Anno 117 Pax Romana Preview: A Beautiful Simulation of a Prosperous Time

Over three decades, the Anno series has plunged gamers into deep real-time strategy experiences set within some of the most massive empires that humans have ever built. From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution, Anno tasks players with balancing ravenous economic growth with conflicts of ideological revolution -- and coming out the other side with a strong, unified state. The next game in the series, Anno 117: Pax Romana, has the earliest historical setting for the Anno series to date, and it's an incredibly ambitious shift (nearly as much as the brief stint in futuristic settings with Anno 2070 and Anno 2205). As the dates suggest, Anno 117 takes place during a time of immense economic and cultural prosperity in antiquity -- and I got an early peek at how that looks during a three-hour hands-on virtual preview session moderated by an Ubisoft employee. While Anno 117: Pax Romana is a game where you'll still be focusing on your economy and fostering positive relations first an ... Read full article.