Needless to say, the combat just doesn't feel as cool as it could. Pirate sword fighting involves massive amounts of style, dramatic parries, creative use of the environment, and excellent taunts and retorts (see Monkey Island). None of this is found in PotC, and this leaves the personal combat high and dry. A more arcade style of combat would have probably been more appropriate to the piratical theme, and boarding actions would have been infinitely cooler had you been able to swing on ropes to attack opposing pirates.