Review: For disappointed ‘Civ’ fans, ‘Anno 117’ will scratch that strategy itch

With “Sid Meier’s Civilization VII” a disappointment, “Anno” has an opportunity to snag the strategy game spotlight. The Ubisoft franchise has been in the shadow of Firaxis’ long-running classic, though it takes a different approach when it comes to mixing history and video games.

Whereas “Civilization” focuses on nation-building from ancient times to the future, “Anno” takes a narrower approach. Instead of running an empire that stands the test of time, “Anno” focuses on city building and creating colonies that work in unison to fend off and conquer their rivals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oVSysv9uH8THINKING ABOUT THE ROMAN EMPIREThe latest entry to the long-running strategy series is “Anno 117: Pax Romana,” which takes place during the height of the Roman Empire. Players take on the role of a governor tasked with running an island. They start off with a trading post and they’ll have to send woodcutters to the forest and build sawmills for lumber.

That’s how the campaign starts, but from there, the city builder quickly grows more complex. Players have to nurture food resources, clothing, a military, public services and other needs. As a newcomer to the series, it can be overwhelming, and the best tutorial that “Anno 117” offers players is the single-player campaign, where they choose between Marcus Naukratius or Marcia Tertia, who each have their own storylines.

Although the origin stories about how they become governor differs, players are on equal footing when it comes to the political drama and shape of the campaign, which takes them through the death of the emperor and an exile to Albion, a new locale that’s a stand-in for Britain. The highlands and moors are where much of the campaign takes place before returning to Latium, where “Anno 117” opens up the full sandbox experience.

GOING FROM “CIV” TO “ANNO”As a “Civ” fan jumping into “Anno 117,” the gameplay is both familiar and new. It feels more granular when it comes to city building as players have to figure out the logistics of each structure and resource. Players have to place production facilities near warehouses and those also need to be near shops. The land and naval combat adds spice and drives the conflict in the campaign. Players have research bonuses that’s comparable to a tech tree, and how quickly that advances is influenced by the choice of island residents and structures. Religion is also another feature that adds bonuses to an island and is the counterpoint to research. On top of that, each island has a fertility of distinct resources, meaning players have to colonize quickly to score the best ones.

Those should be familiar to veterans of “Civ,” but despite the similarities, players will run into roadblocks and pit falls because of the complex systems. For novices, “Anno 117” has a learning curve the size of Mount Everest, and it’s daunting when realizing how they’re all connected.

MAJOR STUMBLING BLOCKSPlayers will run into issues such as the lack of workers before realizing that building an army pulls service members from an island’s population. They can expand and build more resources, but not realize that the fire risks is rising within a city and that building fire station is more effective in the center of town rather than the edges. It’s not the major concepts that are intimidating. The systems make sense, but rather, it’s how they integrate with each other and how they’re deployed that pose a challenge. Players need to do research on city layouts and the best ratios of buildings to people.

After mastering that, the scope of those logistics expands. It’s not just about building an effective megalopolis on one island. Players have to figure out how to specialize each location so that it fills role in the wider colonies. Meanwhile, players have to manage trade routes and diplomatic relations with other governors to acquire resources. All of this is needed to keep the Roman and Celtic populations happy with their needs fulfilled while also offering security from attack.

The campaign fails to explain these intricacies well, so players will have to find outside sources to figure out what they’re doing wrong. Thankfully, the strategy title has plenty of resources online to guide players or at least offer hints on how to improve their city building. For those who love researching and stress testing systems, “Anno 117” is a game with bottomless depth.

It has little wrinkles that lets players experiment to maximize resources or come up strategies to try out in the sandbox side, but it will take time to explore it or even tread its waters. Being fluent in the game’s system will take weeks, but mastering “Anno 117” will take months, and that’s the draw of this game. It offers the potential for limitless fun that perhaps can last as long as the Pax Romana itself.

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‘Anno 117: Pax Romana’

Three starsPlatform: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series SRating:Teen