Playmobil Pirates: Blackbeard's Treasure announced for DS
Playmobil gets in on Lego's Nintendo handheld act
The success of the Lego Star Wars games is every developer's dream, and something not many probably would have predicted would come about when the series was first announced. What sounded like a kids' game cobbled together, in potentially exploitative fashion, with a licence from a toy that's been around for decades actually turned out to be hilarious affair with retro appeal for older ages too.
Which is why we're now all literally rocking forth and back (in a manner possibly similar to Harrison Ford by the time he gets asked to do the next instalment) at the prospect of Lego Indiana Jones.
It only seems natural, then, that other toy brands would want to get in on the act. And in has come Playmobil. You know, the plastic toy for lazy, imagination-starved children because everything came pretty much pre-built.
Actually, there have been a couple of Playmobil games released already, back on the original PlayStation and Game Boy Color, but there hasn't been one for some time and it's certainly a first for DS.
The just-announced title is Playmobil Pirates: Blackbeard's Treasure and stars lots of one-eyed plastic Playmobil people who are busy sailing the Caribbean, discovering islands to explore as they go. The ultimate goal in the game is to collect all nine parts of Blackbeard's treasure map so you can collect the treasure and rescue a cursed mermaid in the process. As you do.
In total, 16 islands are promised, all of which you can trade with. Then you can use earned gold to pimp your pirate boat, which in turn makes it more effective in sea battles with enemies.
The islands contain over 70 missions, with tasks that include sinking enemy ships and saving fellow pirates. There are also mini-games to take part in and you can play skeleton players at dice if you fancy a spot of gambling with your gold.
If it's sounding good, we ought to point out Playmobil Pirates has only been confirmed for release in Germany at the moment. Given the brand's popularity we'd choke on our Lego blocks if it doesn't get a normal widespread release (and how else would the publisher recoup the development costs, eh?). We'll let you know as soon as we get the aye aye captain it's also sailing to (y)our shores.
