Anno 1701
Anno 1701, also marketed as 1701 A.D., is a real-time strategy and city building video game, part of the Anno series. It is developed by Related Designs and published by Sunflowers Interactive Entertainment Software. It revolves around building and maintaining an 18th-century colony in the "New World". With a budget of €10 million, it was the most expensive German game ever produced by 2006. It is the sequel to Anno 1602 and Anno 1503 and was followed by Anno 1404. Gameplay Anno 1701, like the previous Anno games, is a game based mainly on the economics of the settlement created by the player. The more skilled a player is at maintaining a balanced economy the more successful their settlement will be. There are two main game modes in Anno 1701: continuous play, representing an open-ended session, and ten scenarios with certain tasks, which gradually increase in level of difficulty. The continuous play offers free customization options for the start of the game. Similar to Civilization series, the players can decide on the size of the world in advance, determine the island types and toggle the advanced options such as "Disasters", "Plague", "Pirates", "Fire", and others. All twelve computer controlled opponents have their own personalities, preferences and difficulty levels. The player starts with an unnamed country that has to colonize and expand in the world. During those activities, other rivals are also strengthening. As the player progresses through the game, players have access to lodge activities and troops which allow them to invade and ultimately to defeat other players. Now, players are settling the island world in the queen's name. Thus, she expects subservience and respect. At some point, she will demand the tributes, giving an offer to pay gold coins, or being attacked by her royal fleet. Either option will eventually lead to independence. Different opponents have different relationships with the queen, and they will react according to the player's choices. The game is divided into five social stages: Pioneer, Settler, Citizen, Merchant, and Aristocrat. At the start of the game, all of a player's citizens are pioneers. They pay little amounts of taxes, and require only food and a town center. As a player's empire develops, so does their population. They begin upgrading (provided they have sufficient goods), paying more taxes, but also requiring more goods, such as tobacco products, perfume, lamp oil, and much more. It is crucial for a player to develop quickly, as not much profit is attained until reaching the merchant stage. Players can trade with other opponents settling under the Queen's name, or with foreign cultures. All foreign cultures are on small or medium islands, and cannot leave their island. Liang Wu and his Asians are found on islands in the north of the island world. They trade the colonial good Jade, and purchase food. Poxacoatl and his Aztecs live on islands in the southern zone, are few in number and believe in the infinite power of the gods. They trade the colonial goods