EAST INDIA COMPANY

GAME DETAILS :-

Developer : Nitro Games

Publisher : Paradox Interactive

Engine : Not Revealed

Genre : Real Time Strategy

Release Date : July 28 , 2009

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS :-

Operating System : Windows 2000 / Windows XP

CPU : AMD Athlon XP 2100+ / Intel Pentium 4 Processor

Memory (RAM) : 512 MB

Graphics Hardware : DirectX 9.0c Compatible Video Card with Memory 128 MB

[NVIDIA : GeForce FX 5800 Series
ATI : Radeon X800 Series]

Hard Disk Space : 1 GB

GAME FEATURES :-

East India Company gives players the chance to lead their own maritime mercantile empire in the 17th century trade wars that European powers fought in Africa and India. You'll plan trade routes, make war and peace with your European rivals, capture ports, and manage ships and crews. If you're really adventurous, you can even take charge of your fleets in real time 3D battles on the high seas. While that's more than enough quality content for many gamers, there are some shortcuts and missing features that keep East India Company from being all that it ought to have been. There are a number of limited campaign options here, but I wanted to enjoy all the game had to offer, so I opted for the grand campaign, which begins in 1600 and runs through the whole time period represented in the game. With a bit of cash and the smallest merchant fleet around, you'll set off to trade in the commodities of Africa and India, always following the golden rule, "buy low, sell high." Your home port in Europe has goods to sell to the natives, so first you'll stock up on tools and steel. Pick the one city you'd like a particular fleet to trade in and they'll sail off, buy up that port's main trade item, whatever else they can fit in the hold (and the budget) and then head home to sell it off and stock up on whatever goods are most in demand abroad. Ships have a limited range, so they'll need to stop in at friendly ports along the way, and can use these stopovers to buy and sell at better prices than are sometimes found in the cities at either end of the trade route. In the grand campaign, however, your stockholders will require you to move thousands of tons of individual commodities, so you begin to care less about price and more about moving product in a way that's safe and doesn't require a lot of extra work. So while automatic routes might seem less profitable than micromanaged routes, the game tends to push you towards these "set it and forget it" type routes. Throw in the five-ship limit in each fleet and you'll soon discover that diversifying is something you can't really afford until you've got enough cash to create self-contained trade fleets that can operate on their own.

There's no political maneuvering in Europe, no colonial frictions in Africa, and no exploiting the locals in India. As far as the game is concerned, the world is made up solely of ports and profits. While that may be an accurate commentary on the philosophical outlook of these companies, it seems a bit superficial in terms of the overall simulation and doesn't allow for the full range of influences that these companies historically had. The port upgrades are limited to garrisons, warehouses and shipyards, so there's no real sense of creating industry or additional profit potential within the empire you're creating. In fact, owning more ports seems to be a bigger drain on your economy than anything, which makes it particularly troubling to win the game by conquering the entire subcontinent. And while the game opens up new ship types to you throughout the course of play, there's no sense of technological or practical progress. There are options for all the requisite sea battle elements -- line formations, shot types, sail state, etc. and players can even dump their precious cargo to pick up a bit of speed if they're trying to flee. The trading model is straightforward and the presentation makes it easy to manage all the details of the empire. Then again, managing all the details is pretty easy when there aren't that many to begin with. There's no sense of interaction with the world outside of your balance sheet, which is a disservice to the subject matter. The tactical battles are enjoyable but also seem a bit too streamlined. Players who are interested in the concept or the period will definitely find a worthwhile game here but the appeal wears thin long before it should have.

GAME REVIEW :-

7/10

East India Company Trailer :-