Ports of Call

Developer: N/A	Graphics:
Publisher: Aegis	Sound:
Year: 1987	Difficulty:
Genre: Simulation	Replay value:
Number of players: 4 taking turns	My overall rating:	8/10

It is a forum visitor who was looking for this game. I add to the site every titles that are given to me, but sometimes it takes a little time . . . in this case, it took me three years. A tramp shipping simulation , I wasn't really carried away. Besides, along with management games, there is always a manual to dissect, and I don't care dissecting.

In short, I had no rotten platform games at hand, so one day, I tried Ports of Call.
First surprise: the presentation screen, which looked a little austere in picture, is superbly animated. The shimmering water recalls the crackling fire in early Defender of the Crown, same graphician.

Then, a relief: the manual is rather light. You can have a look at it on Lemon Amiga. Basically, you're the boss of a shipping company and your job is to manage one or more vessels, maintain them in good condition, buy and sell goods around the world and, occasionally, operate at sea, avoid icebergs or try to enter or exit from a tiny harbor. Although these navigation phases are fairly unspectacular, stress is there, since we know that the slightest mistake has financial consequences.

The economic aspect is very important. You spend most of your time monitoring the exchange rates. At first you may lose more money than you earn, and then, with a little practice, you learn to wait for bargains. The difficulty is to know whether or not the contracts that you pick can compensate your expenses. It's a constant effort to cut costs and when, at last, one become profitable, it's rewarding!
You may very well decide not to put one foot in the water, so to speak, and speculate on the boat market (effective solution but hardly exciting, given the lack of items that are exchanged, that said, this isn't a trading game).

The interface is simple but readable, menus aren't too numerous, which makes the game accessible. Initially, I did not think that I would have the patience to get into it, and a fortiori, to enjoy doing freight!
After several hours of play however, it is clear that the simulation could have been improved further. Making money is nice, but alone, without competition, I eventually got bored. This is surely another story in multiplayer mode.

Places to download:
Amiga Island
Amigaland
Emuparadise
Planet Emulation
The Game Archives
The Old Computer

Other sites of interest:
Ports of Call 2009/2010

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