Anno 1503: The New World

Nick gets in-deep with this latest strategy offering.

The economic management in 1503 is therefore of the kind that you'd expect in a game of this genre. It's not all smooth sailing, however, and there are a number of gripes that make playing frustrating once things become sufficiently complex. The most obvious and important of these is the lack of informative feedback about what is going wrong in your economy. Whilst the system in place here is a vast improvement over 1602's cryptic hovering question marks, it is still not intuitive enough to offer quick and needed advice. Icons appear over buildings that are being under or over-used, but they are not informative enough.

This lack of help is prevalent throughout. The manual is interesting but unhelpful, the online help system is too generic and never seems to answer any questions you actually might ask. There is a distinct lack of useful visual feedback, which leads to the kind of trial and error game play that non-adherents to the genre will find extremely off putting. For those with the patience to persevere, there is both rhyme and reason to what works and what doesn't in this game, it's just that it doesn't tell you what that is - you'll need to discover that for yourself.

The higher level game play - interacting with fellow colonies and indigenous tribes - suffers from almost the opposite problem, in that it is too easy to predict and follow, particularly when it comes to military matters. Interacting with other colonies is a vital source of trade and a way of garnering those resources which your own colony lacks. There is, however, a lack of danger in dealing with other colonies. This is because in 1503 A.D., building your own army is considered a hostile act by your neighbours, who will begin amassing defences of their own. As such, it is far easier to succeed by avoiding all conflict and simply opting out of the combat portion of the game. If, however, you do opt for the martial route, prepare to be slightly disappointed. The controls are unwieldy and lack the polish and utility of a dedicated RTS.

All this said, however, it would be unfair to say that 1503 is not a good game - it is. Once the player has adjusted to the lack of feedback and begins to get a feel for what is required, and if the poor combat sections are mostly avoided, then 1503 is a quality colony management simulation. The game has seen relative financial success, and another iteration along the same lines could allow for the emergence of a real top quality title, once the problems have been addressed.

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By Nick McCrea