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One day, I'll manage to work the perennial pirate-ninja question into one of my articles. It's a little goal of mine. Fortunately for you, dear reader, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End doesn't actually appear to feature ninjas, thus denying me the opportunity. For shame…

That said, At World's End has plenty to offer. A tie-in with the third film in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, it features high-seas, swashbuckling combat and the inimitable Captain Jack Sparrow, along with additional content from the second film, Dead Man's Chest.

The game follows the story of the second and third Pirates films, allowing the player to both re-enact the movie and experience new content filling in some of the gaps in the films. Much of the gameplay is in the action-adventure style: exploring new areas, solving puzzles, and (of course), defeating enemies.

As you'd probably expect from a Wii title involving swordplay, sword attacks are made by swinging the Wii remote. Two distinct gestures are recognized - one representing a short stab, the other a longer arc. The Nunchuck attachment also plays a role: shaking the Nunchuck causes your character to block. Finally, four unlockable combination moves exist, which can be executed by performing a particular sequence of sword movements. This control system is simple and accessible, yet still allows the player to "swing their sword" using the Wii remote as a surrogate for steel.

Ranged weaponry is also available: we were shown pistols and throwing knifes. The interface for these doesn't involve motion sensing. Instead, alternate weapons are selected with the D-pad, and fired with the B trigger.

As befits a title from the Pirates franchise, elements of humour abound. Health is represented in-game with chickens, for example, and Captain Jack Sparrow retains his wit. Another related feature appeals to the younger audience: it's possible to replay any completed stage of the game using an alternative character, from a list of over 50 possible choices which are unlocked as the game progresses. It was rather incongruous to watch Davy Jones play a part intended for Will Turner: the original scene involved the rescue of Jack Sparrow from the clutches of the cannibals.

Three gameplay segments were shown: one focussing on indoor combat, one on the "olй system", and the third taking place on a moving raft. All three featured a mix of scripted content and gameplay. The indoor scene involved Jack tracking down and defeating (not killing - merely forcing a surrender) one of the Pirate Lords, after clearing a path through the Lord's minions. At the conclusion of this scene, the developer demonstrating to us had worked up a sweat - motion controls may not be universally loved, but they certainly help get the kids (and the grown-ups!) up from the couch whilst gaming.

The "olй system" demonstration showed some of the non-combat content: Jack and Will were in the process of escaping from the cannibal tribe, and had been cornered. The player, as Will, had to lure ("olй!") the pursuer into a cooking pot; once trapped, Jack would whack her on the noggin with a coconut. Three repeats ensured the success of this slightly odd recipe. This scene serves as a tutorial introduction to the olй feature - from that point on, luring is available as a option to players in combat whenever they find it useful.

Finally, the raft scene: Will and Jack were making their final escape from the island, travelling on a makeshift raft. Jack, of course, had managed to get his leg stuck between the branches making up the wooden raft: the player, as Will, was responsible for dealing the onslaught of enemies attempting to block their escape. The game did a good job of making sure that the player was never overwhelmed (I saw a maximum of three enemies at one time, with only two present most of the time). While Jack wasn't of much practical use at this point in the game, his vocal chords weren't damaged in the least, and the trademark Jack Sparrow humour showed through loud and clear.

As I alluded to above, this game is targeted at a slightly younger audience than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 versions of this title. The same plot and general structure are followed in all three versions, but the differences in the Wii version include simpler controls, a lack of online awareness, and the ability to replay scenes as an alternative character.

I had a lot of fun with the Wii version of At Worlds End: I found the simpler controls easier to use than the 360 version (I'm not much of a console player), and the game is just good fun. I'd love to see the Wii control scheme married with the visual quality of the 360 edition, but unfortunately, that's not possible in today's market. What I can have is Jack Sparrow on my Wii, and that's good enough for me.