Detailed and enjoyable maritime business sim
Ocean Trader is a highly detailed and complex business simulation game that will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Ports of Call, Buccaneer or anyone looking for a maritime-themed strategy game. Players take the role of a shipping manager and must successfully control their company by delivering and trading goods, while designing new ships and juggling the myriad responsibilities that come with the job. You can deal with around 100 harbours from all over the world, with an extensive variety of goods, each with their own level of risk and profit and a key element of the game is watching the market prices to see where consumer interest lies. A number of ship types are available, again with their own advantages and disadvantages so maintaining a flexible fleet is also crucial. A major consideration for any strategy game is its interface, which must be detailed enough to allow for realism and depth, but accessible enough that players feel they can access the information they need. Fortunately, Ocean Trader gets things pretty much perfect, with a simple but functional system that makes the game run pretty smoothly. While graphics are static they are well detailed and make great use of vibrant colours to create some very strong visuals. As far as maritime strategy games go, this is tough to beat, with enough authenticity and complexity to keep business and shipping buffs entertained for hours.
