''Patrician II: Quest for Power'', entitled ''Patrizier 2: Geld und Macht'' in Germany, is the second

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

from developer

Ascaron Ascaron Entertainment was a video game developer based in Germany. Founded as Ascon by Holger Flöttmann in 1991 and later renamed in October 1996 due to the possible confusion with the Swiss company Ascom AG, the company produced titles prima ...

in their ''Patrician'' series. The sequel to '' The Patrician'', it is a game simulating trading, piracy, politics, and economy. An

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or ...

, ''Patrizier 2: Aufschwung der Hanse'', was released in Germany in 2001. A compilation release containing the main game and the expansion was released as ''Patrizier 2: Gold Edition'' in Germany in 2002 and as ''Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse'' internationally in 2003. A sequel, '' Patrician IV'', was released in 2010.

Setting

''Patrician II'' is set during the 1300s, and simulates the Hanseatic League's trade operations in Northern Europe.

Reception

Sales

''Patrician II'' was commercially successful. In the German market, it debuted at #2 on Media Control's computer game sales chart for December 2000. Holding the position in its second month, the game proceeded to place fifth and eighth in February and March 2001, respectively. At the end of February, the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) presented ''Patrician II'' with a "Gold" award, indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The committee noted that it was primed to "continue hesuccess story" of its hit predecessor. By October, ''Patrician II'' had spent 11 consecutive months in Media Control's top 30; it placed 26th that month. According to ''

GameStar ''GameStar'' is a monthly-released PC gaming magazine in Germany. It is the best-selling German-language magazine focused on PC gaming and it also hosts the largest video gaming-related portal in the German-speaking internet. Content The pri ...

''s Christian Schmidt, ''Patrician II''s German-region success was coupled with popularity beyond its domestic markets, including lifetime sales of 60,000 units in Spain. In 2006, publisher

FX Interactive FX Interactive is a Spanish video game publisher founded in 1999. It published ''Navy Moves'', and FX Fútbol. In 2014 the publisher stopped paying its employees. In 2015 it suffered an economic crisis An economy is an area of the product ...

reported that global sales of the overall ''Patrician'' franchise, including ''Patrician II'', had surpassed 1 million units.

Critical reviews

''Patrician II'' received generally positive reviews.

''Patrician III''

In German, ''Patrician II'' had an add-on release called ''Patrizier 2: Aufschwung der Hanse'' in 2001. It was released internationally as ''Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse'', a standalone SKU that combines ''Patrician II'' and its expansion. The German version was released in 2002 and the English version on October 24, 2003. A sequel, '' Patrician IV'', was released in 2010. The game is a

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

and

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

simulation A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the s ...

. Goods of varying types are produced in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s, and may be sold in other towns on the game map which do not produce them. The players start as a fledgling trader with one or two

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s of small size, a trade office in the town of player's choosing, and some

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

. Gaining wealth and

reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...

, they are permitted to open additional trading offices, and can build larger and better armed ships.

Industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and agricultural businesses can be opened to supply raw materials such as grain,

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

, pig iron, or

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

and finished goods such as

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

goods,

cloth Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

, or

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

. There are a series of ranks which the players can attain through wealth and popularity. These ranks are placed in order of increasing power: Shopkeeper, Trader, Merchant, Travelling Merchant, Councillor, Patrician, Lord Mayor, and Alderman. Competitors roam the seas, as do

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s. The method in which one must increase their rank is to increase their financial status and gain reputation. One can organize feasts, donate to the church, donate public buildings, and defend against attack. The players can also turn to the dark side, engage in piracy, smuggle goods, and even attack towns, among other things, for cash and goods. If needed goods are not supplied to the cities, population and

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

s decline. With adequate goods, the league thrives. The system becomes increasingly difficult to manage as it grows. From a starting population of a few tens of thousands, growth to many hundreds of thousands is possible. New cities may be founded, and socially as they advance they may become lord

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of player's town, in charge of its defense against pirates, marauders of the

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

, or the local Prince who may

besiege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

and loot their city. The players undertake missions as mayor, and may ultimately become the

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

, the leader of the Hanseatic League. Trade with the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

cities (which must be discovered) and also with

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

tribes is possible as well, for potentially great profits. The game may be played either as solo player or in a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

game modes with various difficulty settings; a map editor permits addition of different cities.

Reviews and sales

The game received generally favorable reviews from critics. On the review aggregator GameRankings, the game had an average score of 72% based on 12 reviews. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the game had an average score of 75 out of 100, based on 8 reviews. ''Patrician III'' received a "Gold" award from the Asociación Española de Distribuidores y Editores de Software de Entretenimiento (aDeSe), for more than 40,000 sales in Spain during its first 12 months.

References

External links

''Patrician II: Quest for Power''
at MobyGames {{Ascaron 2000 video games Ascaron games Historical simulation games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer online games Real-time strategy video games Trade simulation games Video games developed in Germany Video games set in the Middle Ages Video games with expansion packs Windows games Windows-only games