Tradewinds Legends

Imagine how dull a game based on the modern world of trading would be.

In order to remain realistic it would have to contain hordes of suit-wearing stockbrokers bellowing into phones, gesticulating furiously at a large ticker screen flashing loads of meaningless numbers.

We’re much better off with trading simulators based in the fantastical past than the present such as Tradewinds Legends, for example.

In this miniaturised edition of the PC title, you're expected to buy exotic items, fight ruthless buccaneers and even dabble in a spot of arcane magic - all of which is infinitely more exciting than charting the numerical waves of the Dow Jones Index.

Set in the age of cannon and sail, Tradewinds Legends is about playing the market to exploit demand in goods such as salt, tea and wine.

What you purchase in one town may sell for a profit in another and prices for each item fluctuate wildly over time, opening up opportunities to accrue massive profits.

These funds can then be used to purchase additional ships – you can have up to 10 galleons in your fleet – as well as supplemental cannons to make them more potent in battle. More ships also means more cargo room, further enhancing your profit potential.

Combat plays a massive role too. As you sail from port to port, you're constantly harried by bloodthirsty pirates who are hell-bent on looting your craft of their precious items.

Engaging the enemy is straightforward: select the ship you wish to command, then tap a foe. If you have a massive fleet, you can streamline things by selecting various firing instructions.

Three options are available: fire at strongest, fire at weakest, and fire at will.

In addition to these tactical instructions you can deploy magical curses which can tip the balance of battle in your favour. These include swarms of inserts which prevent your enemy from retaliating for a brief period or even hexes which cause their cannon to misfire.

With such an array of options, Tradewinds Legends has the core components for a fiendishly addictive iPhone adventure, yet the transition from PC to touchscreen has taken some of the wind out of its sails.

To start, the interface has serious issues.

The lack of responsiveness leaves much to be desired. Noticeable lag results in taps of the screen regularly not being acknowledged for a second or two, which sometimes leads to you tapping a second time because it appears as if the game hasn’t registered your input.

Doing so results in a double-tap being recorded. In some cases this leads to annoying moments where you find yourself accidentally leaving and then instantly re-entering a menu screen. Also, the selection boxes on many of the menu screens are quite small and hard to tap accurately.

Marry these problems with an awkward visual style and you’ve got a game which disappoints far more often than it delights.