We’ve all dreamt of roaming the high seas, sword in hand, a raised black flag flapping in the wind as we build an empire of gold, power and influence, right? Well maybe that’s just me and that’s what Port Royale 3 offers players, ultimately it does a pretty good job of it! While the dressing may be jazzed up and colourful with its Caribbean setting, Port Royale 3 solidifies around a singular concept of buying Raw Materials at a low prices and then flipping them down the line, at another port, for a higher price. This core concept persists in everything you’re faced with an unexplainable drive to buy everything at the lowest price and grab the highest margins possible to ensure your supply lines remain open; supplying those outlying colonies with food to stave off a famine or dropping off cigars for the wealthier inhabitants of the world. It is with singular focus that the game very quickly goes from a simple trading game where you’re driving a single fleet to expanding an empire and juggling multiple fleets, diplomatic relations with four nations and fighting back pirates that consistently attack, forcing you to not only weigh supply space within the small fleets but also the weight with which you can defend yourself and not risk losing an entire shipment should these roaming fiends overcome you. Port Royale 3 focuses on two similar campaigns and offers players different options when just starting out. Focusing, quite unusually, on a storyline as progression where you’ll be trying to impress a young woman of Spain’s Royal Court. As a trader you’ll spend your game building an empire through trade and having your potential love requesting you focus on her favourite city when building production facilities to improve the prosperity of the people. As the Adventurer you’re destined for a life on the high seas, fetching rare items and transporting Royals around as you move farther afield and discover more than others of your time. Your progression in both campaigns leads you from the unknown deckhand to the well-known Captain welcomed at all ports. The love story ties directly into the progression which allows eventual access to more fleets and more buildings to improve production and raw material availability. Your one true love falls for another and as you watch from a distance, bitter and twisted, you know your only way of gaining her hand in marriage is to become the most sought after man in the empire. It’s certainly a pleasant surprise that the story is so well integrated into the game that it truly takes your mind off the menial tasks of going back and forth between different cities and managing relationships with different nations. You’ll spend hours building up production facilities within numerous towns, buying and constructing property to supply those towns with the correct materials and will be able to watch as your efforts have a direct result on income and progress on a very swift level rather than waiting…
