I reviewed this game for a Czech paper mag Level (issue 147). Frix, the editor, gave it to me saying: "I just can't believe it, but I've got stuck with Tradewinds for 10 hours last weekend." So I expected great things to happen. But TL:UH were even better than I thought they could (should?) be.
The core is just a simple merchant game. You manage a fleet of ships (10 is the maximum amount of ships), travel from city to city, buy and sell goods. Nothing really original - just the setting (I like Orient) and pixel art graphics make it very appealing. But there's more: buying spells for simple yet funny real-time battles with pirates, upgrading the fleet with better ships, buying cannons, getting into the air with just-so-desperately-nice flying ships and - last but not least - following the storyline by accepting tasks from various rulers.
The tasks are the thing that spices all the experience up. Well, they always force player to travel between cities and search for something or someone, but the stories behind them are so funny. When I looked for an egg of phoenix, after a hard search found it and beat down some fanatic ecologist's fleet just to find out, that the real purpose was a sultan could have his rare phoenix omelette, I just had to laugh aloud. And there is something really addictive in the system of improving player's reputation, upgrading fleet, making money and performing the tasks. When I installed Tradewinds on my home computer, I've played it for eight hours and then stopped just because the system fell down. The next day, I played it for another four hours, 'till I finished the storyline. And two days later, I started the game again choosing the other hero, just to compare the two stories offered by the authors.
Tradewinds Legends: Unlikely Heroes are one of the most addictive games I've played last year. And not just me. It got us all - me, Frix, Luke and many others. So beware. It's up to you - this or cocaine. You've been warned...
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