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Hanseatic League Trading Simulation

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 15 / 15
Date: October 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Complex markets, realistic trading, town development, personal advancement, etc., this game has it all. Patrician II incorporates an interesting time period where growth in trade and city development was pinnacle for Northern Europe. Running your own business in a medieval situation gives a new found respect for the hardships these entrepreneurial souls endured while carving out their markets.

Patrician II has excellent graphics; it sets a feel to the game that makes it very enjoyable. The game-play is fantastic; there are tons of options to adjust to your speed or difficulty level. The multiplayer works flawlessly and the game appears to have been tested quite efficiently. No patches were necessary, and bugs and crashing are non existent. Strategy First is definitely making a name for itself for delivering stable working games, with impeccable historical accuracy and interesting environments and time periods very few game manufacturers explore.

Has trading in the high seas ever been so fun?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 15 / 15
Date: December 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is the type of game I wait around for. You know, the one that comes out every year or so that you know you'll have to buy when it first comes out as opposed to most games where you can wait a bit until the price goes down. Well, I forked the cash when this one hit the shelves. And it was worth it.

Anyone old enough to remember Sid Meier's Pirates will appreciate this game. It combines the same elements of that classic game as well as business management and some serious historical factoring. This game would be great business history tool, because today's European Union is loosely based off what your objectives are. Anyone with a brain won't mind playing this game for a few days or so.

With endless options, you basically are set out to make money, any way you want. The open ended goal is too become Alderman of the Hansa, the vast multi-national trading guild. The ladder is pretty long too, it is tough enough on average difficulty to become just a merchant.

I would say this game combines the Microprose classics Pirates and Railroad Tycoon into one game. (Both of which are hall of fame games by the way in almost every publication.)

The only downside is the length of the game. It takes a long time to do stuff, and some people will be very turned off. This game ain't no Diablo. This game involves thinking, and with that a lesson on European history too.

Great simulation by our friends in Germany. Thumbs up.

Be Advised...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: January 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I love the game and I generally agree with the positive reviews of Patrician II.

HOWEVER, please be advised: This is not a game that you just pop into your CD drive for a casual 20-30 minutes of play. It requires a lot of micromanagement, patience, and frankly, can be quite sloooow for quite a long time.

We fanatics tend to forget that not everyone is inclined to spend hours on what may feel more like a history lesson on a relatively (for most people) obscure trading league in order to become a successful merchant.

You've been warned.

Better then the first, enjoyible to a point

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: October 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Many years ago, I ran across the first installment and said, this idea was good, but something was missing. Well, they must have heard me over in Germany. The reminds me in many ways of Pirates, (Yes, I am old enough to remember that game). Sailing the North and Baltic Seas in order to gain a high rank among the trading towns of the north. The graphics are fairly good and the detail is ok, the manual has a few words they forgot to translate from German. You can marry and ship and hunt pirates, or be one yourself. You have your choice of 8 cities to start from. The micromanagement is the only real distractor from this game. When one gets many ships, it becomes very hard to manage the ships and if you are mayor of a town, the stress level increases. But if you are like and remember the good old days of Pirates!, this game is for you. It is worth the money!!!!

Simply Awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: May 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

P2 was a great, original idea to begin with (how many other 14th century Baltic Sea trading sims can you name?), and I love what they did with this one. Anyone who likes the thought of starting small and rising the ranks will love this game.

The money model is tough enough to be challenging (and realistic), but not so much as to be impossible or unpredictable. At first you can't help but just make single trips to nearby towns and build houses to rent in order to make money, but soon you can build your own industries and run your own towns.

I won't go into all the good parts of the game since others have done that well; I will just name a few drawbacks:

- The game's interest tapers off as you get richer and richer, because you can never stop planning and making all the shipping runs that you did as a lowly shopkeeper (there is no turning it over to a middle manager), so you always have to be bogged down in the details as you move on to other things.

- I still haven't sucessfully survived a land seige, even after maxing the number of my town and wall guards and building all the towers possible. Since there is no controlling how they fight (you aren't a military commander in this game), how do I protect my people?

- The sea battles are awesome, but your opponent can easily evade you if he has a faster ship. If your ship is suped up with weapons to fight with, though, you probably aren't very fast. So it is hard to search and destroy with a heavy force.

