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East India Company (PC)
• Publisher: Paradox
• Developer: Nitro Games
• Release Date: July 28, 2009
• Screenshots
• What We Saw:
We were lucky enough to be staying at the same hotel as the fine people at Paradox so we got a great look at both East India and Hearts of Iron 3 in a quiet, calm atmosphere in the hotel lobby – something that during E3 the media treasures. No noise. No interruptions.
The demo was a tour of the overland map since we already played a preview beta of the ship-to-ship combat. The game runs from 1600-1800 during the Age of Sail. You play the role of a trading company representing a nation (eight in all from England to the Holy Roman Empire) – not the nation itself. But historically these companies wielded great power and that is represented in the game.
It's not solely a game about ship combat, but it's more about making money – cornering markets and working the diplomacy channels en route to…making more cash for your company. Each city on the world map specializes in various goods and you need to work to own those ports either by force of via trade diplomacy. If you're looking for comparisons, it looks like a combination of Pirates!, and Empire Total War – but only with ship combat, and a trading game like High Seas Trader.
• What We Think:
Bill: While a game like Sega's Bayonetta demos well at a hit and run show like E3, games like East India Company can easily get lost in the shuffle. But I have to tell you I absolutely love how this game looks. Keep in mind, we saw a 20 minute tour demo with the developer so I have no clue how good or bad the AI will be – and it needs to be solid because you're basically batting other AI companies the entire game. (Unless you play multiplayer, of course – which supports up to eight players and could be absolutely brilliant if it works as intended)
But the general interface and the ease of which you can get the information you need is spot on. Plus, it's easy on the eyes. One of our staffers who sat in on the demo, and who isn't a big strategy player, quipped, "Hey that looks like Pirates." It has that breezy sort of look. It also is loaded with detail from ship commanders sporting tons of skills, various ports with specific traits, setting trade routes, and working the game's economic model – and the diplomacy model is pretty intricate. Again – will it work? We'll see.
The best news is that Paradox gave us playable beta builds so expect a full on preview soon before the game's July 28th release.
Todd: I thought the game world in this one was very reminiscent of a better looking, more intricate Sid Meier’s Pirates! Obviously, the rest of the gameplay is much more involved. The notion of running a Trading Company is a novel concept that deserves more attention than it’s likely to get. The port trading model and the critical importance of having access to ports is intriguing, as is the notion of hiring commanders with unique traits to handle your fleets.