To help direct your fleet you can adjust the camera angles and rotate the map, zoom in and out and even change the angle of the view. All this can be somewhat tricky at first but the map can be angled and adjusted on the fly offering different unobstructed perspectives of the action. This is one of the few titles that utilize an interface with free-floating camera in a 3D setting that works with almost no complaints. About the only problem with the game's interface is that the different menus can't be moved around the screen. They are either open and on the right-hand side of the screen or “closed” and appear as ship wheels across the top of the screen. Neither option is outstanding during large battles like the epic engagement at Trafalgar when there are over a dozen ships to watch over and the menus take up valuable space on the screens.

Talking about Trafalgar, players can expect to take part in this classic encounter as well as more than 100 other individual battles, with 11 different countries represented. Most of the final battles will no doubt be between the English and Americans and the English and the French, but there will also be engagements with Spanish, Dutch, and Danish among others in the final game when it arrives after the New Year. When taking to the high seas, players will be able to command 13 classes of warships of all size, from massive 100 gun warships like Admiral Nelson's flagship Victory to vastly smaller ships with as few as 10 guns. The developers have promised that there will be multiple campaigns, which should allow players to try their luck at making history along the lines of the fictitious Horatio Hornblower or to just go down with the ship.

Finally, while it wasn't included in the build that I had a chance to play, Age of Sail II should ship out with a multiplayer option allowing up to 16 players to take part with each controlling individual ships and fighting it out on the high seas. No doubt this could probably result in some rather chaotic engagements but it also sounds like some of the most promising developments for wargamers and history buffs who have an interest in this infamous era of naval combat.

Peter Suciu
Contributing Editor