Ports Of Call App Reviews

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A Pleasant Surprise

Okay, so I love it. This is classic tycoon style gameplay: manage your money; manage your resources; take on jobs; meet deadlines; think on your feet and deal with problems as they arise. There are also mini games you can choose to play, like docking your freighter in the harbor or taking it out to sea. Some whippersnappers will call it ugly, but we called it polished in 1986 and it is beautiful to me. As for the technical side; there is a bit of a learning curve but about 10 minutes of button pecking and I started to make money. The buttons are, well, not bad. The original buttons can be difficult to select because they are small and close together; made for a mouse. Although the game buttons are preserved, the main button sets are also displayed in updated form along the edge of the screen; perfect for fingers. I also tried pressing the home button to exit without saving. There is an auto-save feature built in and I was back on track in no time: so your empire should not collapse due to incoming phone calls. All n all, I am very pleased with this port of Ports of Call.

A classic!!

This is what I hope to see more of in the future. Great ports of old classic games. Loved this on my Amiga 1000 and love it more on my iPhone/iPod Touch. Same gameplay as the original with extra buttons for easier touch control. Now I hope to see AreoBiz ported over to the iPhone, that would rock! If you enjoyed the original Ports of Call then this is a must buy! Could have been a buck or two cheaper though but still worth the $4.99 for great classic gaming.

Its alright.

Needs GUI redesign regardless how classic they want it too be. 5 stars as soon as something like this happens.

Classic game!

Used to play this on the Amiga. The port is very good more companies should take this example and port their games to the mobile platforms. Been playing the game for a while, game doesnt work as well as I thought on the iPhone. Needs an overhaul of the interface. Should be more "iPhone look and feel" some of the buttons are too small because they were intended for a PC with a mouse Dont get me wrong its still a great game but I hope it will be updated to give it better playability on the iPhone. Right now it looks like it was quickly thrown together. This is most apparent in the game screen being smaller to add a few large buttons on the right side of the screen.

Good Gameplay But Needs Polishing

This game offers some intriguing entertainment if you can get past the bad graphics and gramatical errors. I think you have something good going, just needs a little bit of fine detail polishing. Overall, however, this is a must have for those who love strategy games because the gameplay itself is unique and worth the money. Get it today!

Get it!!! :)

At first I thought this game would be hard to control because of the small buttons, but its great and just like the old classic. Im really happy I bought the game and glad it has all the old graphics and sounds. This game is great for anyone, especially if you like strategy games. I havent found any bugs in the game yet. Definitely worth the 5 bucks!!

A Deep Sim Game From the Past

Since I didnt have any previous experience with Amiga version, Ports of Call was all new to me. First off, I thoroughly enjoy this game. The simulation and the depth are there, and kept me thinking the entire time I was playing. If youre into sim-type games, Ports of Call, contentwise is pretty good. The premise is that you’re running your own shipping company and your decisions determine the fate of your company. You can choose your home port, manage finances back at the home office, buy/sell vessels, and decide on charter assignments among other things. There’s even a section where you steer your vessel which for me takes some practice. Of course, you can always a tug for a price. In terms of your vessel, you also have a hand in repairs and refueling so you really do get some experience with every aspect of the shipping industry. Ports of Call is a port from more than two decades ago, and honestly, while the graphics aren’t comparable to those found in today’s games, it really doesn’t matter nor impact gameplay. I really dont need heavy graphics since I think most games today rely too much on awe-inspiring graphics and too little on content. The ones used from the original port are more than adequate, but they can always be made more vibrant to appeal to the broader audience. The sound effects add just the right touch. What could use some changes are the buttons. When I first started playing, I was confused by the buttons in the main window and then the same buttons with the same functionality on the right-hand side. Hopefully, that can addressed in an update. If there was better way to steer ships either by tilt or even through a d-pad, that would help. But then again, it does provide you with a minimal taste (as good as you can get for a game) of the difficulties with steering a vessel. Ports of Call has the depth, and with a few adjustments, it could be even better. Overall, this is a classic strategic sim game, and Im glad this has been brought to the iPhone/iPod Touch. The dev plans to update/upgrade the game and I’m looking forward to seeing more from him.

An old-school hardcore sim....

For fans of the original and hardcore sim fans will like the depth of this game, it can be a little challenging if youre unfamiliar but once you get the hang of things it becomes easier. I found steering the ship game to be a bit too hard and could use some tweaks maybe. Other then that its a faithful port of the game.

Fun Game!

Its simple in style but fun in play, definately worth the $5.

Not worth the $$$$

Not worth the money!!! Dont buy

Dont waste your money

This is a horrible game. Makes no sense and difficult to navigate. Directions are worthless.

highly addicting

great gameplay, graphics look to be a direct port of the old game, so they could stand some updating

Good game

I played this long time ago as on DOS so ya decade ago and I liked it than. It was easier on PC to controls and turn than the iPhone but that understandable I guess. Now I could play it whenever I need to kill time and it does. This game makes u use ur busness side and ur driving side and no vilonce. By driving I mean controling the ship. Its not for the average player as their better games out their specially cheaper. Truthly if I wasnt a fan of the game, I wouldnt have got it but I dont regret getting it either 

Imperfect port of great game is still great

If you played this game back in the day you will definitely enjoy this. Though theres much to be desired still in the way this was ported, its still playable and fun.

dont be fooled by the graphics

this is an old (hence the graphics) game but it is still a lot better and more complex than the majority of game on the app store well worth picking up if you are looking for something a put deeper than the usual 5 minute entertainment

Great game

Its very hard to control in the beggining, but you get the hang of it, the graphics seem to be like the old game(I wouldnt know habeing never played it on a computer) but great game and highly adictive

An incredible waste of money.

Usually I am Leary of purchasing apps that have poor reviews, for some reason I thought I would give this one a shot, poor choice. Not even close to being worth 5 bucks, they should be ashamed.

Not good

The game was to hard to get used to and was much much much to realistic

Poorly put together

Looked like it would be fun,but many mispellings and almost no help or tutorials. Waste of $5!

Horrible!!

This is the worst waste of money in the app store. Brutal interface, terrible graphics, and an all around worthless, crap game. DO NOT BUY!!!

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