Every few years, the Anno series decides to take us somewhere new. We have built Renaissance trading hubs, industrial powerhouses, futuristic colonies in space, and deep-sea utopias. Anno 117: Pax Romana marks the first time the franchise marches back into ancient history and plants its eagle standard firmly in the Roman Empire. It is a bold move. Ancient Rome is one of the most overused settings in gaming, yet somehow rarely done justice on a strategic, city-building scale. Frontier provinces, political intrigue, marble megastructures, legions marching across dusty plains, it is all ripe for the taking. The question is whether Pax Romana manages to feel like a true Anno game while embracing the grandeur and brutality of the Empire it portrays.
A Grand Strategy Worthy of an Emperor
Th...