Sometimes it seems like everything is fine and then suddenly my people are starving. It would also be nice to have a clearer view of how my stocks are doing. I've probably destroyed and rebuilt a dozen buildings over the campaign because of it. I like to build up my cities from a pretty zoomed out view, and it's easy to miss by a single grid when placing a building. The lack of an undo option is a killer though. Strategy/city-building veterans will probably get bored pretty quick, but it's perfect for novices like me. Hopefully the $30 price tag will spur at least some sales. I agree that the Story mode is basically the longest tutorial ever, but I think it works well for the general Wii audience, who, of course, have never heard of this game. Controls are great, it's polished and well-presented, and the learning curve is as gentle as could be, although this chapter is the first time I haven't breezed through pretty easily. Just started Chapter 6 of the Wii game, definitely enjoying it so far. I definitely feel like I got my $30 worth and it's a fun 'Anno Lite' to kick back and enjoy once in a while, much like Civ Rev. I'll certainly dig into the continuous mode next, as I didn't even complete the tech tree once during the story mode.

I was quickly bored with treasure hunting, but besides that, the game works very well and I've still got an itch to go play some more. If you're wondering, the graphics are actually pretty easy on the eyes, with bright colors and easily identified buildings (besides the rat catcher/hospital/firehouse which could use more differentiation), without being too kiddy or out of place. It's quite relaxing building little empires and ensuring that your people are fed, happy and safe. By far the best experience is, as can be expected, building up your various islands. The combat is a bit clunky, but it's workable. The 'Central Store' makes resource management much easier and is a welcome addition on the console, but I doubt I'd be quite as charitable if it creeped into the PC version.

The story mode is best described as an extremely long tutorial, I always felt like someone was nagging me to stop messing around with building placement and go do something already. I spent an enjoyable 15 hours or so playing the story mode, but this was certainly lengthened by my OCD kicking in when improving my islands. There isn't a whole lot of depth, but it's still a fun time waster if you like these kinds of games. The Wii version is certainly a streamlined version of Anno, much in the way that Civilization Revolution is a streamlined version of Civ. Just finished the story mode on 'Normal' difficulty on the Wii version and I thought I might post some quick thoughts.

Anno 1404 sell ship