One of the most pivotal decisions I made as a gamer happened in a Software Etc. in 1996. Back then, I was armed with $60 and had visions of a new video game, but I was unsure of what to buy. The clerk gave me two recommendations: “Wave Race 64” and “Sid Meier’s Civilization II.”

I wavered between the two. I trusted Nintendo titles for quality, but personal watercraft wasn’t appealing. Meanwhile, the clerk sang the praises of “Civ II” on PC, saying it’s one of the greatest games ever made. I took his advice and that was my first taste of strategy games, a genre with a challenging amount of depth but one that’s also rewarding and addictive.

I spent hundreds of hours on “Civilization” and its sequels, but I haven’t played many others in the genre beyond Amplitude Studios’ works, such as “Humankind” and Big Huge Games’ “Rise of Nations.” When I had a chance to preview Ubisoft’s “Anno 117: Pax Romana,” I didn’t know what to expect aside from it would be a historical strategy game, but with a more focused era. I was expecting something “Civ”-ish, but I was wrong.

CITY BUILDING WITH CIV ELEMENTS
“Anno 117” is different from anything I’ve played before. The upcoming PC game puts players in the role of a new Roman governor during a relatively peaceful 200-year span. Players start out with a single settlement, but they’ll have to expand and build a network of eternal cities. They’ll start in the Latium with a Mediterranean climate and ruins from the past. Further in the game, the governor’s domain expands to Albion, a different environment with harsh cliffs, misty marshland and a new culture.

The biggest difference between “Anno 117” and “Civ” is that the former is more focused on city building in a real-time environment. Players set up a Villa and from there they have to establish a colony by first establishing wood cutters and a saw mill. From there, they’ll have to craft roads, build neighborhoods, establish businesses and grow a population that will support more promising technologies.

It’s a lot to juggle in real-time, and genre newcomers will be overwhelmed with the concepts. Just like “Civ,” players have to manage citizens, keep them fed by establishing farms growing wheat and oats and building kitchens to cook the ingredients. As they build more infrastructure, they have to keep an eye out on how much gold they’re spending and build more advanced facilities such as markets and taverns to bolster those coffers.
Players will need a wide array of workers to be successful in “Anno 117: Pax Romana.” (Ubisoft) 
HOW TO TECH UP
What’s notable in “Anno 117” is that the tech tree is tied to the type of citizens players have. They begin with residents called Liberti, but when players upgrade the neighborhood, they gain access to Pleibians that give the governor access to more advanced facilities such as a Place of Worship and Schools.

Having a temple opens up religion, and by choosing a Roman god, they gain access to stat buffs that can improve other aspects of society. They’ll make farms more efficient or improve a city’s military prowess. Meanwhile, schools speed up research of different technologies that can boost the city’s efficiency. “Civ” fans can see how these different aspects of society are interconnected. Smart players will come up with a strategy to maximize their plan for success.

If they want to conquer the map, they can start building barracks, armories and recruitment areas to amass an army to take over rival realms. If they want to gain the best technology quickly, they can build schools all over the place and speed up the rate of learning.

Players will have to expand to other islands in “Anno 117: Pax Romana.” (Ubisoft) 
KNOWING WHERE AND HOW TO BUILD
Being a novice, I had a hard time grasping the interconnectedness of several buildings. Nothing happens instantaneously. Players have to account for travel time as carts move across the map to deliver materials and goods needed for different products. “Anno 117” may have some “Civ” concepts, but it weaves it into the city-building adeptly.

Players have to take into account how places such as Smelters impact the environment around it. The site is required for several advanced buildings, but it also makes the health worse for surrounding residents. That means it’s imperative to build it away from the city center. If they can’t do that, they can build a clinic to help keep people healthy amid its pollution. Those clinics, fire departments and police agnecies are needed to keep each city from falling into ruin.

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Being unaware about the different systems work, I always felt behind compared to rival cities. I always felt like a Protoss probe in “Star Craft” that needed to constantly construct more pylons. I always needed to build more houses and then upgrade them, but I couldn’t always do that when the materials weren’t available and the residents were unhappy. Amid discontent, homes can’t be upgraded.

I also gained a Specialist, but again, I had to expand my Villa to house Julius Lupus, but to do that, I would need prestige, which was gained by adding ornaments throughout the city. Again, it’s one of those elements that players have to learn about the hard way.

I eventually got the hang of it, and like all good strategy games, time flew by as I explored the map and established another colony the island while developing trade with neighbors. “Anno 117” is going to be the type of game like “Civ” that hooks players so tightly into its world that a planned two-hour gaming session can end with the sunrise at 6 in the morning.

The one element the “Anno 117” demo build didn’t have was combat or the molding of the provinces. Players can choose to embrace Celtic culture or Romanize the area. This part of the game focused on city-building and exploration. I met other rival colonies, but I couldn’t send out an army to take them down. I was content to build several ships and I used that to scout the world and establish a trade routes.

I’ll have to wait to see what the later parts of “Anno 117” will be like when the city-building strategy game comes out in the winter of 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.