, just be ready for a frustrating experience.