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New ANNO 1701 DS videos
- Thread starter jj984jj
- Start date
FlyinJ said:
Free worldwide Delivery here but I can't see Anno and haven't seen a copy in the UK yet.
This game is FANTASTIC. Easily the best strategy title on the DS right now, besides Advance Wars, hands down. The scrolling works so incredibly well, it was like I've never worked with a touchscreen before. The whole interface could have easily been a cluttered mess, but it's great. The graphics are basic, yes, but come with great detail, people are roaming the streets going about their work, etc. I even like the music.
It *could* have been a bit more complex, but then again, it's a handheld title. I'm totally surprised -best game on the DS in 2007 for me so far, besides Planet Puzzle League.
It *could* have been a bit more complex, but then again, it's a handheld title. I'm totally surprised -best game on the DS in 2007 for me so far, besides Planet Puzzle League.
I just got my copy yesterday from my friend(I live in Canada), and I'm loving it. I've never played the Anno games, but it just looked too damn good.
First thing I have to say is that the controls are truly awesome. Instead of click-and-drag style controls in PC games, it has two flags that act as the "start" and "end" of mouse drags. It works very well. Also, you get some hotkeys that you can assign. Since you can play the entire game with stylus only, all the buttons are free, but you'll only use 5 max anyway because of the stylus. You can hotkey any of the directional buttons and their corresponding a,b,x,y buttons, and the L/R buttons.
Graphics are nice and clean. You can see the dudes bringing the lumber/stone/resources from your sites to your warehouse in real time, it's a nice treat. I like the visual style; not just the game graphics but also the caricature portraits and general art style.
It took me a while to figure out the basics of the game, but eventually got the hang of it. It might be because I blitzed through the stuff that seemed obvious in the tutorial. The tutorial is blended into the story mode and more things open up to you so you're not just thrown into it(although I guess you could if you play continous mode from the start).
Story mode is fun, it gives you some goals but my friend says it's pretty short. I'm having a blast in it so far. I played one continuous play game, which was good too.
Seriously, buy this game. If you're like me, import it. I very rarely import things(read: never), but this definitely paid off.
Buy it!
First thing I have to say is that the controls are truly awesome. Instead of click-and-drag style controls in PC games, it has two flags that act as the "start" and "end" of mouse drags. It works very well. Also, you get some hotkeys that you can assign. Since you can play the entire game with stylus only, all the buttons are free, but you'll only use 5 max anyway because of the stylus. You can hotkey any of the directional buttons and their corresponding a,b,x,y buttons, and the L/R buttons.
Graphics are nice and clean. You can see the dudes bringing the lumber/stone/resources from your sites to your warehouse in real time, it's a nice treat. I like the visual style; not just the game graphics but also the caricature portraits and general art style.
It took me a while to figure out the basics of the game, but eventually got the hang of it. It might be because I blitzed through the stuff that seemed obvious in the tutorial. The tutorial is blended into the story mode and more things open up to you so you're not just thrown into it(although I guess you could if you play continous mode from the start).
Story mode is fun, it gives you some goals but my friend says it's pretty short. I'm having a blast in it so far. I played one continuous play game, which was good too.
Seriously, buy this game. If you're like me, import it. I very rarely import things(read: never), but this definitely paid off.
Buy it!
BobJustBob said:
Oh snap. Thought it was the over way round
On a serious note, this game is looking pretty good.
Benjamin1981
Member
I think it's only out here in Germany. Other European Versions should hit on 13.7.2007.
Isn't it supposed to come out in August in the US? I've seen several sites claiming this, like Gamespot and Gamerankings.
It's very clear that the developers have created a perfectly suited handheld strategy game, not forcing the PC game onto the DS. Everything works for the context: the menus, the navigation, the missions, the tools you've got: it's easily grasped and easily utilized. This is a pretty big surprise, I hope we'll see some hype when it's available everywhere.
It's very clear that the developers have created a perfectly suited handheld strategy game, not forcing the PC game onto the DS. Everything works for the context: the menus, the navigation, the missions, the tools you've got: it's easily grasped and easily utilized. This is a pretty big surprise, I hope we'll see some hype when it's available everywhere.
I'm seeing great reviews in Europe. Only one up on gamerankings (90%) since it only counts reviews written in English, but it's been raved upon in Germany, France and other places. It's basically the first real RTS on the DS, a great one, and Disney should market it to hell to the PC & strategy-friendly Europeans.
Time for a quick review of this, not that I'm 'finished' or anything.
This is a fantastic game. Let me go through some of the decisions by the developers which have ensured that this is an enjoyable and accessible experience from the very get-go.
