This latter option is actually the most involving, complex and challenging part of the game, as getting a handle on the various trading menus can take a little time. You can engage in a little piracy, bounty hunting or in the simple processes of economic growth, trading, buying properties and setting up businesses. There is a lot you can do in this game and in sandbox mode the options are delightfully open indeed. However, Port Royale 2 does still have the right stuff to keep more than a few of you stuck in front of your machine absorbed in the Machiavellian machinations of colonial politics and the struggle for economic dominance. That said, this is never the sort of game you are going to want to use to show off your new graphics card to your friends. There is plenty of color splashed about on screen and when you are in town each of the key characters you meet pops up in an animated window in the bottom right of the screen. The ships are presented in 3D though, even if each boat boasts very few polygons. The bulk of the game is presented using isometric 'pseudo 3D', with sprites and not a mind boggling level of detail. In technology terms, Port Royale 2 is more 98 Oldsmobile than brand spanking new Acura sports coupe, as the visuals are effective but very spartan. The game is an evolutionary step forward with a few new elements and tweaks here and there. Port Royale 2 is a much better balanced effort. Indeed the first Port Royale also did its best to emulate the brilliance of Pirates!, but somehow missed the mark with a few interface and design issues seeing the game confined to quarters until a few remedies could be found. However if you can't wait for Sid Meier and his mates to get the sequel sorted then Port Royale 2 is a reasonably seaworthy alternative which is another Pirates! in all but official name, as the main elements of the original game design are here.
Pirates! is only now coming in for a much needed revamp. The word seminal is a term tossed about way too often these days when describing games, but if you are looking for the original swashbuckling simulation which combined naval combat, trading and sword fighting then Pirates! is the only game which can rightfully claim to have launched the genre.
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