Patrician 2: Money and Power

                   Demo from the Internet

                      Reviewed by Sue

Bev Truter asked me if I'd heard of this game when she saw it
being sold cheaply. I had but didn't know much about it so I
started searching the net for info about it. I found a demo as
well and since it sounded a good game, I decided to try the demo.
When you install it, it checks all different resolutions to get
the best one for your setup.

First a warning. When you run the demo the publisher's loading
screen sits there until you click the mouse. Don't hang about for
ages waiting for it to go like I did.

Patrician is a combination strategy, trading game with some
construction elements too. The demo has a tutorial and single
game. Campaign and multiplayer options are disabled.

First the tutorial. This has five sections, starting with basic
game control, then detailed looks at ships, trade, town expansion
and battles. The game looks very nice. The graphics are detailed
and atmospheric with the townsfolk going about their business and
sometimes a mist hanging over the town. Waves ripple across the
sea and seagulls fly above the ships and houses.

You learn how to select a ship you own and send it to another
city. Travel causes wear and tear so after a long trip, a ship
will probably need some repairs. You might want to hire more crew
while repairs are taking place. The place to find sailors is, of
course, the local tavern. You can also get information and meet
people who've been in contact with you by letter. At the shipyard
you can pay to have a new ship built. You may have to buy
materials for this.

The third part of the tutorial teaches you about trading. You need
to know what goods each town requires so you take the correct
items to the right place. Of course your competitors are doing the
same thing. Trading successfully with a town helps the town
expand, improves your reputation (you might get to be Patrician
one day) and lets you make big profits.

The town's trading window is opened by clicking on a crane on the
dockside when your ship is docked and selected. It lets you trade
between ship, trading office and town in any direction.  Various
things affect the selling and buying prices of goods, but a lot of
the time it's due to supply and demand. You'll be told the average
price you paid for items on your ship; what you have to do is find
a town that will pay more than that. The market in each town will
tell you what goods are produced there and what the demand is for
different commodities.

Each town has a number of other buildings such as your trading
office, houses and places where goods are produced such as a
sawmill. You can build your own buildings. Again you may need to
buy raw materials if you don't have enough, such as tiles, timber
and iron goods. You'll be offered a choice of sites when you try
to build something. More raw goods will be needed afterwards for
workshops where raw materials are turned into a finished product.

The sea battles tutorial teaches you how to keep your cargo safe
on the high seas. Battles can be handled automatically if you
prefer. It's very satisfying to see lumps of wood flying off the
pirates' ships. When they blow up, their cargo is dumped in the
briny.

The problem with a game like Patrician 2 is that you can't really
get into it by playing a single game. A campaign gives you more to
aim for. I found it hard to keep track of who wanted what and
ended up sailing about with things no-one wanted. I think you'd
need to make notes.

Interesting but not one I'd buy unless I saw it VERY cheaply!




                              - o -