Avast, me hearties!!! It's time to wear an eye-patch, hop on one leg and affix a parrot to your shoulder as we go in search of treasure. In your quest to become a pirate you will engage in sword fights (swing your Wii remote like a sword and duel with your friends); play a round or two of the famous Squidball Sabotage (croquet with a pirate twist); row for your life (enter a ship race with one person rowing and another shooting a cannon); go in search of pirate treasure (battle to see who can dig up the most treasure); and harness wind power as you navigate your ship on the high seas in search of treasure...

Pirates: Hunt for Blackbeard's Booty is a fun Wii game designed for all the family. There are five main games which will test your pirating skills to the max. In no particular order we have:

'Sword Fighting': players are divided into two teams - one on the left of the screen, the other on the right. The idea is to swing and stab your Wii remote to simulate sword fighting. If you make contact with your opponent they will take a step backwards. The aim is to force your opponent all the way across the screen and off the side of the boat into the sea. Your character can only battle for a limited amount of time before they need to rest, so you need to tag your team mate so that they can take over for a while. This game requires a small amount of strategy rather than constant Wii remote swinging. You can defend against your opponent's attacks too.

'Row Row Row for Your Life': You must row your boat (waving the Nunchuk up and down works the left oar, while the Wii remote works the right oar) around a set course collecting gold as you go. In multiplayer one person rows, while the other fires the ships cannon at the other team. In single player mode, you must control both.

'Winds of the Wavy Sea': Use the wind to blow your ship to different islands, collect treasure and return home before your opponents. In this game you move the Wii controller, which moves a fan around the screen. This fan blows your ship around in the direction you want it to go - easier said than done.

'Treasure Hunters': Another team based game in which you must move your character around a treasure map and either collect treasure and return it to your base, or defend against your opponents collecting treasure.

'Squidball Sabotage': The pirate version of croquet. Each pirate has their own coloured squid which they must whack around the deck of the ship. The idea is to get through all of the gates before the other players. If you hit another player's squid then you can stick it in a canon and fire it around the deck. Once you've passed through all of the gates your squid becomes poisonous and every other squid you hit will die - retiring that player from the game.

While all the games are enjoyable enough, only 'Squidball Sabotage' has any real mileage - and is certainly the only game I'd go back to on a regular basis. That's not to say that the other games are bad, just not as engaging.

There are plenty of unlockables - including new characters - to keep you coming back for more.

While this is worth the £20 price tag for 'Squidball Sabotage' alone, it's doubtful that you'll play the other games more than a handful of times.

7

Nick Smithson