Game Stooge

WiiWare Update: Pirates: The Key of Dreams

• Scribbled on July 22nd, 2008 by Jonathon Howard
• Filed in Action, New Release(s), Nintendo Wii, Press Release, WiiWare

Only one game is coming to WiiWare this week, Pirates: The Key of Dreams (1,000 points), a “nautical shoot-em-up”, which came out earlier this year in Europe and racked up such impressive scores as a 5 and 6. I know I know 5 and 6 aren’t terrible scores; they’re just mediocre ones, which is the problem really with WiiWare so far. Everything on it since its launch has been only mediocre, at best. The best that can be said for the game is that at least the multiplayer components are fun; the rest is fairly standard shmup-fare, just with a thin coating of nautical themes.

• Pirates: The Key of Dreams (Oxygen Games, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)

I hope to one day be able to recommend a WiiWare game for you to buy. I suspect that day will have to wait for Mega Man 9 or the new Wario adventure.

Click “Read more…” for the official Nintendo PR.

Pirates: The Key of Dreams (Oxygen Games, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Pirates: The Key of Dreams is a frantic nautical shoot-’em-up. Sail your way across the Caribbean, cannons blazing, looting booty, running blockades and ultimately battling Blackbeard himself. The player takes control of a navy captain sent deep undercover as a ruthless pirate in order to seek out and retrieve the Key of Dreams, a valuable and dangerous cursed artifact. Rescue castaways to bolster your ship’s crew, gaining performance increases to your navigation, weaponry, structural integrity and cartography skills. Collect increasingly powerful weaponry including rockets, mines, chain shot, saw blades and a flamethrower to hurl destruction into the path of your enemies. Play against three of your scurvy friends or A.I. opponents in pitched multiplayer battles over 35 levels, set in seven themed environments. Choose from different ship types that reflect your play style. Play in turbo mode if you’re pirate enough.