A Lunar spectacle!

Gamers will find Ubisoft’s city-building strategy, Anno 2205, a refreshing change

Ubisoft’s latest game, Anno 2205 sees the popular franchise return giving players a chance to go to the Moon in an attempt to help solve future Earth’s impending energy crisis.

The visually-stunning game puts players in charge of an up and coming corporation that must grow as it seeks permission to setup shop on Earth’s only natural satellite. You start off in a temperate region with basic resources and requirements, much like any other Anno game. However, as your population grows, so do their needs and ability to harvest newer resources. The new addition this time is the introduction of different regions that must operate in synergy for you to succeed. Once your temperate region is advanced enough you unlock the Arctic region where you produce a different set of resources and must establish trade routes so that your bustling cities can meet their requirements for exotic goods. An important change in Anno 2205 is the fact that they have kept combat separate from the core gameplay of city and resource management.

It takes place only in specific crisis sectors and rewards you with special resources, required for building upgrades. So, while combat is completely optional, it’s quite rewarding if you put time into it.The final destination of course, is the Lunar region where gameplay is governed by a completely different set of rules. Players are restricted by shield generators that are costly to place and maintain due to the exposure to meteorites and radiation in Space.

Since playing in Space is also costlier and more complex, it is important to have profitable and sustainable ground operations before expansion otherwise, you will be travelling back and forth between regions quite a bit. The online component of the game is quite limited at launch with only a world council and online market available.

Players can vote for one of five NPC’s on the world council to receive various boosts and benefits, while the world market is a place to sell surplus goods, prices for which are determined by supply and demand based on the actions of the online community.

While the lack of a traditional coop or multiplayer is a big loss for the game; great visuals and strong gameplay help salvage Anno 2205 making it quite enjoyable in the end. While Anno 2205 is very enjoyable for fans of the franchise and newcomers will find it welcoming, replay value may be quite limited due to no multiplayer at the moment.