As a city-builder, Anno 2070 is as hardcore a strategy game as you could want. But it’s also got something I haven’t seen in a strategy games since RollerCoaster Tycoon: an almost childlike sense of charm and wonder.
This is what kids see in their heads when they play with blocks. This is what you saw years ago when you stood a block on end and imagined it was a skyscraper…
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All this could be mine. Will be mine. I’ve been busy doing other things, so I haven’t gotten around to actually taking over Steelport just yet.
Unlike the previous games, Saints Row 3 decouples the story from the city conquest. You can approach both at your leisure. And given how good the storyline is, don’t be surprised if you “beat” the game and still have a lot left to do. You can save Steelport without turning it purple.
The basic stats on your profile divide completion into four sections: storyline, collectibles, activities, and neighborhoods controlled. My own completion is at 96% of the storyline (you can replay the final mission to see the game’s other ending, which I kind of don’t want to do for reasons you’ll understand when you get there), 44% of the collectibles, 41% of the activities, and 6% of the neighborhoods. I’ve got my work cut out for me. Yet here I am hanging out in my crib, trying on different outfits, and customizing the color of the anime kitty backback to match my real-life cat. I would make a terrible gang leader.
Anno 2070 lets you know when something goes wrong by posting a message in the alert queue and sticking a floating icon over the troubled area. For instance, when citizens get sick, a red cross hovers over the afflicted building. If a hospital is in range, it will dispatch an ambulance hovercar thingie and all will be well soon enough. If a hospital isn’t in range, well, you should probably build one or suffer the population reduction.
Furthermore, Anno 2070 will almost always reward you for taking a closer look. The above screenshot is what you’ll see if you zoom in and look at a building under one of those hovering red crosses. You can see officials in hazmat suits have posted barricades around the afflicted buildings while they wait on an ambulance hovercar. Good work, guys. So why has the sickness spread to three buildings? Let’s get there sooner next time, okay?
I am dismayed by the lack of hair style options. If The Sims could offer zulu knots, why can’t these people? Eh, a ponytail is functional enough. I have fixed my face, my hair, my chin, and the millions of other weird options and now..
After the jump, on to Skyrim! Continue reading →
