Tools were a problem, as they could only be created by building an ore mine, a smelter and a tool shop, and you couldn't do that until your population reached a certain level. After a while, your people would need clothing, so you'd have to build a sheep pen, and a weavers building, which required tools. The wood was used to build a fisherman's hut which would provide food to your fledgling settlement - the houses of which were also constructed using the same wood. Upon settling an island, you had to build a foresters hut to provide wood. This might sound boring to the average strategy junkie, but Max Design packed in so much complexity in simply keeping your colony afloat that you scarcely had time to contemplate war anyway. It's about only resorting to war when you have absolutely no other choice, and then ending it as quickly as you can before you run out of money. It's about getting your damaged ships back to port so they can be repaired, and sent back out to transport more goods for your colony. It's about smirking when you see your enemy training cavalry whilst you set up another gold mine. Anno isn't about war, it's about economic triumph. This rather depressing thought is presumably the motto developers Max Design chose when laying down the foundation of the Anno series. This isn't a recent development, war has always been expensive in relation to other human endeavours, such as curing disease and abolishing poverty for example, and if you scale this concept it really makes little difference which century you point to. In fact, short of inventing a rocket, strapping three people to the top of it and pointing it at the moon, very few things are more expensive than even a minor skirmish.
In the real world, countries exist in a near perpetual state of peace (perhaps augmented with occasional harsh words and threats over immigration) for a very good reason war is expensive. After all, you can build barracks where you can train troops, shipyards where you can build warships, and you can declare war on your foes at any time you want. To the casual observer, Anno 1602 appears very much like Age of Empires, or Settlers, and it's easy to conclude that there's little value in favouring it over these much more popular titles. Where the Anno games differ from virtually every other real-time strategy title out there is the emphasis on economic growth. Perhaps German publishers Sunflowers didn't think anyone outside Europe knew what "anno" referred to, or perhaps their translator got a bit carried away - it did little to detract from what was an unbelievably complex and, at times, overwhelming real-time strategy title. *The Venice DLC (which containts the multiplayer component) can only be accessed from games folder.If you push me, I'll confess - I'm an Anno fan.Īn often overlooked franchise, Anno came from rather humble beginnings back in 1998, with the European release of Anno 1602, which somehow became 1602 A.D.
Build a unique seaside with the harbor system.Develop secret cabinets, infiltrate your enemies and sabotage their expansion by ruling a Venetian Harbor.Get to know the culture and technologies of the orient building your own oriental settlement.Play the critically acclaimed Anno 1404 with its add-on: Meet the Orient and Venice! The game also offers multiplayer support, allowing you to share this experience with your friends. Raise monumental metropolis and develop an idealized historical empire in the Orient and the Venice of the Renaissance. Includes 2 items: Anno 1404, Anno 1404: Venice.įor the first time have the critically acclaimed and best selling strategy game Anno 1404 and its tremendous add-on Anno 1404 Venice in only one pack.Īnno 1404 and its add-on are an award winning combination of construction, economy, discovery, diplomacy & combat.