IGN REVIEW NOW UP

Extracts:

Sensibly, they've taken the core conceits of the Anno franchise and designed Create a New World from the ground up, streamlining game flow while still maintaining the series' essence and depth. 

There's rarely much tinkering required beneath the surface and Anno maintains a remarkably swift, near-arcade like pace that's particularly appealing on Wii.

 It's broad in scope yet refreshingly brisk, favouring action and immediate reward over ponderous spreadsheet scrutiny and accountancy - perhaps not to everyone's tastes but we're fans of the top-line Pikmin-style zip of proceedings. 

It's a design choice that's perfectly complemented by Create a New World's remarkably polished presentation. First up, there's Story Mode, essentially a ten hour-long tutorial, gradually establishing Anno's many facets and interweaving them with engaging story elements and self-contained objectives that are perfectly-paced and consistently entertaining.

Story Mode focusses more on arming you with knowledge than punishing your errors. That's saved for the free-form Continuous Play mode, where all possible upgrade paths are available from the start and you're left to your own devices in terms of expanding your populace.

Even the entirely pointer-driven interface is a delight with clear, concise menus and a control system that simplifies everything down to two buttons - making for an incredibly accessible package. It's stuffed with thoughtful touches too.

Ubisoft has delivered a game that�s been thoughtfully designed around the strengths of Nintendo�s system, delivering an experience that retains the essence and depth of the long-running series while streamlining it to offer a pacier, more accessible twist on the familiar formula, replacing unnecessary complexity with gameplay breadth. Anyone looking for an engaging, involving game should be delighted by Anno�s bright, breezy and beautifully presented Wii debut.

8.7

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*In a vain attempt to stimulate conversation GG quietly copies and pastes something he's posted elsewhere, to the forum*

Anno: Create a new world (Euro name)

Anno: Dawn of Discovery (US name)

PREVIEW

EXTRACTS

We're not quite sure who's peddling the third-party Wii dynamo at the moment but, seriously, that guy's on fire. And here's another little gem you might want to stick on your shopping list, courtesy of Ubisoft.

This Wii version, while sharing similar themes, has been developed from the ground up specifically for Nintendo's console by Keen Games.

Ubisoft certainly hasn't scaled back the strategic core of the Anno series for the Wii audience â�� it's a fully-fledged real-time strategy experience and offers an incredibly satisfying amount of depth.� 

What's more impressive about the game though is how well it's been tailored to suit the Wii. For starters, Create a New World features a visual style that's instantly appealing and, while it mightn't be pushing a record number of polygons, it's packed with character. Erring on the stylised side, it's all pastel colours and soft edges, yet manages to pack in a surprising amount of detail. Zoom all the way in and buildings are distinct, citizens walk the streets, animals roam the wilds and wagons shift goods around town � all giving a real sense of life to your little islands.

It's practical too with well-designed menus, easily-accessible, legible information screens and an incredibly intuitive, streamlined interface. That's it and it works sublimely.� 

In fact, there's a touch of Nintendo about the whole product, with effortless accessibility - a perfectly-paced opening deftly introducing the games core mechanics - married to impressive production values. It's fully-voiced too, with all characters supported by some excellent, engaging casting.

It's a game that actually feels like it wants to be played and is thoroughly entertaining as a result. In all honesty, we weren't expecting too much from Create a New World but we've been incredibly impressed by the depth and quality of what we've seen so far. With plenty more to offer beyond the story mode � including two-player co-operative multiplayer � we're genuinely looking forward to seeing more of Create a New World come its European release later this month.

VIDEOS are really worth watching.

How does it control?

"The whole game can be played via the remote pointer, with B calling up the construction menu, A confirming actions and + or - used to access one of four levels of zoom. Beyond that, you can click-and-drag to move around the world (or, alternatively, use the analogue stick) or hop from island to island with the d-pad. That's it and it works sublimely."

What are the production values like?

"Cut-scenes are largely static but striking, while music is charmingly unassuming during construction and suitably bombastic during moments of pirate-based peril. It's fully-voiced too, with all characters supported by some excellent, engaging casting (is that Tom Baker as King George, by any chance?)."

