Follow the parrot! He's got my copy of Tradewinds 2!

Just recently, Astraware released Tradewinds 2 the sequel to their original sea-faring trading game. This time, instead of sailing the seas in the Far East, you now travel the waters in the Caribbean Sea with plenty of new ports and characters to encounter. Oh, and of course plenty of pirates – we can’t forget about them now, can we?

The first thing you’ll notice when starting the game is how similar the game looks to the original. The ports look kind of the same, as do the menus you use to interact with characters like the shipyard owners or bartenders. However, you’ll soon find that many small changes have been made to these parts of the game that make it better than the original, or sometimes worse. First off, the merchants really know how to make a hard deal in Tradewinds 2. You'll find that most ports have the same prices for items, so it's hard to make a good profit when you start out. However, as the game progresses players will find that there’s more to the merchants than before: they can help you with your journey, and as new ports open up so do new trading options.

“Journey?” you say? Yes, this time trading and fighting pirates isn’t the only thing in this game. Well, it sort of is, but this time there’s a new twist: you follow the story of the characters you choose or even create. Each character has their own unique destiny, as it were, that makes Tradewinds 2 more exciting and funnier than before. You begin as a humble trader or plundering pirate in one of the ports, and each port has its own mayor. These mayors are a large factor in the progression of the story, as they provide the player with quests which must be completed to move on. Every quest has a reward, and when the player has completed enough quests, sometimes maps are given to you that provide new ports or mayors of other ports may begin providing quests as well. Within time, all ports will be opened to the player for buying and selling wares, repairing and buying ships, or hiding in local bars because you inadvertently lost a crewmember (where did my first mate go anyways?) or need to find a new one.

One new addition to the game is the use of several different items that players collect throughout their journey. These items are very helpful to the player and can make sailing and fighting much easier. For example, there are items like charms that increase the accuracy or reloading speed of your cannons or ragdolls that increase your interest at the bank. There are, however, some items that are of no help at all, like the charm that makes you more prone to encountering pirates or storms. As the player progresses through the game, they’ll likely come across at least one of each kind of item, and it makes the game more fun in a certain kind of way. Another addition to the game is the way characters join your crew. Previously in the original Tradewinds, members of another group of sailors would join you in battle as extra firepower. Now, these folks can help you reload your cannons faster, slow down your enemy’s speed, or even slow you down! These extra characters are almost always part of the journey, and most of the time the story behind them is a fun read. Just whatever you do, keep away from the mayor’s drunken wife. The last time I checked, her and her pirate friends werent’ too happy to see me.

If there is a change from the original game that most players may not appreciate, it’s the new combat system. In Tradewinds, you could purchase up to 15 vessels to sail the seas, and each vessel could be upgraded in terms of extra firepower. If a player wanted to, they could have their entire fleet of vessels consist of massive frigates loaded to the max with cannons and no room for cargo. This time you sail on your own, one ship at a time. And on top of this, you are limited to the number of cannons your ship can carry. It seems sort of a nuisance at first, but in time I found it more of a blessing. I found that the more ships I had in my fleet in the original Tradewinds, the slower battles became. It was like the game was lagging at some points during battle. Instead, Tradewinds 2 puts your single vessel against multiple ships at once. This time, however, your cannons fire non-stop until you or your foes have sunk to the ocean bottom. What’s special this time is that you can buy special ammunition for your cannons, from firepots to tiki bombs. These add extra punch for your battles, and can mean the difference between victory and becoming shark food. Unfortunately, your cannons are still vulnerable and can be taken out by enemy fire. But hey, at least you can get shiny new cannons in the next port with a shipyard!

Overall, Tradewinds 2 is a great improvement from the first Tradewinds. And that really says something when the first title of the series is already top-notch. While some of the quests can be tedious, requiring you to travel back and forth chasing after a seedy pirate or getting rid of a cursed jewel, you’ll find that it’s all worth it in the end. It’s also very satisfying to watch a volley of cannonballs crash into the side of your enemy ships. Tradewinds 2 is a very fun game that you could play for 5 minutes or 5 hours. It’s got a great musical atmosphere and nice graphics. Not to mention some good jokes here and there. Regardless of what platform you play it on, Tradewinds 2 is definitely a game everybody would enjoy.