Not as good as Patrician iii, although graphic have improved, the game is not as intuitive as previous versions. Shame really, but I still play my old version.

i bought this game for $7.50 on steam sale and have played it for 16 hrs. I did not play pat3 before this so cant really compare. I will say the first 10 hrs or so are fun. Mainly it revolves around buy low sail to another port and sell high.

Wealth is power and so ‘Conquest by Trade' was all too real during the height of the Hanseatic League, which is exactly where Patrician IV casts our trader empire dreams. From a humble beginning of a single cargo ship the vision is to expand out and practically ‘own' every major route of commerce...

Patrician IV does a lot of things right, but ultimately it is the same game as its predecessor. The changes are a bit too subtle to speak of a real sequel. It is obvious that the developers were struggling with the transition to 3D.

More yawn than yarr, sadly. The figures may add up, but there's still a lot missing from this unexciting experience.

that players can look at, and all of them feel strangely cramped, even when you're in the midst of a naval duel with pirates on the high seas. The level of detail on buildings in towns and ships out on the water is very nicely done.

Patrician IV is a continuation of the strategy franchise under new development studio Gaming Minds. It centers on trade between various towns and building a vast merchant empire. Adding into these aspects of politics, combat, and economy builds for a complex system that leads to fortune and glory.

It can be rough to come into a series mid-stride, especially when you are diving in to a game based around the complexities of being the head of a trading conglomerate in the old world.

The Hanseatic League was a loose confederation of trading cities that flourished on the northern coast of Europe during the late Middle and early Modern Ages.  They are an interesting example of the effects of trade on otherwise isolated cities.

In the Middle Ages, the worldly merchants of the Hanseatic League rejected both the drudgery of serfdom and the solitude of the cloister, instead embracing an enterprising life of supplying foreigners with cheap mead, dominating city politics, and, on occasion, hunting pirates.

Cool political intrigue; Mayoral privileges deepen gameplay; It's satisfying to get filthy rich off trade

Excessive grinding; Lackluster sea battles; Cruel; jealous lieges pillage your peaceful farms