Ubisoft Announces "Free-To-Play" Anno Build An Empire

[Thagarr]

Ubisoft has just announced a new version of it's classic Anno city building game, this time for Apple's iPhone. It's called Anno Build An Empire, and according to the announcement on their blog, it plays pretty much like you would expect if you have played the Anno series before. You start on an island with and build a settlement and add buildings and farms to help supply your citizens with what they need. I have always been a big fan of the Anno series of games, and I was excited when I first saw the announcement of a new Anno game, then I read more...

According to the screen shots the game looks pretty good, which is pretty typical for the Anno series. I am disappointed that they chose the Free-To-Play model though. That usually means that to really enjoy playing the game they require you to purchase upgrades and other game related content to get the full game experience. This seems to be a big trend over the past few years and it is really quite disappointing to see this from Ubisoft. On top of that, they also require you to have an internet connection, yet another mistake in my opinion.

They had a chance to to fill a gaping void in the mobile gaming market with a solid city builder, as there really are very few titles that even attempt it. There is no announced release date yet but they say it will be available on Apple's AppStore soon. You’ll need an iPad 2 or higher, and at least iOS6, plus an internet connection.

 

[pingu]

Oh my god!! That is going to be a great fail!
Ubisoft should let Anno as is... Look at the older parts of this series: Anno 1503 and Anno 1404 are the best ever. Ubi can't make a good new Anno I fear.

 

[Thagarr]

1503 was pretty good, although it did lack some of the gameplay elements of 1602, the graphics were a big improvement. The last one, Dawn of Discovery was ok, but you never really got the sense of freedom you had in 1503. I fear these types of classic city builders are a thing of the past.

 

[pingu]

You're right. It's sad.
Besides PotC and Widelands, 1503 is my favorite game...

 

[Luke McReady]

I entered this series late honestly (1701) and I spent countless hours there... but the last one: Anno 2070 made me wish steam hand a refund option.

 

[Thagarr]

Yeah, 1701 was a major disappointment, they concentrated way to much on graphics and forgot about gameplay. I never did play 2070, it just didn't appeal to me at all. They need to go back to their roots and stay in the past, I think the game mechanics fit much better there. Btw, GamersGate has 1503 Gold for $6.99, if your looking for a good city building/strategy game Luke, I highly recommend it!

I would have liked to see them try something set even farther back then the middle ages, but there is always 0 A.D. for that time frame now.

 

[Luke McReady]

0 AD Hmm? sounds interesting

 

[Thagarr]

0 A.D. is the game that helped inspire us to think that creating our own game just might be possible. That community has done some really great things, and the game looks and plays absolutely great! The best part is it is multi-platform, I am hoping it will help turn Linux into the gaming platform it should be!!

 

[Luke McReady]

Indeed, Linux is superior and its abilities are so crushed by its difficult use and limited support by so many software developers. But Linux is definently gaining support among the gaming community. The Steamboxes are great examples of this.