The obvious is of course present: Touch-screen is much-preferred to fondling around with buttons (though more on the use of those later). Two screens means you have the information needed visible at all times. Less of a given is how great the information is distributed. Context-sensitive information works wonderfully - you know what you need to know when you need to know it. Touch a building and you get the specs. If a building has an exclamation mark (or other symbol corresponding to other issues) and you tap it you'll see what's needed. It's a non-intrusive yet logical way of letting you know what's up in your city.
The touch-menu on the right of your bottom screen works great. Stuff like the mission book shows your goals - other options are logical like financial stuff where you can trade and a building menu and so forth. Again: logical and non-intrusive every step of the way. A question mark in your top left corner is another context-sensitive help. You're never lost in this game or its interface.
Its ease of use is just phenomenal. The game difficulty is adjustable of course, I'm talking about the intuitiveness and comfort of playing the game. The navigation is a dream; finally all the hype-talk about "this system works perfectly for strategy/*other pc genre* games!" comes to reality: Take a simple task such as scrolling around your playfield and selecting stuff. You drag the land like a map or 'flick it' fast and slow and watch as it zooms by. It's just so smoothly done: and never any hint of slowdown. The DS-buttons aren't needed, but they've even made it possible to assign hotkeys to them as you wish.
The game looks great too. Screens might not impress you, but it actually does. Everything is sharp, colorful and animates nicely - on the ds screens it looks as great as any strategy game has a right to.
The strategy gameplay is done wonderfully. The Anno (A.D) series is an acclaimed series, but this is _not_ a port of the 1701 PC game, it's a whole new game. It's made with a handheld in mind and hits just the sweet spot between depth and pick-up-and-play fun. Anyone can enjoy this, even if you've never played the series or any similar game before. It lulls you into the experience in the story mode with great and thorough tutorial-ish missions. You can choose easy, medium or hard difficulty if you're experienced. No one has any right to complain about the challenge presented.
Outside of the story (campaign) mode there's a "continuous" mode where you customize the settings of all aspects, including the opponents, yourself. Finally there's a multiplayer mode which I haven't tried yet. The _only_ thing missing in this game is an online multiplayer, that would be heaven.
Except for that, there's pretty much just one word fitting for this game: Perfect. It's a perfectly realized real-time strategy game for portables, for the DS. If you have any sympathy for strategy games AT ALL, pick it up. It's not "an impressive strategy game for a handheld", it's one of the best strategy games released on any system in the past few years. It would be a big shame if it never saw release in the states.
This is a fantastic game. Let me go through some of the decisions by the developers which have ensured that this is an enjoyable and accessible experience from the very get-go.
The obvious is of course present: Touch-screen is much-preferred to fondling around with buttons (though more on the use of those later). Two screens means you have the information needed visible at all times. Less of a given is how great the information is distributed. Context-sensitive information works wonderfully - you know what you need to know when you need to know it. Touch a building and you get the specs. If a building has an exclamation mark (or other symbol corresponding to other issues) and you tap it you'll see what's needed. It's a non-intrusive yet logical way of letting you know what's up in your city.
The touch-menu on the right of your bottom screen works great. Stuff like the mission book shows your goals - other options are logical like financial stuff where you can trade and a building menu and so forth. Again: logical and non-intrusive every step of the way. A question mark in your top left corner is another context-sensitive help. You're never lost in this game or its interface.
Its ease of use is just phenomenal. The game difficulty is adjustable of course, I'm talking about the intuitiveness and comfort of playing the game. The navigation is a dream; finally all the hype-talk about "this system works perfectly for strategy/*other pc genre* games!" comes to reality: Take a simple task such as scrolling around your playfield and selecting stuff. You drag the land like a map or 'flick it' fast and slow and watch as it zooms by. It's just so smoothly done: and never any hint of slowdown. The DS-buttons aren't needed, but they've even made it possible to assign hotkeys to them as you wish.
The game looks great too. Screens might not impress you, but it actually does. Everything is sharp, colorful and animates nicely - on the ds screens it looks as great as any strategy game has a right to.
The strategy gameplay is done wonderfully. The Anno (A.D) series is an acclaimed series, but this is _not_ a port of the 1701 PC game, it's a whole new game. It's made with a handheld in mind and hits just the sweet spot between depth and pick-up-and-play fun. Anyone can enjoy this, even if you've never played the series or any similar game before. It lulls you into the experience in the story mode with great and thorough tutorial-ish missions. You can choose easy, medium or hard difficulty if you're experienced. No one has any right to complain about the challenge presented.
Outside of the story (campaign) mode there's a "continuous" mode where you customize the settings of all aspects, including the opponents, yourself. Finally there's a multiplayer mode which I haven't tried yet. The _only_ thing missing in this game is an online multiplayer, that would be heaven.
