AstraWare’s original, pirate-themed TradeWinds game brought a fresh twist to “travel-and-trade” games…most of them were set up in a space environment before. AstraWare’s just-released successor is said to add more depth to the game…can it stack up?

TradeWinds is centered around “ports”, which are arranged on a map. Your task is sailing from port to port with goods which can then be sold for a profit:

Each port looks different, but contains more-less the same buildings(some aren’t available in every port):

For example, a marketplace allows you to buy and sell goods(the exchange rates vary from port to port):

The money gained in trading can be invested into your ship’s armament at the shipyard. Alternatively, you can use it to buy more goods and get even richer(:)):

While traveling, pirates can attack you. The battles happen in “real-time”, you just click the target that shall be attacked:

Special ammunition can be fired by clicking its icon in the “toolbar”:

In Story mode, “tasks” are assigned to you that must be completed in order to unlock new characters, ships and ports. Additionally, completing a task gets you a nice cash bonus:

This review focussed on version 1.00 of the program on a Palm TX. The program needs approx 4600k of memory and was stable in the reviewing period!

Overall, TradeWinds 2 is a must-have for everyone who loves “turn-based” strategy games. One can’t imagine how much fun trading and fighting can be…until one has played this game. The first version of TradeWinds was a bit “shallow” to play, but TradeWinds 2 is much more challenging and less repetitive. It’s graphics and background music are quite nice, too - the price of 19.95$ is a bit steep but justified!

Use the discount code TRADEWINDSPALM to get 20% off the purchase price at the TamsShop