Port Royale 2 is not for the casual gamer. Unless you are really into micromanagement simulators, or the 1600 time period the game is set in, you probably won't last long in Port Royale 2. While the game sports excellent depth and wonderful replayability, it suffers from an unfriendly interface and intricate details that can take some time to get used to. The idea of the game is to start up a business in the Caribbean, circa 1600. You start off with nothing more then a warehouse in one of the many settlements, some funds, and a ship of your choosing. At the begining parts of the game, you will find yourself simply going from town to town buying goods that seem inexpensive, and selling them off to towns that are paying more for them. After a while you will start to pick up on which towns need what item, and can then buy and sell more efficently. Eventually, you can save up enough money and resources to build your own businesses, which lets you produce different products and essentially sell them at a much higher profit. You will also be able to expand into many more settlements later, which will eventually allow you to drop costs even more, by harvesting cotton in one town and then shipping it to a town that manufactures clothing. See, in Port Royale 2, different settlements can make different things - you can't choose what is made in what town. Also thrown in to spice up the game is the ability to run errands for the Governor, Viceroy, or even just some bum at the inn. These random missions range from taking someone to a town, sinking some French ships for the Spanish, or mounting a raid on a town, and pillaging its resources. The sea battles offer up so extra spice for when you get a little bored with the same-old trading business, and the ability to take over towns is fun too. Unforunately, neither of the two features are too intuitive or indepth. So the gameplay to be found in Port Royale 2 is certainly quality, however the interface and basics of the game can take a while to master. If you don't mind spending a good hour or two learning the basics of the game, you will end up being totally confused and frustrated. In the end though, its a fun, solid, old-school title that i would recommend for any Sim fan.
As featured on loadedinc.com... The original Port Royale was released last June. It was difficult, engaging, difficult, provided good depth, and above all it was difficult. I’d venture a guess to say that anyone who... Read Full Review
Port Royal 2 is a nicely balanced economic sim. The economy of the game is dynamic so you can't simply find one good run and do it all game. Like real life, the demand for items ebb and flow. There is a nice mixture of r... Read Full Review
