Have you ever wanted to play a privileged member of an elite group of European nations, beat up all the other contenders, and see if you can improve the efficiency with which the colonies were exploited? Well, now you can, among other activities exploring and naval warfare, in East India Company, a new strategy title that has you as a young captain sailing the high seas in the 17th century, the time when canny traders and naval powers dominated the known world and the notorious Captain Kidd met his fateful end.


But this all looks so peaceful! History, have you lied to me?
Although plot driven (your goal is to discover the truth behind the murder of your father and brother), the game allows you quite a lot of freedom to create your own character, giving you the choice of eight nationalities and the option to play an honest trader, determined commander or nefarious pirate. There are over one hundred missions to complete, and while the game's emphasis is on naval warfare, there are paths open to each player type in the completion of the various challenges set before you.

You build you fleet from a range of different vessels, from slow but capacious trading cogs to swift and agile raiders, and can engage in battle with your whole fleet from an RTS perspective, or take direct command of one ship and battle directly, which looks especially fun during storms or other varying weather conditions, or when boarding your opponents. Each craft can be upgraded, and special characters available for hire provide certain benefits to your fleet, such as improved navigational abilities, which you'll need when exploring the forty different locations.


Oh. That's more what I expected.
East India Company has suffered some setbacks recently, undergoing a three month delay as well as losing one publisher and going into hiatus until signed by Paradox Interactive this week, but now that that's all sorted out we can expect to see it on PC sometime next month; more concrete details once we have them.