Except for that, there's pretty much just one word fitting for this game: Perfect. It's a perfectly realized real-time strategy game for portables, for the DS. If you have any sympathy for strategy games AT ALL, pick it up. It's not "an impressive strategy game for a handheld", it's one of the best strategy games released on any system in the past few years. It would be a big shame if it never saw release in the states.
biodegradablebean
Banned
Sold.
Peru said:
You my friend just sold a copy of the game and cost me £25
- great short review that told me all I needed to know. Not a scaled back port, but a kind of redux of the concept and that it works well.And if the reports from Germany are correct it comes out pretty soon - bet CD WOW get hold of the german version and push it into the UK, but I'll wait and make sure that I count towards the UK sales
because I have too much on for the next 2 weeks
TekunoRobby
Tag of Excellence
SECONDEDKafel said:
When is US release?
I assume you are from the US? www.bol.de should ship there. It's not really cheap though (15 Euro shipping to the US).
Almost forgot to mention the superb help index in the game, the ANNOpedia. It's like something I've never seen in a handheld title before. Maybe you get a hint from your citizens that they'd like clothing, and you don't know exactly how it's done. Get into the annopedia, hit up the letter C and find the article on clothing. It's quick and in-depth. Hell, the whole thing is actually hyperlinked so you can jump around to related topics and queries!
Build strategies not really, but the basics at least: think about where you're placing your houses so that you can get all the buildings the citizens demand near to them. Preferably a pretty open space. Stick your industry _away_ from the houses from the beginning so you don't clutter up up the space needed for schools, churches, safety buildings. Your farms and factories do not demand any of these buildings' influence, so you can have them wherever you want on your land (of course sometimes within the vicinity of related industry buildings).
After a while you'll maybe build house gatherings on two places on your island, but it's better then to just have to place two churches, two schools, etc. instead of bankrupting yourself because you've built houses spread all around needing many churches and many schools. Try to concentrate the placement of houses.
After a while you'll maybe build house gatherings on two places on your island, but it's better then to just have to place two churches, two schools, etc. instead of bankrupting yourself because you've built houses spread all around needing many churches and many schools. Try to concentrate the placement of houses.
I always build my industry near the first building you have when you settle an island (don't know the English name). It's because that way your ressources are stored faster. For the houses I always try to get a nice clean area on the island and leave the center free for a school, hospital and so on. Also try to get new Islands instead of growing stuff on your main island if its not suited perfectly for the stuff you want to grow. It will only take away space for houses and it's not very efficient. Another thing is you should always try to begin producing goods that you'll need in the near future a little bit early, so that you won't get supply problems immediately. Getting stuff by trading is getting far to expensive if you start producing too late
Bump! Been playing more of this game recently, and this game seriously deserves a bit more praise You kinda loose track of time after a while. I've only been able to play this at home at the moment, but I'm thinking of pulling this game out on my train rides every morning instead of Puzzle Quest... though I'm kinda worried that I'll miss my stop... seriously consuming.
I'm having a lot more fun with this version instead of the PC game.
You kinda loose track of time after a while. I've only been able to play this at home at the moment, but I'm thinking of pulling this game out on my train rides every morning instead of Puzzle Quest... though I'm kinda worried that I'll miss my stop... seriously consuming.I'm having a lot more fun with this version instead of the PC game.
It's the most addictive experience I've had on my DS. The PC game is great, no doubt, but it's almost as if this version has an extra pull, because of its great balance between accessibility and depth. I can't praise this game enough even though I've tried to do my lot in this thread.
TekunoRobby
Tag of Excellence
I'll play the inferior Sim City DS until this comes Stateside.
IGN UK has put up a review as well:
http://ds.ign.com/articles/801/801920p2.html
They say the game is good but becomes repetitive.
http://ds.ign.com/articles/801/801920p2.html
They say the game is good but becomes repetitive.
jj984jj said:
In the same way that any strategy can get repetitive. "All you do is build shit!"
After reading his reasoning, I can sort of see where he's coming from though. He's talking about the story mode, which I treated as a very nice tutorial to the game. After finishing it, you feel really good about tackling the continuous mode by yourself, without problems, since you've built up so many cities, fighting off earthquakes, volcanoes and armies. It's the perfect ramp up.
I've played it for the most part of my vacations and I can say it rocks. Why?
* Intelligent use of screen estate and art. I was worried it would be a mess confronted with the PC titles (Anno, Port Royale, Patrician etc), but they did their best and succeeded. You can understand at a glance what's going on.
* Tough AI. Four player skirmishes get nasty very soon. They can adapt their plans to your countermoves, too!
