nostalgia

I Learned Geography From Playing This DOS Game

One of the first games I played on a computer was Uncharted Waters 2: New Horizons.

As a quick introduction, the game starts after you select a character, who will have an affiliation to a naval nation - Portugal, England, Turkey, etc.

The main goal is to complete the character's story by completing story quests, that are typically advanced by gaining fame as an adventurer, pirate, or trader.

All characters are capable of being any of these "professions", though their main stories favour a particular type, and, consequently, each character will have skills and abilities that lean toward that type.

Nevertheless, you are free to buck the trend and fulfil your desire to become Captain Jack Sparrow or Hector Barbossa (you can even target other pirates), become a virtual millionaire by trading exotic goods (or run tried-and-tested local trade routes), even sate your wanderlust by exploring unknown parts of the world.

The maps were fairly accurate and remembering important ports' locations and information (like what goods were sold there and where the market was) helped kickstart my education on Geography.

I particularly enjoyed the free-play aspect of the game and still play it from time to time. As it was a DOS game, I've had to use an emulator - DOSBox - to play it on a modern PC.

If you've played this game before, or any like it, let me know!