1687

Playing a FULL game of this with everything takes fifty billion years now.

1 Like
1688

This guy needs to make all the Anno trailers.

Also the wiki keeps good track of all the damn DLC for this game.

The plant a tree dlc was for a limited time only, but apparently will be given away free to everyone at the end of 2022.

1689
1690

I didn’t even know they released a new scenario (nor the time-limited CDLC).

1691
1692

I’ve never played an Anno game before as I’m not particularly drawn to city builders. But I’ve been loving the mobile game Paragon Pioneers, which @ooomalley and @Nightgaunt suggested is basically a mobile Anno-like. So I picked up a Ubi+ subscription, downloaded Anno 1800 complete, fired up an all-DLC campaign and have been really enjoying it. (Paragon Pioneers really is very much a love letter to Anno 1800.)

I’ve just completed the New World expedition in the campaign and I’m slowly trying to optimize my layout more on my first island, which was atrocious because I didn’t know what I was doing. Thanks for the recommendation, guys! I might have found a new obsession.

1693

I’m wondering if maybe I shouldn’t have come down so hard on @Nightgaunt’s preference for 1404. It’s a damn good game and in many ways simpler than 1800, but in a good way. Well, glad you’re enjoying Anno, anyway!

This is a very good way of putting it.

1694

If I had to rank them today, of the games in the series that I have played:
Bestest to Best:
1800
2070
1404
2205
1701

1695

Not to rehash a decade old argument, but what makes you like 2070 better than 1404?

1696

Yay! Glad you’re enjoying it!

1697

The Eco/Tycoon mechanic and how pollution affected the map, and the stunning visuals we got to see.
Along with the 3 factions you got to play as, each bringing something different , and everything felt just right to me as I played, there was a great synergy of fun for me. :)

1698

I agree unabashedly with that top 3, in that order. 2205 I never played because campaign only = no sale. 1701 was my first Anno and still has a special place for me.

1699

The biggest thing 1404/2070 have going for them over 1800 is performance. 1800 is pretty rough on older machines. And don’t forget about the big I.A.A.M. and A.R.R.C. mods for each which give them some extra life as well. I don’t know if I rank 2070 over 1404 myself, but I think that is more due to theme than gameplay.

http://iaam1404.projectanno.de/start_eng.htm

http://www.anno2170-arrc.de/index.php?language=en

1700

This whole airship thing seems like they ran out of ideas to truly expand the game, and are now adding stuff that’s just going to make it more difficult to manage than it already is.

1701

Sorry, everyone, but it’s 1404 Uber Alles.

  • Best campaign. Long and slow, but clear and characterful.
  • Least amount of DLC that feels like desperate monitization
  • Best approach to multiple regions (Orient/Occident in one map)
  • Best setting fit for the mechanics (it’s a series of games about boats; only 1701 is arguably more appropriate, and the future settings are weird this way)
  • Consistently beautiful. (1800 is a game about making your islands gross and polluted. Only 2070 stands up to 1404 here.)
  • No weird online subsystems (that Ubi will eventually drop support for).

Strikes against 1404:

  • Land invasions?
  • I guess those “find the dude” missions weren’t great (though they do encourage you to take a look at your city up close!)
  • Nothing else.

1800 can have the silver medal.

1702

1404 is the better game, I think I agree. 1800 is a pretty awesome sandbox though and is beautiful despite all the pollution stuff.

1703

That this is your first point is the essence of why we disagree, because Anno games don’t need or benefit from campaigns IMO.

I’m with you on the Orient/Occident being a good design, the thematics fitting (I do so love 1701 for that too), and the relative lack of weird online systems (though the cosmetics-for-achievements stuff was handled through such a thing, so it’s not totally absent).

1704

The 1404 campaign was just a really extended tutorial, wasn’t it? I enjoyed it a lot more than the 1800 campaign. Despite being an extended tutorial, I enjoyed the story.

1705

Indeed - an endless, interminable tutorial.

1706

Enh, it was scenarios. One of the things I really liked about 1404 was the wide variety of scenarios (including in the Venice expansion*) which gave you different things to try for and made you interact with all the different systems.

All the other games are mainly just “make your city big”, or you choose your own goals. I like the fact that the game designers actually set out a series of challenges for me, rather than just giving me a sandbox and shrugging.

  • Except that boat racing one. Just get right the heck out with that thing.