Age of Sail
Sold Out		(Win95/98/3.1) (Retail) (AGESAILPR)

Talon Soft / Empire

Game

Ratings:

9 out of 10 from Computer & Net Player

B+ from PC Games

85% from PC Gamer

4 from The Wargamer

Real-Time Naval Combat

Time: 1175 to 1820 - All the grandeur and pageantry of the Tall Ships era along with some bone-crunching, wood-splintering cannon shots to liven things up!

Talonsoft, creators of the award winning Battleground Series, is proud to introduce its new real-time historical strategy series! Age of Sail delivers an excellent blend of exciting real-time naval combat and vivid 3-D graphics.

Take command of the greatest sailing ships in history! Ships include the Victory, Constitution, Constellation, Bonhomme Richard, Espanol, Guerriere, Vengeance, and Saratoga just to name a few.

Complete campaign game (1775 to 1820). Can you rise from a lowly Ensign to Admiral of the Navy? Enlist in the navy of Britain, Spain, France or the United States.

100 scenarios including the battles of Trafalgar, Camperdown and Cape St. Vincent.

Complete scenario editor, with over 2,000 historically accurate ships representing all major and minor countries, lets you create instant naval combat to your specifications.

Play head to head via modem or versus a crafty and salty computer opponent.

Easy to play, hard to master!

Requirements:

Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, 486DX33, 5MB minimum free hard drive space, double speed CD-ROM drive, 8MB RAM, Microsoft compatible mouse, 256 color SVGA, supports 640x480, 800x600 or 1024x768 screen resolutions, all Windows-compatible sound cards.

Reviews:

Computer & Net Player, March 1997

Age of Sail "puts you in command of some of history's most renowned sailing ships, including the Victory, the Constitution and the Saratoga.

"With 100 scenarios, AoS has considerable, lasting play value. It's a complete, 1775 to 1820 campaign in which you attempt to rise from ensign without ending up at the bottom of the sea. In the campaign game, you can work your way up to commodore of a squadron or admiral of the fleet. To be promoted, you must earn prestige points by sinking or - better yet - capturing enemy ships. If you long for some real competition, you can also challenge an opponent via modem, and a scenario editor with more than 2,000 ships lets you create your own combat scenarios. To obtain the accurate historical data needed for all the ship types featured in AoS, TalonSoft turned to a set of books - printed in 1870s England - that the British Navy had published on all the ships of the Napoleonic period. According to TalonSoft's Jim Rose, that information was the basis for the comprehensive and intricately detailed ship database used in the game. 'The database for that game contains over 2,100 ships,' says Rose. 'And all of them are properly named and detailed.'

"Age of Sail is fairly easy to learn, and it's notably more intuitive than the Battleground series - imperative for real-time strategy games. Great attention has been paid to detail - from arming ships with various ammo loads (solid, grape, chain, or double shot) to giving them different types of cannon. Some are great for close combat, while others are better at long range. And crew quality ratings affect your combat prowess, too."

PC Games, March 1997

"It's always a little scary when a gamemaker tries something different. TalonSoft, well known for its turn-based Battleground series, thought it'd try its hand at some real-time strategy. Oddly enough, this naval combat simulation is the company's most entertaining product to date.

"The major reason is the real-time format. Age of Sail still has the look and feel of the Battleground games. The graphics are crisp and nicely detailed, the soundtrack gives the game that same authentic flavor, and the screen setup, commands, and toolbar are also similar to Battlegound's. Unlike those games, however, the action is continuous, making it more realistic and seriously addictive."

The Wargamer by John Schlotter

"The graphics are excellent and very detailed. The detail of the ships is the best I have ever seen. For example, if the ships sails are damaged during combat, you will actually see different parts of the mast collapse. When you change from full sail to battle sail, the bottom sails will be in their furled state. You can see the guns fire and explosions on the target ship (if you hit it). The battle interface is very good. All commands are easily accessible. Even controlling a squadron of ships is not difficult. TalonSoft gives a number of convenient ways to give orders to more then one ship."

"In the campaign game you create a character, giving him a name, country, and portrait. You can pick England, France, Spain, or the United States. The historical period for the campaign can be chosen from the following choices: American Revolution (1775-1783), Napoleonic Wars (1796-1820), or Rise of the British Navy (1784-1796)."

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