E.g. I noticed one player sent a few ships in one of my islands, so I built a fortification putting soldiers where they were landing. CPU reacted using a different beach for landing and creating a garrison just outside the range of my garrison, from where to launch their assaults to my properties.
BTW this on EASY mode.
* Game is very deep, there are many things to keep under control and in no way it gets repetitive if you don't turn out disasters, pirates and opponent AI.
This is because yout taxes come from citizens civilization level and that is very finicky to maintain. When you got a lot of patrician citizens, you have to keep them very happy with lots of everything (including a steady supply of chocolate bonbons, jewelry and so on and so forth); a dozen (perhaps more) different products and services must be there for them, otherwise they become unhappy or even get to the precedent civilization level (once a patrician dies, his son gets to be of a lesser civilization level).
I won the match against the above mentioned CPU without fighting too much, because I noticed (scouting) that it couldn't produce cotton (hence clothing) and jewels on its main island and it had to rely from importing such goods from a small colonized island which was not very well defendable.. So instead of doing a battle of attrition on its main minion, I just seized his other island and this wreak havoc on his economy.. Keeping auction prices high for those goods (I did not sell any cotton or jewel in that time frame) for good measure.
* There's multiplayer, although not online and everyone must have a cart.
It's your typical German strategy title, i.e. buy it at sight if you are into the genre. The fact of being on DS does not detract much from the game.
* Intelligent use of screen estate and art. I was worried it would be a mess confronted with the PC titles (Anno, Port Royale, Patrician etc), but they did their best and succeeded. You can understand at a glance what's going on.
* Tough AI. Four player skirmishes get nasty very soon. They can adapt their plans to your countermoves, too!
E.g. I noticed one player sent a few ships in one of my islands, so I built a fortification putting soldiers where they were landing. CPU reacted using a different beach for landing and creating a garrison just outside the range of my garrison, from where to launch their assaults to my properties.
BTW this on EASY mode.
* Game is very deep, there are many things to keep under control and in no way it gets repetitive if you don't turn out disasters, pirates and opponent AI.
This is because yout taxes come from citizens civilization level and that is very finicky to maintain. When you got a lot of patrician citizens, you have to keep them very happy with lots of everything (including a steady supply of chocolate bonbons, jewelry and so on and so forth); a dozen (perhaps more) different products and services must be there for them, otherwise they become unhappy or even get to the precedent civilization level (once a patrician dies, his son gets to be of a lesser civilization level).
I won the match against the above mentioned CPU without fighting too much, because I noticed (scouting) that it couldn't produce cotton (hence clothing) and jewels on its main island and it had to rely from importing such goods from a small colonized island which was not very well defendable.. So instead of doing a battle of attrition on its main minion, I just seized his other island and this wreak havoc on his economy.. Keeping auction prices high for those goods (I did not sell any cotton or jewel in that time frame) for good measure.
* There's multiplayer, although not online and everyone must have a cart.
It's your typical German strategy title, i.e. buy it at sight if you are into the genre. The fact of being on DS does not detract much from the game.
I just got my import version in today.
I have to say, this in an amazing piece of DS programming. Everything about it just oozes quality... the map scrolling is blazing fast. You can actually "whip" the map around the screen by dragging the stylus across the screen then letting go, and the inertia of your stroke translates into how fast the map scrolls and settles.
Creating buildings is a breeze as well. You can either select a new building to create from the right side interface, or press on an existing building and pick "duplicate" from a pop up menu.
Gameplay is almost a carbon copy of the PC game. Create the basics of your settlement (houses, lumberjacks, fishing huts, sheep farms, etc) and then build up to the more advanced needs as your city grows.
Settlers 2 DS was a complete disaster. I'm so happy that 1701 does everything Settlers 2 should have and so much more. I can't recommend this game enough. It's absurd that this game hasn't gotten a US publisher yet... it's one of the finest DS games I've played to date.
I have to say, this in an amazing piece of DS programming. Everything about it just oozes quality... the map scrolling is blazing fast. You can actually "whip" the map around the screen by dragging the stylus across the screen then letting go, and the inertia of your stroke translates into how fast the map scrolls and settles.
Creating buildings is a breeze as well. You can either select a new building to create from the right side interface, or press on an existing building and pick "duplicate" from a pop up menu.
Gameplay is almost a carbon copy of the PC game. Create the basics of your settlement (houses, lumberjacks, fishing huts, sheep farms, etc) and then build up to the more advanced needs as your city grows.
Settlers 2 DS was a complete disaster. I'm so happy that 1701 does everything Settlers 2 should have and so much more. I can't recommend this game enough. It's absurd that this game hasn't gotten a US publisher yet... it's one of the finest DS games I've played to date.