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Some of them might want a piece of your success. Sure, you can concentrate on trading goods if you like, but the seas of the Caribbean are teeming with competing nations and pirate ships. The only time you will see a short loading screen while playing Port Royale 4 is when you jump into a naval battle. Outside of first entering the game, there are very few loading screens, allowing you to hit the ground running with just about any task you want to concentrate on. It’s incredibly smooth to navigate, and considering the sheer scale of the game’s world, it’s something of a technical marvel. You can zoom in to a business you own in a port town, close enough to see the workers milling around, or zoom out to see an overview of multiple islands at once. But what’s most impressive is just how seamless Port Royale 4 is. The ocean waters are sharp and beautiful, and the details as you zoom into islands and towns is impressive, too. You’ll not find the detail here that you will in a leading open world adventure, of course, but it’s hard not to be impressed. Taking your time and starting off carefully is key.Īs mentioned previously, Port Royale 4 is rather nice looking. You’ll also have to be mindful not to take on too much too soon everything costs money, from trading permits and building permits to the upkeep of your fleet. So strategising every element of gameplay is important: buy produce from towns where it’s abundant, and sell to towns with a shortage. It allows you to focus on other areas, and seeing money roll in by itself is always a welcome boon.Ĭash flow is of course important to all elements of Port Royale 4, and if you run out of money you’ll soon find yourself struggling to continue. You’re able to automate trade routes if you wish, setting routes for your convoys to travel, automatically buying and selling the produce you’ve selected.
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Even the simple joy of sailing back and forth between trading ports is fun, especially when you’re turning a tidy profit.
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It’s easy to get overwhelmed at first, but when you’re successful it’s incredibly rewarding. There’s a lot of plates to spin at once, so to speak: you’ll have multiple ships to direct, businesses to build at various ports, and half a dozen different tasks to manage, all with deadlines to meet. As time progresses though, what Port Royale 4 expects from you gets more and more daunting. They’re straightforward at first: trade 1,000 items with neighbouring towns, and keep the population of your home town happy. But campaign mode tasks you with various missions.
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#Port royale 4 ps4 review free#
You can opt to play a free game if you like, building up your trading empire however you see fit. And an in-depth guide accessible at any time from the menu lets you refresh your memory whenever you need to. Each lesson focuses on a particular area, so you can skip over anything you’re already familiar with. It’ll take over an hour to sit through them all, but it’s worth doing as you’ll feel much better prepared for the game’s campaign.
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Getting to grips with Port Royale 4 can be daunting, but a lengthy and well-executed series of tutorials teaches you the basics. But the heart of the game remains the same as ever: trade produce around the Caribbean and become the supreme power of the seas. It’s bigger than ever too, and has brand new game mechanics in place.
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Graphically, it looks beautiful, and menus and various gameplay systems have had a complete overhaul. But eight years on since the release of Port Royale 3, it’s safe to say that it’s evolved in multiple ways. I’m not a Port Royale stalwart, so I can’t discuss in depth to how it compares to previous entries. I’ll preface this review by saying that Port Royale 4 is the first game in the series I’ve played. Let’s face it Port Royale 4 is the closest thing most of us are going to get to a Caribbean getaway any time soon.
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