There is a tutorial that takes about an hour to complete, and it pays to take notes. At this point, the learning curve becomes apparent. Starting with only one unarmed ship, and a handful of gold coins, you buy trade items and hire a crew in an attempt to make your fortune. If all of this seems a bit much, rest assured that you don't have to micromanage your entire empire - you can assign certain routine tasks to the computer to handle. You can build farms and plantations, hire sailors and ship captains to build your fleet, and establish trade routes to line your pockets. You have options to accept missions from local governors, secure Letters of Marque which allow you to become a privateer for a nation, or you can just rob everyone in sight and become a ruthless bloodthirsty pirate. In an attempt to better your financial and social situation, you have many avenues open to pursue exploration and trade. You also can choose how your reputation advances, either through sea battles or through trade. By starting later, you'll find that Spain's grip on the Caribbean has loosened, and that other countries have started to do well. During that period Spain had the most powerful navy in the world.
For example, by starting in 1570, you'll find that Spain has a pretty large number of ports, which is historically accurate. You can make some minor adjustments to the gaming environment. It's not easy to start the game as a fledgling sailor you choose your nation of origin (England, Spain France or Holland) and that determines where you start.
Overall, Port Royale is a terribly addicting game. It's a big world, and you can approach it as a privateer, a trader or a pirate. The interface is mostly point and click, and the game-play is non-linear - you get to do what you want to do, whether it's pursue missions, engage in trade, or jump feet first into a sea battle. Port Royale is no different, save its graphics and sound and even more things for you to do. Pirates! was a fantastic game, and many people (myself included) lost days, weeks, months of our lives to it.
Armed with pistols, cutlass and cannon, and recruiting crews from criminals and runaway slaves, the high seas had never been more dangerous or more profitable.įirst, you can't look at these game without thinking of Microprose' classic game Pirates! It's very much the same game, only expanded into a detail oriented game, with sophisticated trading system. At the same time, ships loaded with goods sailing to Europe proved an irresistible temptation to pirates and cutthroats. It combines the best elements of an action adventure game with economic strategy based in the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy.ĭuring the 1600's and early 1700's, the Caribbean was a wild frontier - skirmishes and minor wars between colonial nations caused many a ship owner to be pressed into service as a privateer. Port Royale is the result of the combined effort of Ascaron and Tri-Synergy. Much like Patrician II, players must also worry about developing trade routes, establishing a reputation in their targeted towns, and constructing essential trade buildings when necessary. Sea battles can involve over 20 ships, but players can choose to put their ships on auto-pilot during the fighting. Players must develop keen pirate instincts as they siege towns, battle other ships, and search for hidden gold. Gameplay involves exploring a game world of four million square miles (four times larger than Patrician II), over 60 towns, and four nations - Dutch, English, Spanish, and French. Developed by ASCARON, the same company that brought us Patrician II, Port Royale is set in the Age of Sail, and gives players the opportunity to explore the bustling world of the Caribbean in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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