Anno 1503 - The New World 2.0.0.5 [GOG] PC
Jalisa Landgren
Anno 1503: The New World (released as 1503 A.D.: The New World in North America) is a 2002 construction and management simulation video game developed by Austrian developer Max Design and published by Sunflowers Interactive. Part of the Anno series, it is a direct sequel to Anno 1602, the most commercially successful German video game ever by 2002. Anno 1503 revolves around building and maintaining a 16th-century colony in the New World.
Anno 1503 begins with the player in control of a ship filled with men and material searching for an island to settle. After finding a suitable site, city-building begins. Resources begin as food and cloth, but progress into more complicated and different goods. Eventually, citizens become Aristocrats, and require at least ten different goods and numerous services, such as access to a large church or a bathhouse. The game is constructed around one human player and three computer AI players. As in Anno 1602, the AI is progressive, meaning that it advances along with the human player. The AI also has adjustable personalities, which the player customizes before the beginning of a game. Each different player, human or computer, is represented by a color.
The economy in Anno 1503 is built on providing different goods to colonist citizens. It begins with the creation of cheap goods, and progresses in civilization levels throughout the game leading to more advanced goods. Since the game is built on different levels of civilizations (pioneer, settler, citizen, merchant, aristocrat), each successive civilization level requires more goods and more balancing of skills and finesse.
Technology in Anno 1503 begins on the pioneer level. After giving citizens basic goods like food, cloth, and alcohol, they develop into settlers, the second civilization level. The second level allows the player's settlers to build more advanced buildings; however, settlers also require more goods to stay alive. Buildings in the game do not necessarily have a specific function for the player, but have an implied or effective function for settlers in the game. Building abilities are amplified with expansion, meaning larger populations have more effective building powers.
Commercial expectations for Anno 1503 were high, as its predecessor, Anno 1602, was the German market's all-time best-selling video game by 2002. Retailers pre-purchased 450,000 units of the game ahead of its launch,[3] and it became a hit that "dominated" the charts in German-speaking countries during its first months of release, according to 4players.[4] It debuted at #1 on GfK's weekly computer game sales charts for the German market,[5] following the title's release on October 25.[1] Anno 1503 proceeded to claim first place on German firm Media Control's chart for the month as a whole,[6] after reaching domestic sales of 115,000 units during its first three days.[7][1] Tim Pototzki of GamesMarkt wrote that the game's early performance "astonished" Germany.[7] The Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) soon awarded the game "Gold" status, indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.[8] Anno 1503 finished its first seven days with a total of 160,000 sales in the German market,[9] and went on to hold the #1 position on GfK's charts in its second and third weeks.[10][11]
Now should I get 1503? It's 15 years old but from screenshots it seems it's a level of dated I can accept. Does it play well? Is it like 1701, like a less evolved version of later games, or is it enjoyable on its own?
Global domination. Now there's something to aim for. Total and utter global domination. Swirls around the mouth nicely, doesn't it? Imagine the power, and feel your ego stir. You are a world leader, and nothing can stand in your way! A crazy dream? Maybe, but it fuels the strategy market.
Yeah, yeah, powermongerdom is the classic gaming nerd cliché, and the hardcore RTS player has long been considered a bearded loner, hunched at his PC, shaping the destiny of his little sprite legions. But they're a loyal group, armchair strategists, and it's this market of die-hard study-dwellers that EA is targeting with its recent bid for global domination of global domination. Between C&C, SimCity and Anno 1503: The New World, they're making quite an effort.
What's that last one you say? Well you'd be forgiven for not knowing, as the previous game in the series, Anno 1602, made little impact here in Blighty. It was nonetheless the biggest-selling PC game in Germany (so some of you will be familiar with it), and made enough of an impact for EA to pick up distribution and add it to its roster. So how does it measure up? Is it worthy of standing high with those other two behemoths of the strategy world? And what is this strange growth on Eurogamer's chin?
