ANNO 117: PAX ROMANA

An epic strategy game and city builder with a big toga to fill

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I do not typically recommend completely tanking a city's economy, potentially ruining the lives of all of its citizens and being heralded as a complete idiot, as a way to learn a valuable lesson. But this is exactly what happened to me in Anno 117: Pax Romana, and I came out the other side really vibing with the direction Ubisoft is taking it in interesting ways.

The latest entry in the long-running city building series has been kicked back to the golden age of the Roman Empire, but as I began my first foray into colonising antiquity, it didn't feel a million miles away from my sojourn as a governor in Anno 1800. Everything from the moment-to-moment city-building to the broad structure of establishing a small, sustainable colony before setting off across the ocean to exploit more resources felt incredibly familiar, despite the gulf between the two eras.

This familiarity did make the establishment of my first colony nice and straightforward, of course, as I followed the missions doled out by my mentor. I briskly constructed a slew of production chains across the island, feeding my citizens' desire for the basic necessities and expanding relentlessly. If you've played Anno 1800, you'll find getting started pretty effortless.

The good news is that this sense of over-familiarity was short-lived. Anno 117 is not a table-flipping sequel full of endless experimentation, but from the four hours I spent playing it, the game messes around with the setting in fun ways and shakes things up just enough that the Roman Empire feels like a new frontier.

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