Promising but lacklustre historical adventure
Merchant Prince is a superbly detailed and comprehensive historical strategy game which really brings the past to life and provides hours of engrossing trading and exploring, while throwing in plenty of backstabbing political shenanigans just to add some spice. The game is set in Venice in a time when the world was much smaller and where adventure and profit were around every corner. The player takes on the role of a merchant seeking riches, fame and glory and must build up their fortune through shrewd trading and politicking, and who also has access to assassins, arsonists and mercenaries for when the honest way of doing things isn't working quickly enough. You start out with only limited resources and must gradually build them up by trading with other cities, while also playing the political game to help your progress. Although not a major focus of the game, military might also comes into proceedings, with everything from pirates to highwaymen popping up and which can all be used to increase your power and influence. Merchant Prince promises a great deal but doesn't quite deliver everything and fails to capitalise completely on its wonderfully evocative setting. There is a lot of detail on display here, with plenty of flexibility in tactics and with the armchair strategist initially offered much to sink their teeth into. However, it soon becomes apparent that this is something of an illusion and you end up just doing the same thing over and over again, with the game thus becoming repetitive quite quickly. This is a shame, as there is a lot of potential here and the world itself is certainly portrayed in such a fashion as to make you want to really explore it. Ultimately though, there simply isn't enough fun to warrant spending the kind of time that such a game requires and it is likely to prove disappointing, even for fans of trading sims The Patrician.
