Ahoy lads and lasses! Ye little landlubbers, hop aboard and grab your grog and I shall tell you me tales of booty and swashbuckling scallywags… or something!
Ok, so the whole pirate talk isn’t really my thing, but Tradewinds 2 takes the pirate concept a bit further. Here, you take the role of a ship captain whose main source of income is trading goods from port to port, buying low and selling as high as possible. During your travels, you will defend your precious cargo from pirate attacks and complete missions for the governors of each port. So that kind of makes you a “good pirate” of sorts.
In story mode, you start small, with a little ship and limited funds, but you can start doing favors for the governor right away. These will give you rewards ranging from items (which will give your ship certain bonus like being able to carry more cargo) to crew members and of course, gold. By advancing in these missions, you will gain access the governors from other places and unlock new places on the map.
Completing story mode will also unlock the Custom Character Creation mode.
You can also play Free Trade mode, where the purpose is to make as much money as possible. I noticed there was a lot less naval combat in this type of gameplay, so it really comes down to buying and selling everything from fish to textiles, or trying to smuggle illegal goods like tobacco and risk loosing your cargo.
Throughout the game, you work to create strong trade runs, buying at a port and selling at the next. Keep in mind that if you see a price in blue, in means the cargo you’re holding will make a profit if sold at that market. If it’s red, hold on to it and try another port.
Here’s a good tip. Visit the bars and buy a round of drinks. Doing this at certain bars will provide you with useful info, such as what port buys cotton at the highest price, and during what month. These bits of info are just what you need to make a good profit.
You will have to defend your ship and your cargo from pirate attacks, so always make sure you repair and replace any lost cannons at the next port. Mind you, not all ports have shipyards.
The bigger the ship, the more cannons and cargo you can carry, and the more damage you can sustain during an attack. Better ships will be available from the shipyards, so that’s your major investment right there, since the best ones will cost you a pretty penny.
Daniel Bernstein, CEO and President, Sandlot Games stated “Players who enjoyed the original Tradewinds will find everything they loved about it in this game, and much more. New players will really be drawn into the Tradewinds 2 lore. You can be a master commander, defeating pirates and plundering their gold. You can play it safe and trade goods, gradually amassing wealth and power. You can trade contraband, risking seizures, but reaping larger returns. It’s up to you. It’s your world to explore.”
I’m a pirate, that I be,
I sail me ship upon the sea!
Aye, ye can sail your ship too!
Avast ye, go play Tradewinds 2!
Tradewinds 2 has really shivered me timbers! You can grab the free 60-minute trial and enjoy a good hour of naval combat and mercantile expeditions. Yarr!
Minimum System Requirements:
- Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
- Pentium II 400 MHz
- 64 MB RAM
- IE 5+
- DirectX 7+