At a glance...

Previewer	Platform	Publisher	Developer	Players	Release Date
Matt Bailey	PC/Mac	Paradox Interactive	Nitro Games	1-8 (Online)	31st July 2009

East India Company preview

The East India Company was created in 1600 and was initially founded to trade with the East Indies, but later traded with region as a whole, including China. Why is this important? Well, it's the setting for the latest title from strategy specialists Paradox Interactive. This real-time strategy game puts in you charge of the one of the leading powers at the time including, of course, the emerging superpower Great Britain and its representative the East India Company. Starting off in the 17th Century you are given control of your home city and some colonies, with the aim of building up your empire in the decades ahead. Of course, that's what everyone else is trying to do too, and so the battle for the top commences.

The first step to success is building up a fleet and establishing trade routes. You'll want ships with plenty of cargo space, but you'll also want to make sure they're adequately protected. Other nations aren't the only issue; there's pirates on those seas too so you've got to watch out (least ye be plundered and pillaged). As this is a Paradox title you can expect plenty of deep strategy, with a need to concentrate on the best places to buy and sell your wares to maximise profit for your company, while at the same time opening other trading routes. You'll need to negotiate pacts with the other nation's companies if you want to use their ports unless, of course, you want to go to war. Diplomacy is the other big pillar of strategy, and you'll need to balance the interests of the company against a desire to keep the peace. Sometimes the directors want you to get an important port, whatever the cost.

If you do end up getting into wars then East India Company lets you take control of these too. It follows a similar approach to the Total War series, you can let conflicts be automatically resolved, or you can engage in full 3D battles to take control of the action directly. You can still stand at the side and watch the action play out, or you can take part in some basic RTS gameplay, leading your ships against the rival company or pirates. Fleet building now needs to take into consideration both the best way to transport goods and to defend your empire. With enough trade generating revenue you can build up a large navy, but you'll need to balance the books and invest wisely. Pumping funds into ships which are quickly lost won't please the Crown very much.

East India Company also does more than simply throwing you into the 1600s and letting you build an empire over the coming centuries. It sets you up with some overall goals, such as taking control of a certain number of ports, or importing a quantity of tea, which you must complete by a certain year. It will then feed you extra missions, such as attacking a named port, which also have a time limit of their own.

Overall, East India Company is shaping up to be an enjoyable strategy title set in a particularly interesting period of combat and trade history. Whether the interest can be sustained for repeated sessions of play remains to be seen in the final game, which is due out next week, and we'll be reviewing soon.

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