Anno 1503: The New World

Nick gets in-deep with this latest strategy offering.

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There's something quintessentially German about a game like 1503: The New World, or at least something that fits in precisely with our expectations and stereotypes of our Germanic cousins. It's a game that is filled to the brim with detail, shows a high level of control-freakery and is very well made indeed. All this complexity, however, comes at a price in terms of a steep learning curve and some idiosyncratic control and management issues, and these combined with some other niggling problems mean that 1503 will not perhaps satisfy fans of the genre as much as it should have.

The original 1602 had a large fan base, particularly in Europe, and this sequel has been eagerly anticipated by many who enjoyed the original. It begins promisingly, with a well overhauled graphics engine that, while it won't win any awards, succeeds in what it attempts to do admirably. The colonists are well animated, and a quick detour to nearby woods will find a plethora of local fauna gallivanting about and looking cute. The Settlers-voyeur syndrome comes into full effect here, as you watch your colonists go about their daily tasks, and as your town prospers huts become houses and your municipal buildings upgrade their ramshackle appearance to something more... established. It's a satisfying transformation and is typical of what makes colony/city management games enjoyable - seeing your efforts rewarded onscreen.

The game contains various play modes - a campaign, a series of free standing scenarios and an open ended free form. The campaign consists of a number of missions that are essentially variations of the usual themes, and offer a very steep challenge towards the end. You begin, however, with a lone ship, a few bits of old rope, some worm ridden biscuits and a pack of mangy sea dogs for crew. From such humble beginnings are great empires built... Your mission is simple, as it appears to be in all management games. Choose a place to settle, build a colony, and expand it via economic or military means to become the pre-eminent power of your particular hemisphere. Hey, I thought, I'm British, empire building is in the blood - piece of cake. I'll just pop the kettle on, and be ruling the globe before high tea.

And of course, things do start out deceptively simple. It's the usual mix of sound building placement and higher-level strategic decisions, such as appease this lot, smite that bunch, etc. The first buildings placed are your warehouse and marketplace - the warehouse stockpiles goods which are traded at the marketplace. With these established, the race begins to exploit the surrounding countryside for the benefit of your colony. Resources are vital, but securing supplies of the raw materials is only the beginning. Good placement of the buildings further along the production line is also of paramount importance.