Although these last years the sim-build genre was almost completely forgotten due to a lack of titles which would warrant the attention of fans and press alike, 2006 proved to be a fabulous year for the fans of the genre. CivCity: Rome, Glory of the Roman Empire and Caesar IV proved first and foremost that this type of games has finally completed its transition to full 3D graphics. Secondly, regarding gameplay, they showed that there’s still room for substantial improvements or original ideas, even though, on the other hand, they were simplified in some ways, in an attempt to lure new players to the genre. Anno 1701 is a part of this trend as well, not being quite as shiny as its predecessors but it can be easily catalogued as the best sim-build game of the year.

Like Anno 1602 and 1503, Anno 1701 manages to impress the player right off the bat with its wealth of details and color variety, all assembled this time in a complete 3D graphics. Regardless of the zoom level, Anno 1701 is a joy to watch, from the parallax mapping effects for the clouds, which create depth, all the way through to the detailed way in which the islands are depicted, whether it’s the vegetation, wildlife or buildings. A closer inspection of the islands on a medium sized map will reveal a significant variety of wildlife (bears, dears, tigers, zebras, elephants, gorillas) accompanied by vegetation which rarely gives the feeling that it’s artificially placed. Even more impressive is the building variety, with some notable differences even between those from the same category, especially on the maximum zoom level. Moreover, the buildings can be rotated when placed, so a city with thousands of citizens will hardly have any identical areas.