AN RTS GEM
Anno 2070 is set in the year 2070 after global warming has left the planet submerged
RTS is a genre that many people say is dying or at least fading away. Well that’s not entirely true, since RTS gems are hard to come by, most of them often get overlooked. Anno 2070 is one such gem.
The game is set in the year 2070 after global warming has left most of the planet submerged. Scattered islands must be colonised in order to rebuild and survive. However, there is a catch, since resources are low there are various groups after them. The game presents three main factions — an eco-friendly faction, environment friendly but slow and inefficient; the Tycoons, industrialists that must deal with resource shortages and pollution; and, finally, the Tech faction which serves as a support faction for both groups.
Anno 2070 presents gamers with a lot of micro management; much like other games in the franchise but once again the amount of detail is mindblowing. Each civilisation has different classes of citizens with their own needs and requirements. Only once you fulfil the needs of one class will they advance to a higher class and unlock new buildings and techs. Simple enough right? Well guess again. The islands have limited resources so you have to constantly be on the lookout for new places to colonise to meet your needs. If you are feeling lazy, a few strategic trade routes can quite easily solve your problems but you will eventually run out of space. Oh, and did I men- tion there are pirates ?
The game also integrates the entire online community by holding world senate elections which affects every player in the game world council and players can vote for their favourite factions leaders to receive their desired benefits. If that wasn’t enough there are also regular “world events”, which offer new times missions and player rewards depend on how many players worldwide play them.
Anno 2070 really takes the RTS genre to another level with all the micromanagement, politics, trading and combat. It is easily one of the best RTS games I have played in quite some time and is definitely worth a try.