WORDS BY CHRIS STEAD
GAMESTAHEAT GAMESTAVERDICT:BUILDA WORLD
DIDYOUKNOW?
ThefirstAnnogame
cameoutwaybackin
1998,whilethelast
gamecameoutin2015.PC,
XBO,
PS4,
SWITCH
PC
DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Therearen’ttoo
many real-time
strategy games
coming out nowadays,
but one series that has
been continuing to deliver
great gameplay is Anno.
The latest game is set
during the 1800s, during
the age of industrialisation
in the Western world. The
story involves your evil
Uncle imprisoning your
father and exiling you from
the known world. You make
your way to an island and
decide to create your own
empire that is even bigger.
You start small, creating a
population of workers, and
then placing the buildings
and farms they need to
work, slowly growing both.
This requires constantmanagement of resources
and people, but thinking up
how you’re going to make
it all works is addictive
fun. Especially given the
realistic visuals do a great
job of making the world
feel like it is evolving, and
also because the people
walking around the world
react believably to the
way they are feeling. Add
in extra layers of political
intrigue and combat, and
you have a very deep
game.We’re always
on the hunt for
a great new co-op
game, especially when
they looks as beautiful
as this indie platformer.
The two heroes are Rime
and Ember, who love each
other, but can’t be next to
each other because of an
invisible barrier between
them. You can see it
in these screenshots.However, they each have
some pretty cool powers:
Rime can freeze the world,
where Ember can heat it.
The platforming revolves
around using these two
powers to change the
environment so you can
solve various puzzles and
progress. There’s plenty
of fun to be had working
these puzzles out with
a friend, as you have totalk to each other, which
means laughing a. The
level design and challenge
is just about perfect, too.
And while the characters
don’t really move all
that great, this is more
a game about thinking
than action. It’s also worth
noting you can play the
game solo, switching
between characters as
required.ANNO 1800
It’s timetoraceintoa monthofgreatgames, omechallenging
platformers, crashtacular driving and some crafting.