So what do you do in the game?

" the core of the game always sees you seeking out new islands and establishing settlements, depending on their suitability to produce specific goods. Some islands might prove particularly fertile for food production, for instance, while others might provide the ideal climate for hemp growth (and, subsequently, clothing manufacture)."

"Of course, you'll need settlers to do the hard work � and, more importantly, pay taxes to provide the financial resources to keep the wheels of economy turning. Once you've sailed the ocean and found an island that meets your needs, your next task is to establish housing and a constant food supply for your early inhabitants. With a burgeoning community in place, expansion requires a source of wood and stone for building, plus an eye on more cultural offerings. Once their basic needs are fulfilled, you'll need to keep your growing population happy by satisfying their other whims � from clothing to places to practice religion. In a nutshell, the more content they are, the more they'll evolve � from pioneers to settlers and onward up the social ladder, right through to aristocrats."

Anno is bigger on the continent, its a PC brand and I hear it does well in Germany where the games originated from. 

I love the little touches they've made. Full voice acting, the way that putting down buildings feels like you are stamping them down on the environment. The way you use the cursor as an anchor icon and the ships follow you. I also love the free way you use the pointer and yet the game is tiled for accuracy and shows the tile where your feature will sit. 

Visually I love the way the camera can zoom all the way in and all the way out seamlessly, with clarity. It gives you the God feeling. 

Ravenprose said:

Doesn't look like my kind of game.

Lacks any rodent sexual intercourse?

aspro73 said:

Looks like a SimCity type game yeah?  If so I'd be all over it.  None of the SimCity games have been done well on any console since SimCity on the SNES (And Yoot's Tower on the GBA)

 It borrows a significant amount of city management like the SimCity franchise, but unlike those games, this one has (or should have) a purpose, that being the conquest of rival empires/civilizations. It is less action oriented that your run of the mill combat focused RTS, but it still has goals to be achieved, unlike the more loose approach of SC. 

angrymonkey said:

" the core of the game always sees you seeking out new islands and establishing settlements, depending on their suitability to produce specific goods. Some islands might prove particularly fertile for food production, for instance, while others might provide the ideal climate for hemp growth (and, subsequently, clothing manufacture)."

I like the sound of this. Always liked exploring in civilization looking for the enemy or resources. I hope the terrain is varied enough. Swamp and desert or tundra.

Has anyone ever played Tropico? They're working on the 3rd one for the pc.

Tropico was great!  I never played any of the others after the original, but maybe I should.  I sort of was getting out of PC gaming after Tropico came out.  Was the sequel any good?

robio said:

I'm not so worried about combat.  This game looks more driven by the town planning and economy.  Should still be a fun.  Hopefully this will come in at around $40.  Not sure why, but to me the game screams "I'm worth $40!!"

Sorry for  the double post.  It's only $29 USD. Out June 23.

SteelAttack said:

Nice stuff, videos are kind of short. Combat looks awfully underwhelming, though. 

 The videos get longer from the Battle video onwards. Battle, building and volcano videos are longer. Combat is okay to me, they could have done more but I never really thought about it till you pointed it out. 

robio said:

I'm not so worried about combat.  This game looks more driven by the town planning and economy.  Should still be a fun.  Hopefully this will come in at around $40.  Not sure why, but to me the game screams "I'm worth $40!!"

 Someone on GAF said it was $29 in the US. It's £30 over here on the interwebs - that's full price for us poor Euros.

Oh, nice Aspro, so it is $29. Cool. Hope I can get a deal. I want it but with my recent purchases and it launching so soon its a hard sell. 

aspro73 said:

robio said:

I'm not so worried about combat.  This game looks more driven by the town planning and economy.  Should still be a fun.  Hopefully this will come in at around $40.  Not sure why, but to me the game screams "I'm worth $40!!"

Sorry for  the double post.  It's only $29 USD. Out June 23.

Sweet.  Must buy then.  Games like this can be played for years.  

For UK/Europe guys, WHSmith.co.uk has it listed for £15? It must be a mistake as everywhere else is over twice as much. I dont want to register an account only to be BS-ed by customer service. 

EDIT: Yeah the price jumped to £30