The scene is set during the opening credits as a young boy listens to an old seadog's tale of adventure on the high seas - the hardships, the excitement, and the opportunities. But be warned: any spirit of discovery will be quashed should you boldly decide to skip the tutorials on offer. We cannot stress enough how much you need them. It's a tough and dangerous world out there, and you won't get far unprepared. Thankfully, the tutorials are friendly and accessible, teaching you the basics of town planning, trading and combat. Structured as they are in a logical, step-by-step approach, you leave them with a good understanding of the game mechanics and should be prepared for the challenge ahead. But don't expect to be instantly proficient, as this is a difficult game that benefits from a measured approach.
Properly educated you'll be ready for one of the three game types on offer. The campaign game is structured around a story, and you will be set targets to reach or tasks to perform, the achievement of which will unlock the next chapter in the story and set new goals. The temptation for many will be to rush straight into this. We've gotten used to endless narratives in our games and feel comfortable with the structure that they offer. But, make no mistake, this is really hard going, a certain skill level and experience is assumed, and unless you are already proficient within the Anno world it will be a frustrating experience. So save it for later, look on it as a treat to be enjoyed once you have become skilled in the game styles employed here.
The best place to start is the continuous game - the familiar, open-ended strategy game that tradition demands. There is no ultimate goal as such, you just keep on going as long as you want, the challenge being to expand your empire and build up your cities until you fill the map. There are plenty of levels to choose from to match your experience and the type of game you want. You can choose to operate in a peaceful world filled with fertile lands or choose a harsher existence with aggressive inhabitants.
What makes this the best place to start is the excellent auto-help feature, which is missing from the campaign game. As you play, alerts will highlight your mistakes and give tips on making progress. We found that this was essential to learning how to make our way in the Anno world, and it gave the game such a high level of accessibility that despite its eventual toughness, we'd have no qualms about recommending it to strategy debutants. There is also an indexed help section that covers every element of the game in fantastic detail, though we wouldn't recommend you try to get by just by reading this, as it is encyclopedic in size. Reading through this lot would test the patience of the most Zen-like gamer. So stick with auto-help as your initial guide then use the indexed section as a memory jogger or reference manual.
Graphically, Anno 1503 may not employ the latest in 3D bump-mapping delights, but it is nevertheless very pleasing to behold. The landscapes are well detailed and the buildings impressive. In fact you, like us, will be impressed at the care and attention that has gone into the look and the feel of the game. The islands that fill the world have distinctive terrains from desert through to ice regions, with the appropriate fauna and flora - nothing less than you'd expect from Sunflowers Interactive, mind. There are various tribes of inhabitants also appropriate to their location and the impression is that of a fully functioning ecosystem.
Once again the attention to detail is evident; this is no tacked on feature. There are 14 types of military unit from pike men to archers and cannon crew, fighting styles can be adjusted from passive to aggressive depending on the situation, and combat itself has a simple paper, scissors, stone basis where a swordsman beats an archer close up, and cavalry will beat swordsmen. This works really well, and when you are in the midst of battle it will feel a long way from simple.
Defending your own city also becomes important; walls and cannon emplacements can be built to achieve this. The sight of a large army on the offensive is always impressive and this area of the game is similarly well implemented. One niggle on the control front is that the viewpoint is isometric, but the selecting box you can draw around troops isn't. This can cause some problems selecting groups of soldiers in the heat of battle, but is only really a minor irritation.
So, rather like Norwich City's woeful performances of late, it's very much a game of two halves, but unlike the Canaries, they're halves that work so well together. Fusing the city-building dynamic of SimCity with the real time warfare of C&C may sound ambitious, but that's exactly what Anno 1503 attempts, and to a large part achieves.
The easiest way to escape the archipelago is to blast your way out by attacking the rock wall itself. There are three locations where the rock wall dividing the archipelago from the outer islands can be destroyed, allowing the free passage of ships between islands. Develop ship cannons, and arm at least one ship. Select the ship, and move the cursor over the rock wall until the attack option appears. The three weak spots are between islands (shown on the map above):
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