LittleBigThings: Water water everywhere...

So I finished the Pirates of the Caribbean DLC today, though, unfortunately did not get everything.  Not only is there a nigh-arbitrary x2 section in one of the levels, later on there is an even more arbitrary x4 section in the same level.  I'm not sure if I care enough to bother for them, honestly.  I got what was important out of the pack already:  The Water.

Awww yeah.  We wanted it, we got it.  Mostly.

Before this, you were merely stuck with using glass and/or poisonous gas in varying shades of blue to depict "water" in your levels, and even as is, it's not entirely optimal, as it's merely a switch that floods the level, but to a degree you adjust, and one that can be altered on the fly with switches.  Still, it works; you swim in it, they give you a scuba pack if you want to put that up, ensuring that you won't drown, or you can add bubble stations to recharge the 30 second air limit.  Not a concept any of us should be unfamiliar with, certainly.

Quality-wise, I'm not sure what I think of the PotC levels and, in fact, I was trying to think while playing it, since I knew I was going to report it here.  The levels retain a charm that is distinctly LBP, one that you can't mimic without flaw, but the actual enjoyment of the levels is middling.  Not unenjoyable, but not exactly fun.  Not difficult, but you don't manage to simply walk through every level and get an ace.  Especially the boss-fight, which, on first attempt, befuddled me as to how I would even manage to ace it, seeing that it seems very nearly random regarding your chances.

This is part of the Kraken fight.  The part with the tentacles.  Clearly.

It's very very near lazy, I'm loathe to admit.  You are on the boat, and there's four cannons on it, the second tier requiring you to grab something on a piston to get to.  Said piston might also shield you from the flaming cannonballs that the enemy ships shoot into your ship from the top.  Of course, they might drop the cannonballs directly onto your little stuffed head as well.  With the space as cramped as it is, it's hard to prevent such a fate, and instead, better to simply hope it doesn't befall you.

The bossfight's pattern is rather simple; it starts with you between two ships.  They shoot cannonballs at you, you can use the cannons to destroy them, but there's little point beyond points (possibly, I don't even remember if you get any for sinking a ship), as, at certain points, they'll move off to let the Kraken's tentacles come up from the briny depths to wiggle threateningly at you, and sometimes encroach on the ships borders, killing you if you happen to be in line with their destination.  No projectiles, no real impact, just a line of poison gas behind the tentacle that is sure to hit you if you're not far ahead of it.  The point is to use the cannons to destroy them, of course.  The balls have sensors that dissolve the green bits as they pass by, and you need to dissolve the top and a good amount of the sections beneath that before it's defeated.  You have to do this twice per stage, as there's two tentacles at all times.  And you have to do this three times.  Three sets of two, if I didn't make that clear.

When you defeat them, the enemy ships swoop back in and shoot at you until they stop and another attack of the tentacles occurs.  And then when you beat that, you just have to go to the scoreboard.  It manages to be wholly underwhelming despite the significance you might think it would have, given that it's a Disney/MM colab.  And honestly, that's mostly the problem; despite it being the Pirates of the Caribbean DLC Pack, if there were none of the licensed stickers or the costumes, you wouldn't know the difference.  It is very generically 'Pirate' which almost didn't really strike me until now.

Still, at no point was I specifically annoyed or disappointed with the pack.  I may focus on the fact that at no point was I specifically enjoying it either, they both deserve an equal say.  If you want Water and any and all chances for new materials and the like, having the Pirates pack won't do you a disservice.  But if you're not much of a creator or don't really think you need the tools, it's a safe pass.