Shiver me Timber !

Its tough being a pirate king. That's what I have been for the last 2 days now. And its quite a chore having your island all shipshape for the pirates to share their booty with you !

DISCLAIMER : If you are the politically correct types , or dont like pirates - dont read after this point.

What am I talking about ? I bought a new computer game last weekend - which has become very addictive very fast. The game is called TROPICO 2 : Pirate Cove





I had heard about this games precursor - TROPICO, where you were a dictator who had to set up his island economy for people to spend their hard earned money . But T2 changes the premise entirely. What really caught my attention about this game was the text on the back of the box - " As a Pirate King, rule a secret pirate island fill of despicable 17th centrury Sea Dogs. Fuel your ecomomy by plundering wealthy merchant ships and taking prisoners back to the island as captive workers. ... Argh, there ain't nuttin like bein' a Pirate King!

So, I ended up being a Pirate King of an island. There are 2 types of people on my island - the captives - who do the work i tell them. And the Pirates, who get plunder for me. To keep the pirates happy, I need to have good food and grog for the pirates ... and some entertainment in the form of Gambling dens and .. uhum... a few wenches ;)!

To keep the pirates happy, and keep the captives resigned to their fate ( make them quake in fear !) is the toughest part of the game, but as a good Pirate King - its something that I do with aplomb.

So all in all, its a great game. The stuff I like about the game are :
* A lilting carribean music background. You feel like getting up and dancing.
* A pirate sidekick who helps you in figuring out what to do next with witty comments like "Can't shiver me timber - without any timber" - which tells ya that your wood supplies are quite low. You need wood for most of the building your build on the island as well as the pirate ships you would need to build.
* Chimps and cats on the island. You move your cursor over them , and you are rewarded with their thoughts . Thoughts like 'Server me human' from the cats, and 'Bananas . I need bananas' from the chimps !
* You stash your booty in - what else - a Skull cave.
* Your piratey captains become better if you gift them with stuff like peglegs or a parrot !
* and ummm.. the wenches ;)

righto now. I better get back to bettering my island economy now !