Playing ANNO 1701 A.D.: Dawn of Discovery is at first very familiar, the happy plod of capitalism, the familiar scenario of taking control of your area and creating a civilization from nothing. Yet, when you start taking over islands and the Natives suddenly start attacking you and telling you to leave their land or face war, the game starts to prick at that conscious of yours. Imperialism resonates throughout the game, which is utterly correct as you’re taking over the New World.
The game moves through the tutorials at an incredible pace yet never feels rushed. Before long, the game has moved into the main story, where the citizens are initially happy with a little bit of wool and a shelter over their heads. As your town flourishes the class system emerges: Pioneers, Settlers, Citizens, Merchants and Aristocrats. As the class system develops the Aristocrats will require a more varied life and demand tailors, bath houses, universities, chocolate and jewelry, among other things. The Pioneers on the other side of town, on the other hand, are besieged by the plague and thieves that don’t dare near the Guardhouse, next to the Aristocrats. Sound familiar?
Unlike many Sim games, the maintenance of your civilization effects your profit and loss margins: in Dawn of Discovery, digging for metal, ore, cutting down trees and fishing aren’t the only things that you need to keep in check. Once you’ve got a steady flow of income through your raw materials, you need to trade them and maintain a reasonable taxation level. This gets harder as your civilization develops as the luxury and military buildings have a far higher maintenance cost and it’s your purse strings that feel the strain.
Acting as Bursar to a developing world brings out strange emotions, intentional or not, and addiction soon engrosses you. Before long, the capitalist in each of us rears its ugly head and the ruthless destruction of civilizations, followed by the colonization of islands, becomes commonplace. The hatred developed towards other nations and the military campaigns echo history rather well.
The completion of the fifteen-chapter long story mode is an achievement in itself and then there is the Continuous Play and Multiplayer to contend with. While playing the Story Mode, the objectives can become a little stale and repetitive. Continuous Play allows the creation of a mighty empire from the tiniest of villages and the freedom to destroy any civilization. This is where Dawn of Discovery stands out.
Barracks, Warships and the usual arsenal of destruction falls into more frequent use when playing Continuous Play or Multiplayer. To many, the use of the barracks will feel alien as the Story Mode really requires very little action on the whole from your army on most settings.
Keep blinking to a minimum, as the game has an incredible rate of change and before long, the debts are racking up and the townsfolk are leaving, unsatisfied with the high taxation. On the top screen, your personal advisor will occasionally throw a few words of wisdom your way in a painfully slow fashion, which matters in a game where you can loose half a village in minutes.
The game is vibrant and with the dual view of your civilization you’ve got the option of either playing God, or actually seeing how busy your town is. Speaking of which, when you do look at your town it generally looks active, as there are little animated people running up the paths to the local marketplace. Although the graphics are nothing to shout about they are of a high enough quality for one to sit back and take note. They simply enhance your gameplay, which is what good graphics are all about.
Audibly, this game is great. Although the familiar noises of battle are still there, with many nods of the head to Age of Empires, the “pay attention” effect is very distinct and the general theme will play in your head for hours after you’ve turned the game off through frustration. Unlike the recent move of Age of Empires II to the DS, there is little that is slow about this game. The developers have managed to use the touch screen to a devastating effect, as the game feels entirely natural and not ported at all. This is rare as the stylus is usually used to fulfil some sort of sick gratification.
The game moves through the tutorials at an incredible pace yet never feels rushed. Before long, the game has moved into the main story, where the citizens are initially happy with a little bit of wool and a shelter over their heads. As your town flourishes the class system emerges: Pioneers, Settlers, Citizens, Merchants and Aristocrats. As the class system develops the Aristocrats will require a more varied life and demand tailors, bath houses, universities, chocolate and jewelry, among other things. The Pioneers on the other side of town, on the other hand, are besieged by the plague and thieves that don’t dare near the Guardhouse, next to the Aristocrats. Sound familiar?
Unlike many Sim games, the maintenance of your civilization effects your profit and loss margins: in Dawn of Discovery, digging for metal, ore, cutting down trees and fishing aren’t the only things that you need to keep in check. Once you’ve got a steady flow of income through your raw materials, you need to trade them and maintain a reasonable taxation level. This gets harder as your civilization develops as the luxury and military buildings have a far higher maintenance cost and it’s your purse strings that feel the strain.
Acting as Bursar to a developing world brings out strange emotions, intentional or not, and addiction soon engrosses you. Before long, the capitalist in each of us rears its ugly head and the ruthless destruction of civilizations, followed by the colonization of islands, becomes commonplace. The hatred developed towards other nations and the military campaigns echo history rather well.
The completion of the fifteen-chapter long story mode is an achievement in itself and then there is the Continuous Play and Multiplayer to contend with. While playing the Story Mode, the objectives can become a little stale and repetitive. Continuous Play allows the creation of a mighty empire from the tiniest of villages and the freedom to destroy any civilization. This is where Dawn of Discovery stands out.
Barracks, Warships and the usual arsenal of destruction falls into more frequent use when playing Continuous Play or Multiplayer. To many, the use of the barracks will feel alien as the Story Mode really requires very little action on the whole from your army on most settings.
Keep blinking to a minimum, as the game has an incredible rate of change and before long, the debts are racking up and the townsfolk are leaving, unsatisfied with the high taxation. On the top screen, your personal advisor will occasionally throw a few words of wisdom your way in a painfully slow fashion, which matters in a game where you can loose half a village in minutes.
The game is vibrant and with the dual view of your civilization you’ve got the option of either playing God, or actually seeing how busy your town is. Speaking of which, when you do look at your town it generally looks active, as there are little animated people running up the paths to the local marketplace. Although the graphics are nothing to shout about they are of a high enough quality for one to sit back and take note. They simply enhance your gameplay, which is what good graphics are all about.
Audibly, this game is great. Although the familiar noises of battle are still there, with many nods of the head to Age of Empires, the “pay attention” effect is very distinct and the general theme will play in your head for hours after you’ve turned the game off through frustration. Unlike the recent move of Age of Empires II to the DS, there is little that is slow about this game. The developers have managed to use the touch screen to a devastating effect, as the game feels entirely natural and not ported at all. This is rare as the stylus is usually used to fulfil some sort of sick gratification.
| |
Final Verdict - 8/10
ANNO 1701 A.D.: Dawn of Discovery is a stunning little game which deserves a US release and fast. The developers have set the precedent on developing ports for the DS. This is a must have addition to your collection.
ANNO 1701 A.D.: Dawn of Discovery is a stunning little game which deserves a US release and fast. The developers have set the precedent on developing ports for the DS. This is a must have addition to your collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment