Rating: 
Summary: A Trip Down Memory Lane
Review: As the other reviewers have noted, this release is basically a slightly upgraded version of the original Merchant Prince/Machiavelli. I never had the first MP, but I did have Machiavelli & this game looks & plays just about exactly as I remember that game looking & playing. The graphics seem to be upgraded & there is now a tech tree that must be researched before you can do certain things. But otherwise it's just good old Machiavelli, a game I enjoyed in its day despite the fact that I was never able to finish a game of it due to bugs that always crashed the game after hours & hours of play.Your reaction to MP2 will largely be determined by your reaction to its two predecessors. If you never owned either of them I would avoid this game since there are so many deeper & more interesting games out there on similar topics. MP2 just doesn't bring enough to the table to cut it in today's computer game market. On the other hand, if you remember the previous games with fondness, & are willing to spend $30 on your nostalgia, you will get to re-live some of the good old days of 1995 & earlier. But even for such people, the game will wear thin more quickly than you might think. The best plan, if you really want to buy this game, might be to wait for it to hit the discount bins & save yourself some money. I suspect MP2 will find it's way there fairly soon.
Rating:
Summary: A Trip Down Memory Lane
Review: As the other reviewers have noted, this release is basically a slightly upgraded version of the original Merchant Prince/Machiavelli. I never had the first MP, but I did have Machiavelli & this game looks & plays just about exactly as I remember that game looking & playing. The graphics seem to be upgraded & there is now a tech tree that must be researched before you can do certain things. But otherwise it's just good old Machiavelli, a game I enjoyed in its day despite the fact that I was never able to finish a game of it due to bugs that always crashed the game after hours & hours of play. Your reaction to MP2 will largely be determined by your reaction to its two predecessors. If you never owned either of them I would avoid this game since there are so many deeper & more interesting games out there on similar topics. MP2 just doesn't bring enough to the table to cut it in today's computer game market. On the other hand, if you remember the previous games with fondness, & are willing to spend $30 on your nostalgia, you will get to re-live some of the good old days of 1995 & earlier. But even for such people, the game will wear thin more quickly than you might think. The best plan, if you really want to buy this game, might be to wait for it to hit the discount bins & save yourself some money. I suspect MP2 will find it's way there fairly soon.
Rating:
Summary: A Trip Down Memory Lane
Review: As the other reviewers have noted, this release is basically a slightly upgraded version of the original Merchant Prince/Machiavelli. I never had the first MP, but I did have Machiavelli & this game looks & plays just about exactly as I remember that game looking & playing. The graphics seem to be upgraded & there is now a tech tree that must be researched before you can do certain things. But otherwise it's just good old Machiavelli, a game I enjoyed in its day despite the fact that I was never able to finish a game of it due to bugs that always crashed the game after hours & hours of play. Your reaction to MP2 will largely be determined by your reaction to its two predecessors. If you never owned either of them I would avoid this game since there are so many deeper & more interesting games out there on similar topics. MP2 just doesn't bring enough to the table to cut it in today's computer game market. On the other hand, if you remember the previous games with fondness, & are willing to spend $30 on your nostalgia, you will get to re-live some of the good old days of 1995 & earlier. But even for such people, the game will wear thin more quickly than you might think. The best plan, if you really want to buy this game, might be to wait for it to hit the discount bins & save yourself some money. I suspect MP2 will find it's way there fairly soon.
Rating:
Summary: Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Review: Here's another game that has a wonderful story line and great potential, but doesn't live up to it's promise. First, a skimpy manual that leaves out a lot of "how to's" and offers no hints or suggestions for good game play. Also, alas, no tutorial. Second, no on-line help. Want to know how to do something -- then try trial and error (and hope you can remember), 'cause that's all there is. Finally, bugs. Lot's of 'em. And commands that don't work. And commands that, I think, should be there, but aren't. There is a patch, but you can't tell if it has been applied (no version number appears at start-up). And on my machine at least, the game was worse after I ran the patch. All this is a shame, because this COULD have been a outstanding game.
