"Time to create the future" — says the slogan of Anno 2070. According to the popular theory legend, due to global warming, the Earth's Arctic ice will melt and flood most of the land. Consequently, life will only be possible on small islands.
For the legendary city-building series Anno, this is the first "scientific" explanation. And since the game's setting is the future, the atmosphere is also futuristic: futuristic cities, industry that is conceptual by today's standards, and two different factions: ecologists and industrialists.
Game balance and gameplay
Anno 2070 hasn't strayed far from its predecessor Anno 1404. Of course, the differences in eras have significantly changed the requirements of the 2070 residents, although the overall structure of "growth" in resident levels has become simpler. It's now much easier to provide for residents, primarily due to the ability to extract more natural resources on the island. There's no longer a need for the mass colonization of islands for a single resource vein. For example, to reach the fourth level of development, two islands are enough. The technological production cycle is now broader than before: up to 6 stages and precisely balanced. It won't take much time to study.
The promised increase in the military component has been fulfilled, and now we have access to a much larger set of units — underwater, surface, and air. By the way, the underwater component of the game deserves special respect — it's an excellent solution that is quite smoothly integrated into the game. It's just a pity that the underwater areas are intended for resource extraction, not for colonies. The game balance is precisely calibrated and allows for a smooth gameplay experience.
Of course, the main feature of the game is the presence of several factions: the ecologists and industrialists as the main ones, and the technologists as an additional faction that opens at a certain level of development. It seems that different people developed the main factions — the approach to building structures, types of industry, and technologies used differ so much.
Another innovation is the personal ark, whose task is to assist the player in colonizing the island and establishing a colony. As the player's island develops, the ark will offer several useful projects. Naturally, ecology is given significant importance, and if it deteriorates significantly, production levels will drop, and people themselves will not be happy with air and environmental pollution.
Campaign and storyline. Endless mode
The Anno series has always had a simple and short campaign, whose main goal was to train the player. However, in Anno 1404, the storyline became more interesting, and in Anno 2070, the plot is simply captivating: we must stop an environmental catastrophe and uncover the secrets of the ancient ark. Throughout the game, we will switch factions and explore the possibilities and advantages of each. The campaign is not difficult, and if you encounter any problems in endless mode, try finding answers by completing the campaign.
Endless mode is arguably the main mode of Anno, even despite the trendy multiplayer. For some reason, Ubisoft has limited the options for setting up the game and the possibilities of the game itself in offline mode, so be prepared for a constant internet connection. Despite this drawback, the "Endless Game" mode reveals the full depth of Anno 2070: choose a faction and the "entertain yourself with your right (left) hand" attraction begins. No, not what you're thinking, I mean the hand you hold the mouse with. Defend your faction's interests through war or technological development. Build cities and industrial production, balancing on the brink of a potential ecological disaster or ignoring its possibility. The paths of development here are always unique.
Graphics
To the surprise of many users, the graphics in the game are not much better than in 1404. A certain disappointment is also brought by the annoying blur, which is difficult to remove. The game's graphical interface has definitely improved, but the size of the icons and fonts is quite small, so take care of your eyesight when playing for several hours.
Overall impressions
Anno 2070 is primarily an economic simulator. So, war is not the main focus here. The main emphasis is on development and prosperity, so if you're interested in such an approach in strategies, then the game is definitely for you. Whether Anno 2070 can compete with Anno 1404 is a debatable question. Of course, futuristic cities are better suited for strategies, but some shortcomings worsen the overall impression of the game, which was not the case with Anno 1404 and Anno 1701.
