Anno 1602: Creation of a New World

Anno 1602 wasn’t the first top-down game that gave the player a taste of what it must be like to be God. But it may be the first game to simulate human exploration and colonization so well. Anno is now a large series that is somewhat niche, but nevertheless, the fan base is passionate. For those who don’t know Anno is a game where you start with a small group of human explorers and you must use them to gather resources, trade, and populate. Over time you’ll grow stronger and venture out further and further.

Story

Anno doesn’t really have a story, it’s simply about exploring and colonizing. In fact, the game doesn’t even try to be historically accurate, avoiding any political territory. Since almost every story of colonization in history is not a clean story, I can guess why they avoided it. This is great because it allows players to freely do things without second-guessing if they’re somehow a bad guy. Simply focus on it being a videogame and have fun.

Gameplay and graphics

This game was released in 1998 so as you can imagine the graphics are dated, however, I and many others still play games from this generation because some of the pixelated graphics still hold up well enough. However, Anno 1602 is not one of those games. It’s rough and the pixels are few. Unlike original Nintendo games, Anno 1602 was not designed to age well. Pixel graphics weren’t seen as art back then, but more of a limitation and frankly back then, the best they had. The gameplay is better, it’s played mainly with a mouse so it’s not exactly clunky but it’s not as clean and smooth as something made anytime these past 2 decades. The user interface throws quite a bit of information at you which is great when you’ve learned how to play, but can be daunting at first.

Features

If you’re into games about controlling a civilization, this game is for you. It’s less about combat and more about building up your colonies. The primary use of your faction’s military is for protection and border security. There are few exceptions to this rule, you may need to take more land if you’re desperate or if a neighbor is being too greedy. This game was the king of makes that encourage players to work together, trade, and hopefully not bomb one another back into the stone age. It achieves this by having the best trading than any other game in the genre.

Hardcore or relaxing?

Is this game a highly strategic game with great depths or a relaxing game that simply gives you something to do? Not a question that is usually hard to answer, especially for me with over 20 years of gaming experience.

But I found this game to be more relaxing and is nice with some relaxing music. But I’ve got a feeling I wasn’t getting the full experience, or there’s something major that I’m missing. I’m sure there’s a group of dedicated fans who have things down to a science who would put my playthrough to shame.

Conclusion

Certainly, a fun game to relax with or take very seriously if you’re so inclined. The only thing that may hold back someone these days is the dated graphics and the slow pace. Controls are fine, user-interface is practical and does its job despite its less than attractive appearance. This game would surprise many because behind its rusty coat of paint, lays a nice experience best enjoyed with a hot cup of tea.

Pros

• Great trading mechanics
• Overall faction growth mechanics are well done
• Exploration is fun

Cons

• Visuals didn’t age well
• User-interface can be overwhelming
• Overall fairly clunky