1701 AD

The Basics:
Platform: PC
Developer: Related Designs
Price: $49.99
ESRB rating: E10

Summary: Build a colony through trade and war. Tweens.

Note: Parents should know that the production of alcohol and tobacco products is one small part of the overall economic strategy of this game. Also, although not a focus of the game, the player can use ground and navel forces to dominate opponents by force. Positively, the game encourages cooperation and diplomacy through trade and economic agreements with other players. The game also warns players and advises them to take a break if they have been playing for more than two hours.

Families who play this game may want to talk about the interesting fact that 1701 AD is a European-designed and developed game. Do you think this affects the game design at all? Have you noticed the influences of other cultures/countries in any of your other favorite games? Do you think you can learn anything about other countries by playing games?
 
Further Breakdown:

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Best for ages: 10+
Playability: Medium. One hour learning curve.
Graphics: Excellent. Beautifully rendered water, lush islands and diverse cities.
Reading Level: Medium. Some reading required to play well.

Ages 3-7: Yellow
Ages 8-12: Green
Ages 13-17: Green
Violence Amount: Yellow
Fear: Green
Illegal/harmful: Yellow
Language: Green
Nudity: Green
Sex: Green

Review:
It's back to the ships and the starting of a new colony with Sunflowers/Related Designs latest city-builder/simulation 1701 AD. Fans of the first two games in the series, 1602 AD and 1503 A.D.: The New World, will catch on quickly. The overall concept remains the same: colonize a new island and get it to grow and prosper through shrewd trade and the occasional use of military might.

The queen herself funds the initial voyage, and provides just enough to start nice little fishing village. Initially, the player's pioneers want just the basics-some food, clothing etc, but they don't pay much in taxes either. To grow the tax base it's in the player's best interest to advance their villages populace all the way into the aristocracy.

To be an aristocrat requires the trappings appropriate to the class, and soon players will find themselves scrambling to find a whole host of delicacies to keep the population happy and thereby paying their taxes.

That's when the challenges start. Since the player's island doesn't have all of the natural resources needed to keep the populace happy, new islands have to be settled, and trade partnerships started to keep the goods, like chocolates, jewelry, and even beer coming in.

As time goes by, the going gets rougher. Soon the queen demands a tidy return on her initial investment. Plagues, volcanoes and a whole host of other calamities can knock a player's colony back to the dark ages. And, military action becomes a distinct possibility as trade partners (or the players themselves) decide that the best way to a secure future is by force.

Player's will find much to like in this game. The menus and controls remain elegantly designed; allowing players to micro-manage without seeming, well, like micro-management. Updated graphics sparkle and are full of fun little details. The challenge is appropriate, and players will quickly find themselves being warned by the game that they have been playing for a couple hours and might want to take a break.

The grievances are few and small. Although the game has multiplayer, at least over the Internet it isn't a great option. It simply takes too long to get to the point where the level of interaction with other players would get interesting. Also, although battle sequences are stronger than in the previous renditions, they are not going to get many military strategists excited. Only a few troop types exist and winning a battle usually depends solely on who has the biggest army.

All in all, 1701 AD is one of better games of this type out there. Player's won't be disappointed.