1701 A.D. – PC – Preview

E3 2006 First Look
Preview

Anno 1701 is the newest
in the popular PC game series where players build up a community from just a
few natives to a civilization of aristocrats. 1701 features some amazing
graphics, deep gameplay, and a brand new civilization to build.

In Anno 1701, you begin
the game with a ship and islands to discover. As you sail around and land on
these islands you might find various tribes and natives to the area. Building
up relationships with these natives is how you begin. You don’t want to
limit yourself to one island, though, since different islands will offer
different resources and different tribes with their own skills.

As your towns grow, you’ll
see buildings change, the populations clothes will increase in quality, and
more business and interaction will take place. Buildings evolve from small
shacks to extravagant kingdoms. You can click on each house to see the various
inhabitants of your community, and in this info you can check on their needs.
You can change how much they are taxed or see if they need access to any more
resources, and their profile picture will change depending on their mood.

Like in the real world,
you will also need to worry about natural disasters like volcanoes and
tornadoes. Those aren’t the only disasters to threaten your peaceful
community; if you aren’t doing a very good job running the show, citizens
can begin to protest and even become violent. Keeping everyone happy is very
important in 1701. One thing that can cheer them up is the town events, like
parades and performers.

Sunflowers really wanted
to make Anno 1701 easy for new players, but deep enough that it is still
difficult for the veterans. Thanks to the interface and open-ended gameplay,
players can get by without using all the features, but seasoned players can get
into the politics and really experience everything the game has to offer.

Anno 1701 is looking
gorgeous – everything in the game is beautiful. The lighting and shadows
bring everything to life, and the water looked so good it was making me
thirsty. Each piece of the environment was so full of detail, including trees,
houses, and the people. The game looks so good a screenshot mode has been
included. This allows the player to position the camera wherever they like to
capture breathtaking landscapes or to show the scope of their impressive
cities. These screenshots can be saved and sent as postcards to other 1701
players.

Multiplayer is also in
the works, where players can fight over land or work out trades and
compromises. Because of the openness of the gameplay, players can win by any
means necessary, whether that means stomping out the opposition or slowly bumping
them out through financial supremacy.

Anno 1701 is looking great
and it looks like it will appeal to fans of the series as well as newcomers.
Right now it is set to come out this October.

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All E3 2006 Previews