East India Company Collection - PC

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East India Company Collection (PC)
Viewed: 3D Combination Genre:
Strategy: Trading
Strategy: Combat
Media: DVD Arcade origin:No
Developer: nitro Soft. Co.: Paradox Interactive
Publishers: Paradox Interactive (GB)
Released: 30 Apr 2010 (GB)
Ratings: PEGI 12+
Accessories: Mouse, Keyboard

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Summary

East India Company (EIC) places you in charge of a merchant corporation, establishing trade routes while dipping into political and naval issues. The aim is to create as much wealth as possible for your corporation while meeting mission criteria and keeping your partners happy.

Starting with a small and unimpressive fleet, you must build and upgrade to grow your merchant corporation. You must establish connections to far away countries and keep rival nations at bay. Choose from a diverse catalogue of ship classes, including a variety of transport and military vessels. Create unique fleets and assign each of them a specific trading route.

The game is split into three different 'modes' of play; port, strategic and tactical, all of which require specific strategies and methods in order to work together. The port view plays out in the trading posts and town halls of lore, where most of the wheeling and dealing is done. Here is also where you build ships, strengthen defence and load your cargo. Since every port in the game works in the same way, it's simply a matter of setting things in motion, and waiting for the in-game time to move along.

In the EIC sea-based trading is fairly simple; build a ship, add it to a new/existing fleet and hire a commander (red or blue for his shirt, which to choose?) to run them. Then leaving the port view to strategic view, you can set up trading routes, guide your ships, attack other merchants and capture ports.

If you attack, or are attacked by another fleet, the game moves to the tactical (combat) view. There are two ways to action conflict; the first being Auto-Resolving where the computer picks the most likely victor. The alternative is a Direct Control mode, where you sail on the open seas, cannons at the ready and you see and control what happens in battles.

With 'Collection' you also get tons of added content previously released as DLC in the months following the original's release. This includes the Pirate Bay, Privateer and Battle of Trafalgar expansions.