Hands-On: We take the trial version of this fun little strategy game for a spin.
Age of Booty is an action/strategy game published by Capcom. The game has been available on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade for quite a bit of time and is finally coming to the PC.
Taking place in hex-based maps, Age of Booty's goal is always the same: control more towns than your rivals. To achieve this goal, you need to capture resources to improve your ship and the towns you own. Resources are acquired by grabbing crates from the sea (dropped by other ships), sinking merchant ships, attacking and destroying villages, and yes, by capturing towns. Each town can produce one or more goods and after a certain amount of time, they are added to your total.
Your ship can be improved in three ways: sails (that determine speed), cannons (that determine the damage they deal) and armor (that determine how many hits it can take before sinking). When you are one hex (space) away from ships, towns or villages, your ship (and its enemies) will fire automatically. You can tell how much health you and your opponents have left by their health bar. When a town's health reaches zero, the capturing process begins and once it reaches 100%, the town is yours and will provide you with its resources and allow you to repair your ship when you are close by.
Although the A.I. is pretty decent in this preview build, the real fun is in multiplayer, since you have the ability to coordinate attacks with other human players. It turns into a fast and furious war for resources to see who can build the strongest fleet and eventually take over towns. The game does feature a single-player mode with challenges and a comprehensive map editor to extend replay value.
Age of Booty is such a fun, simple experience that even people who shy away from strategy games will enjoy. Stay tuned for a full-version review soon!
