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Gakked by the brown
By bluefunk
Hello...erm...my name is Aaron, and...and I like...resource management games.
There. I said it.
My first fix was Sim City on the Commodore Amiga A500+.
I thought I would be able to control it... but I...I just couldn't stop at one.
Along with the Sim City sequels, the Caesar and Settlers series have kept me on the habit. But, there's good news. The thrills of next generation gaming and having a family have helped me to break the habit and I'm clean now.
Thank you.
Remember kids, say NO to resource management games
Anno 1701 is a resource management game set at the dawn of the 18th century. These two facts are going to chill quite a lot of you to the bone. If so, then I recommend that you go and read the Bioshock review and pop back for the summary at the end.
The player begins the game on a small island in the middle of the ocean with tasks and responsibilities being allocated at a high rate of knots – build some houses, find some food, create an economy, train an army...
The game becomes a fine balancing act very quickly – just one ignored element can bring your carefully micro-managed house of cards crashing to the ground. It is worth mentioning that the introduction to the game is so finely paced that it never becomes overwhelming and it actually makes you forget that you are still playing the tutorial.
As explained in the first paragraph, I am compelled to give this 5 stars because I am an unashamed addict of these games and I am blind to their flaws. Luckily, there are a number of strangely blatant omissions and flaws.
Sound, for instance. No matter how dull Settlers may become, it was always quite charming because of the plethora of peaceful sound effects – the chopping of wood, the splashing of waves, the rustling of leaves, the “yippee” from the prospectors. Anno 1701, however, is almost completely silent. There are no environmental effects and, much more annoyingly, there are zero audio cues, so when I stared out the window of my train for a few seconds I was oblivious to an attack beginning on my settlement.
So remove a star for that.
Text instructions. Almost half of the top screen is taken up by a pointless character portrait. This leaves room for only 10 words underneath resulting in what feels like an age for a paragraph of text to scroll past. This doesn't seem like much but its gets fucking annoying I tell ya.
Down another star.
I'm slightly autistic when it comes to numbers (I look for patterns) so I'm always attracted to resource management games like a moth to a flame, but I kept coming across the same flaw which would snap me out of it – combat.
Caesar III. Loved it. The mechanics of the game were introduced slowly over a number of levels revealing the intricacies in all their number-balancing glory. Then came the level where I had to build an army to defend my kingdom and the whole equation came tumbling down.
Settlers III. Loved it. The intricate web of supply and demand keeping the empire growing. Then I would meet another race and have to destroy them with an army. The clumsy and unintuitive combat halted me in my numerical tracks.
Pharaoh. Loved it. This time things were slightly different. I would have the choice of whether to go for a conquering level or provide supplies for the empire. Awesome! I went for the economic challenge and didn't build any barracks – only for an opposing army to storm in and destroy everything. Bollocks.
Anno 1701 has combat. And it arrives pretty early in the game. So, I'm taking two stars for that idiocy.
This is resource management, not fuckin' 'Nam.
2 out of 5 would not be an impressive score but luckily, there are also things that this game does very well.
For one, it looks fantastic.
Everything is so crisp and lush. It may not have enough incidental animations but it manages to succeed where 'Age of Empires' failed – it is always easy for the player to see exactly what is going, no matter how cluttered the screen.
The interface has been impeccably designed. The combination of a zoom icon and the extremely smooooth manipulation of the world with flicks of the stylus is lovely. You never lose track of what's going on.
There's one star back on the board.
It's got numbers.
Anno 1701 is a micro-managements fan's wet dream. There are so many variables that must be considered and modified that the feeling of total control gives you more a feeling for playing God than any Peter Molyneux title.
Shine on.
Anno 1701 – Also big in Germany.
Ah, and back come the Bioshock review readers. Hello, I hope it was all you wanted.
In conclusion, Anno 1701 is the gaming equivalent of Classic FM. You put it on because you've looked at everything else and its the last thing left. At first, the almost eerie quiet will feel like tedium, but it will (ever so subtly) drag you in and become background noise and, before you realise it, you have been merrily listening along for three hours.
... I'm not sure if that's a recommendation or not.
2007
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