- Each town only has a few commodities that you can make economically. You can make some others, but the costs of production are high and you won't make a profit.

Those are only minor problems after dozens of hours of gameplay, though, so don't let them hold you back. Enjoy!

A Thought Provoking Gem

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

A trading simulation about the Hanseatic League probably generates a number of yaws among most gamers. However, this game elicits the same "just one more turn" feeling that I had when playing the various Civilzation games, Imperialism 2 and Europa Universalis I & II.

You are a trader in the North/Baltic Sea are in the 14th century. Your overall objective can be to become the Alderman of the Hanseatic League, but you can choose another objective. Since this is an open ended game, you can become a pirate and be a plague upon the other traders. You can play it straight and supply your hometown with all needed goods (20 in all), and build a happy and prosperous town. You can become Lord Mayor of your town, and are then responsible for it's defense from not only pirates, but from the local lord. You can try to build up your hometowns population to the maximum possible, and then move to a new town and try to maximize it's population. You can become the League's monopolist for wine, iron goods, cloth or any number of goods. This is why I like this game so much; the different ways you can play or combine the different aspects.

They are many other features such as exploring the New World well before Columbus, dealing with informers and thiefs, bribing officials, paying fines if you decide on a not so honorable path in life, building not only ships, but businesses. There is so much depth here.

You can play Patrician 2 via the internet, and there are contest game(s) available at web sites. These web sites also have actives forums which contain valuable information. I salute Strategy First for bringing this game to the U.S. market. There is a sequel called, what else, Patrician 3. I look forward to Strategy First or some other publisher bringing this game to the U.S.

Very addicting!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: July 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Who would have thought a game about the Hanseatic League could be so fun? I barely knew that the Hanseatic league existed. I never normally rate stuff 5 stars because most products are not perfect, but in my opinion Patrician 2 is as close to perfect as any computer game is going to get.

I chanced upon the game while surfing Amazon. When I saw it for $... at the PX boy was I glad I bought the game. I was very pleasantly surprised with Patrician 2. The game does not have flashy graphics but it is one of those games where you think you played for a half an hour and 2 hours have gone by. Patrician 2 combines Sid Meierýs Pirates and SimCity. You can build buildings to rent, businesses, and ships. You can trade within your own town or other towns.

The best thing about it, is that it is open ended w/out cumbersome missions to perform. One can take many different routes as an honest trader and businessman or a cutthroat pirate. As a member of the underworld you can bribe politicians (and what politician doesnýt like bribes?), burgle your competitors, hire pirates, or become a pirate yourself.

The ONLY stuff that might turn off players, in my opinion is that the game is brain intensive. You have to learn the profitable trading routes which for me meant writing down commodity prices at first. You have to keep track of your businesses as well. If you want a game where you will just veg out, Patrician 2 might not be as fun.

Oh what a joy!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: December 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Let me just say, this is one of the best games I have ever played! I have played them all (simulations that is) and this one allows multi-players to use the same machine and play on a turn-based setting. It is overwhelmingly enjoyable, addictive, and FUN! A friend and I have been playing together on the same machine for some time now. Although you lose some features with the turn-based option, it is still well worth it. Most developers cannot understand the importance of a multi-player option within a game. This one is a must have for all PC game lovers.

Excellent work by Ascaron

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Patrician 2 is a unique game allows the player to try several avenues to attain different goals in the game. Wonderful graphics and intriguing gameplay make this game First on my list of Strategy Games of the last 5 years. Ascaron, the developers, Have come out with a new game called Patrician 3. It's the much anticipated game based on the same scenario but with new events, better graphics, more realistic natural and A.I. characteristics. The game is especially exciting as multiplayer. Patrician 3, now available in Europe, awaits an American publisher to ship in the States and Canada. I want this for X-Mas!

a deep and thoughtful strategy game: BUY THIS!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Patrician 2 is an excellent game. If you like a good PC strategy game, then you will be sucked into this one for untold numbers of hours. The buying and selling has a most addictive feel to it. I haven't had so much fun buying, producing, selling, and trying to make supply and demand work for me while beating out the competition since M.U.L.E.! Very open gameplay is the rule as well. The match objectives can be achieved by any number of possible actions.

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