Anno 1800 lets you ‘choose your own adventure’ as you plunder the world

Anno 1800 takes Ubisoft’s long-running city building simulation to the Industrial Revolution, but while you’ll have to watch how things are going at home, a big part of the game will be based on exploring the world and finding valuable things to steal from far-off lands you visit. In other words, it’s a fairly accurate rendition of Europe in the 19th Century. At Gamescom last week, Ubisoft shared some additional details about the upcoming Anno entry. You’ll need to amuse your Victorian population, and one way you’ll do this is by setting sail and finding historical artefacts and exotic animals on other islands. You’ll send out expeditions to other islands, and based on the people you’ve included and supplies you’ve brought along, you’ll end up playing through little text-based adventures that will determine the outcome of your contact with the new population. In the Gamescom demo we saw, our presenter readied an expedition with some diplomatic skills (supplied by a comedian character), some valuables to trade (sausages, because Germany), and a backup plan in case of any “misunderstandings” with the local population (cannons).