Rating:
Summary: Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Review: Here's another game that has a wonderful story line and great potential, but doesn't live up to it's promise. First, a skimpy manual that leaves out a lot of "how to's" and offers no hints or suggestions for good game play. Also, alas, no tutorial. Second, no on-line help. Want to know how to do something -- then try trial and error (and hope you can remember), 'cause that's all there is. Finally, bugs. Lot's of 'em. And commands that don't work. And commands that, I think, should be there, but aren't. There is a patch, but you can't tell if it has been applied (no version number appears at start-up). And on my machine at least, the game was worse after I ran the patch. All this is a shame, because this COULD have been a outstanding game.
Rating: 
Summary: Renaissance Italy On Your Computer Screen
Review: I own about 30 computer games, and this one is as good as the best of them. Sure, the graphics aren't the most sophisticated. Sure, there are civilization games that, overall, are better than this one. BUT, there's no substitute for this game if you want to capture the feel of Italy during the Renaissance. You have to trade efficiently, but you have to be ready to wage war when necessary. You have to play politics with the government, but you also have to play politics with the church. You can build popularity in high-minded ways, such as the funding of art. And you can build popularity by baser methods, such as throwing parties. You must contend with various threats, such as the plague and the risks that go with discovering new lands. You must maintain and enhance your infrastructure. Also, with advanced play, you must pursue various avenues of research. If you don't have a fondness for the Renaissance, there are plenty of games on the market that might suit you. However, if this period interests you, you MUST get this game.
Rating:
Summary: Renaissance Italy On Your Computer Screen
Review: I own about 30 computer games, and this one is as good as the best of them. Sure, the graphics aren't the most sophisticated. Sure, there are civilization games that, overall, are better than this one. BUT, there's no substitute for this game if you want to capture the feel of Italy during the Renaissance. You have to trade efficiently, but you have to be ready to wage war when necessary. You have to play politics with the government, but you also have to play politics with the church. You can build popularity in high-minded ways, such as the funding of art. And you can build popularity by baser methods, such as throwing parties. You must contend with various threats, such as the plague and the risks that go with discovering new lands. You must maintain and enhance your infrastructure. Also, with advanced play, you must pursue various avenues of research. If you don't have a fondness for the Renaissance, there are plenty of games on the market that might suit you. However, if this period interests you, you MUST get this game.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New, and Bugs Galore
Review: If you played Merchant Prince or Machiavelli a few years ago, then you've already played this game. The graphics are basically the same, the interface is the same, the gameplay is 98% the same. Except that this time it doesn't work right out of the box, rather than getting buggy in the end game like the original. If you haven't played the prior versions, then this would be a great game - but wait for Holistic Design to fix it. There's already one patch out that didn't help, and appeals for technical support and on the Talonsoft message boards have so far been ignored. The game is mostly about making money. Buy from a city that sells a commodity for a low price, haul it to a city that pays a high price for it. But there's a lot more to it, including historical religious, political, and power struggles galore. It's fairly easy to learn, but it takes a long time to master all the intricacies. And it's extremely addictive, you want to keep playing - one more turn, one more turn. The original games worked until you were hours into them, then they started getting corrupted until finally they were unplayable. This was never fixed in any patch, I kept checking because I really wanted to finish a game. This same bugginess was in their next game, Emperor of the Fading Sun, also. I don't know if that same behavior will happen with this version, because you can't even get through the getting started section of the manual before you hit a bug that won't let you continue playing the game.
Rating: 
Summary: Here we go again.
Review: Merchant Prince 2 is a fun, absorbing and informative game for you who have never played this type of discovery/trading/diplomacy/war game. There are a few nice new twists dealing with the Roman Catholic church. The movement and graphics are years out of date. I would be most eager to play against live opponents, rather than alone. Then you can consentrate on strategy instead of the familiarity or weaknesses. Good enough for the price.
Rating:
Summary: Here we go again.
Review: Merchant Prince 2 is a fun, absorbing and informative game for you who have never played this type of discovery/trading/diplomacy/war game. There are a few nice new twists dealing with the Roman Catholic church. The movement and graphics are years out of date. I would be most eager to play against live opponents, rather than alone. Then you can consentrate on strategy instead of the familiarity or weaknesses. Good enough for the price.
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