I own both the PC version of Dawn of Discovery (also called "Anno 1404") and the Wii version now. There are distinct differences between the two, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses that are completely unique.
In this game, there are two options for play. In one, free play, you can build however you wish and everything's open to you. In the other, you go through a questline that gives you various missions to complete as you play a young, handsome prince developing islands for his father and facing antagonism from his older, more cynical, possibly treacherous brother.
The dynamics of raising population and meeting the population's needs is pretty similar to the PC version, though simplified, as one might expect. You lay down houses and get resources to your citizens; they in turn advance their huts to bigger and grander houses and want different and more complex resources and resource buildings. The more citizens you have, the more money in taxes you get, but the more difficult it can be to meet their various demands. You explore the world in your little ships and find islands that can provide resources and room for more citizens. One major strength the Wii version has over the PC version is that resources are pooled between all your islands, so most of the hassle of making resource-chains and supply-routes is eliminated entirely. If you make spices in one island, ALL your islands get access to it. It's terribly convenient and a welcome change. You also can buy "treasure maps" to explore the seas and find buried treasure, which tends to be resource-based, like "10 tons of tunics" and the like. Specialist NPCs roam the seas as well, and by completing their mini-quests, they can be persuaded to come settle your islands to provide further benefits (my favorite is the NPC that extends rat-catching services to your islanders). Oh, and pirates also lurk the seas and will be happy to divest you of the treasure you just found.
The quests are generally easy to understand and complete. After you finish a mission in the quest, you get a scorecard and then you can start the next. The game doesn't tell you what the purpose of the report card might be, nor how to accomplish each mission with a A+ report card, and I didn't notice a way to go back and replay a mission. In the same way that you generate "honor" in the PC version of the game, you generate honor points here that you may use to buy advancements and benefits for your game, such as the ability to build noria, or irrigation systems, or a way to make your houses advance faster. I found the quest cute but ultimately not too interesting and made my way to the free play part of the game, which I found to be a lot more stimulating. After setting up how you want the free play game to work, how big you want the islands to be, etc., you can start anywhere you wish and have fun.
If anything, my main criticism of the game is that it does seem a bit repetitive; once you figure out the supply/demand dynamics, it's not as challenging. I also really wish the islands were bigger. Whatever happened to continents?
The game has absolutely lovely graphics, non-irritating music, and a great level of detail. The gameplay itself is smooth and easy to learn, gracefully translating what could be really complicated concepts into a solid experience. Obviously there's nothing in the game that should offend parents or children, and the game seems like one that even elementary-aged kids could learn and enjoy. It's not that hard to get up to speed on it, and once you get the hang of it, it's not that hard to get decent at, but it takes time to get the hang of it and get really good at maxing out citizens and keeping them happy. Plus, it sounds like the same voice actors from the PC game returned for the Wii game, and it was cool to hear them again--like hearing the voices of old friends.
I'm not sure that die-hard fans of the PC game would be totally into this, as it's so simplified, but it's a neat change of pace and probably a lot better for kids as it's, well, simplified so much. I got it because my husband doesn't let me play on his PC as much as I'd like and sometimes a girl just wants her Anno fix, and this nicely satisfies that itch.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2013
Platform For Display: Nintendo WiiEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
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Platform For Display: Nintendo WiiEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
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Platform For Display: Nintendo WiiEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
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Platform For Display: Nintendo WiiEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Genevieve Bourassa
Bon vendeur
Reviewed in Canada on February 17, 2020Platform For Display: Nintendo WiiEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Linda Kelly
Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on December 17, 2016Platform For Display: Nintendo WiiEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
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Reviewed in Canada on December 3, 2016Platform For Display: Nintendo WiiEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
