The city building part is phenomenal and it has a sense of scope never seen before in any Anno game, with the 5 different settings in 4 climate zones, 12 different civilisation tiers and huge islands. Gameplay wise, it is probably the best of all Anno titles, with the exception of its truly shitty war system and lack of true natural disasters (would be nice to have a volcano Island).
The soundtrack and the graphics were once again spot on and mods like ARRC 2170 once again improved the possibilites greatly.Īnno 1800 is now, together with 1404, contender for the first place. What I liked about 2070 in particular was the three different factions, aircraft and the research system. Although with a quicker pace than 1404, I could still find a great deal of long term motivation and a sense of scope in this game. The cozy medieval/ early modern atmosphere of its predecessors has been replaced by a colder, but interesting setting in the future. Especially IAAM and SBM made me sink hundreds of hours into the game, more than probably any other Anno game since, where I tried to create the cities of my dreams.Īnno 2070 was an idea of which I was skeptical at first, but it quickly turned out to be yet another masterpiece. What made 1404 truly great in my opinion was more due to the genius mods it had. For instance it has quite a bland military system, no research and sabotage has only been reintroduced with the Venice Addon. It lacks however in its raw state some of the features that made 1701 so fun.
The soundtrack is once again top notch, the graphics beautiful, the voice actors excellent and the interface intuitive. Great in atmosphere, great in terms of city building, a great secondary civilisation and excellent long term motivation with its massive scope and monuments.
Probably my favourite Anno game for a long time. Still, Anno 1701 is a great game and is good fun for a quick session or two.Īh yes, Anno 1404.
The military system is together with 1503 the best in the series, but it doesn't have quite the same atmosphere as 1503 or 1404 and lacks the same long term motivation The graphics were good at the time, but early 3D graphics did not age as well as the very good 2D graphics of 1503. It is very easy to get into, has many very flashy new mechanics (special guests, espionage and catastrophies) and the first real AI opponents with personality. Of all the "early" Anno games, I consider 1503 the most demanding, yet the most rewarding.Īmongst all the Anno titles I have played, 1701 is probably the most casual of them all. However, Anno 1503 is very hard to get into, has no real characters, no tax system and a cumbersome interface. The military system is together with 1701 the best of all Anno titles and it has many features which were ahead of its time and some things, like the great variety in climate zones could only be reached again in 1800. In these points Anno 1503 still trumps every other Anno game. More than any Anno in the whole series, it manages to capture an immersive atmosphere with its beautiful 2D graphics, which have lost none of its charme, its music with real historical melodies and small movies for important ingame events.
A masterpiece at its time and still a beautiful game now.