Age of Sail II Preview
Take to the high seas with our preview of TalonSoft's upcoming Age of Sail II.
The age of fighting sail is not very popular among game developers. Let's face it, when you think of recent seafaring titles set in the period of 1775 to 1820 and Buccaneer and the Man of War series stand out in your memory, you know things are bleak for the genre. That may all be changing with Age of Sail II, however. Thanks to TalonSoft and Russian development studio Akella, this little-used time period is about to come alive in 3D-accelerated real-time splendor.
We recently sat down with an early beta of the game and tried our hand at numerous sea battles, both large and small. Numerous features, including multiplayer support and the full campaign modes, were not yet implemented as we went to press. Unlike the original game, Age of Sail II will not include a scenario editor, though TalonSoft indicated that one may be available later as an add-on. Also, the interface is a bit shaky at this point in time, as some commands don't seem to work while others play havoc with the effectiveness of your ships and fleets. Further, the game strangely includes only a fraction of the scenarios that came with an older, pre-beta copy of Age of Sail II we played a month or so ago. Still, with a release date set for late in January of 2001, the game is in fairly solid shape. The graphics are phenomenal for starters, and the elements of gameplay that function properly are quite impressive. This could be - at long last - the game that fighting sail fans have been waiting for since way back in the Stone Age when Broadsides hit the scene for Apple II and Commodore 64 computers.
Akella is actually working on two fighting sail games at the moment. In addition to Age of Sail II for TalonSoft, Akella is wrapping up work on Sea Dogs - a pirate game - for Bethesda. Unknown in the US until just a few years ago, Akella is a company to watch in the coming years. Not only does the company turn out some fine 3D technology, but it has a flair for graphic beauty that is often breathtaking to behold in Age of Sail II. You may have to be something of a fighting sail nut to notice some of the fine touches in Age of Sail II, but even a complete neophyte can't help but notice the game's impressive visuals.
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