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I have played the Demo, and based on that...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 28 / 34
Date: September 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I have played the demo of Trade Empires, and have found it to be a most interesting and varied game.
To wit, you control a merchant family (or clan perhaps) which singlehandedly helps to develop your home civilization--to make it grow, to prosper, to develop, while at the same time amassing wealth and power.

It is real-time strategy...and so feels like the hybrid cross of the old Merchant Prince game, combined with a game from the Seven Kingdoms game. I don't know if the full game or later episodes will have offensive units, but the demo only has traders as your "pieces"--a refreshing change from games such as Age of Empires. Instead, you concentrate on building trade networks, building and acquiring artisans to turn that raw copper or silk into goods that your cities will want to buy at high prices.

Based on the fun I had in the demo, I will be looking to purchase this game. You don't NEED to swarm the map with tanks or dragons in order to have a fun time with a RTS.

Wait for the bargain bin on this one.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: October 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Trade Empires isn't different enough from other, older strategy games for me to recommend it. The game's biggest lacks are personality and originality. As I watched my trade routes increase and my markets grow, I felt no sense of accomplishment. New items and options that are added as your empire grows don't seem to add anything new to the "feel" of the game as a whole. In addition, everything is so small and bland-looking, much like strategy games that were released several years ago. I never felt a pressing need to finish one more task or to continue playing. The ... price tag is too high for a game that doesn't really add anything new to the strategy genre. If you can later find the game for ... in the bargain bin, it might be worth a look.

Trade Empires

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: July 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

1. Technical problems: I have encountered no technical problems with this game. It functions equally well on windows 98, ME, XP, XPpro.
The game once installed does not require the disk for play and has never caused a problem with my computers. I have encountered no errors.
2. Graphics: Graphics are simple and not particularly impressive in comparison with other games in the same venue.
3. Sound/Music: the game has a limited variety of sounds. There are several music scores for different ages and cultures.
4. The game is somewhat challenging and complex so it probably isn't the best choice for young children. Although it is rated for young children I assume this is on account of the fact that there are no adult content (read sexual or violent) considerations to worry about.
5. Game play: In this game you manage a Trade company in one of several offered regions and eras. Essentially you buy or produce products at the lowest price you can find and sell them for a profit. Changes in technology cause markets to open and close and political considerations can cause markets to be more or less profitable. The game offers other factors in regards to transportation systems, improving ones own market by placing civic improvements and the competing trade companies.
5. I have no reservations recommending this game to strategy enthusiast. As an older game the price should be reasonable ($10-$15) and the game is exceptional in that it works without the need to download patches and reconfigure your system with fixes just to play. That by itself is quite refreshing. There is or was at the time of this post (7/3/2004) an additional scenario available for download. I hope you find this review helpful. Happy Gaming.

Play the demo (or at least read the box) before you buy.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: March 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am dismayed by the complaints in other reviews that Trade Empires requires too much micromanagement. It should be obvious that this is the case if you bother to study the game even a little before playing. If you don't like games of resource allocation and balancing, I'm not sure why you would even consider this one.
Trade empires does a great job of presenting a "merchant's-eye" view of historical periods. It is engrossing in the same way that SimCity (the original) was way back when: you watch your ecosystem grow and try to nurture it as best you can.
That being said, I think the choice of using scenarios was the wrong one for this game. The victory conditions often seem arbitrary or contrived, and it would be much more fun just to pick a historical period and geographic area and go. There is also very little in the way of rewards-your merchants get special abilities after a certain amount of service, but I never find the abilities to be all that useful. Nothing connects you to the game in a personal way.
The design and development of Trade Empires are both quite good, but the style is a little lacking. Particularly when you compare the game to Frog City's previous game, the masterful Imperialism II. I2 was a gorgeous game with period details and oodles of style. Trade Empires is flat and lifeless. Perhaps the breadth of cultures and time periods is where the disconnect occurs?
In any case, Trade Empires is well worth checking out if micromanagement is your thing. If you're looking for the next amass, deploy, and destroy RTS, you should look elsewhere.

Trade Empire

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: November 13, 2001
Author: Amazon User

A wonderful concept, but demands too much detail management. Very confusing to manage, and I believe that this game was not beta tested very thoroughly. Don't buy it.

NOT WORTH THE PRICE

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 13
Date: December 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is the first time I gave a bad review for a game.The reason
that Trade Empires only got 2 stars is lack of interest.First of all the scenarios are way to micromanaging (in other words hard)and when you do get something right there is no fanfare not even
a pup up video.The graphics are lame the wagon that goes all over the map is so tiny it looks like a ant.No zoom feature
and the status bar is also confusing.So if you want a quick or
at least enjoyable trip through history get AOK or EE.

Based On the past

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: July 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

In 1939 there was agame called Trans it was exactly like Trade Empire but older.

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