Software:Anno 2070

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Short description: 2011 video game
Anno 2070
Developer(s)Related Designs
Blue Byte
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Composer(s)Tilman Sillescu
Alexander Roeder
Markus Schmidt
SeriesAnno
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s)City-building
Real-time Strategy
Mode(s)Single-player
Multiplayer

Anno 2070 is a city-building and economic simulation game, with real-time strategy elements. It is the 5th game of the Anno series. It was released on 17 November 2011, and was co-developed by the German studios Related Designs and Blue Byte, and published by Ubisoft. Anno 2070 required Uplay to operate as an always online DRM System, later removed for receiving severe criticism from players.

Plot

The scenario is set in the year 2070. Global warming has melted the Arctic ice cap, which has raised the global sea level so that the coasts were flooded.[4] As a result, many old cities have vanished under the ocean, and much of what was once highland has been turned into chains of new islands. Responsibility for settling and exploiting these new frontiers is given to a select group of people, who captain mobile ocean-going bases known as Arks.

The game has three factions: The Eden Initiative (referred to as the "Ecos"), Global Trust (referred to as the "Tycoons"), and the S.A.A.T. (referred to as the "Techs"). Ecos are environmental and build sustainable cities, but are inefficient and slow to expand. Tycoons are industrious and expand quickly, but have problems with pollution and dwindling resources. The Tech is a support faction available to the other two, and they are useful in researching the latest and most powerful technologies. The Techs are only available later in the game when 10,000 credits are donated to their cause.

Gameplay

In Anno 2070, politics are no longer defined by countries, boundaries, religions, races, etc., but how humans choose to produce energy. All humankind rally under one global government where the three main factions of the game control the world's decisions. Players can also vote for a World President and vote in Senate Council. Participation will give different effects to all players, depending on who is president or what bill was passed, until the next cycle of voting begins. For example, voting for the Tycoons' CEO Skylar Banes will increase productivity of manufacturing buildings.

Players can also gain achievement and rewards from just playing the game. Players can customize their Ark to fit personal preference, which is only for aesthetics, as well as gaining special rewards that affect gameplay.

Resources and technology upgrades can be carried on Arks, and be used in another game in "Continuous Mode".

Events

The gameplay includes "World Events"; special missions offered only for a limited time, allowing all players to band together and complete the missions. Completing missions will reward players depending on how many people participate.

  • First event: Neo Skullz Pirates - players answer the World Council's call to war against pirates who threaten humanity with nuclear missiles.
  • Second event: Project Eden - players help the Eden Initiative activate "Former" technologies, which are high-performance air and water filtration systems, to fight pollution on islands.
  • Third event: Global Distrust - players help the Global Trust to prevent a global recession by expanding trade and decrease taxes to attract more inhabitants.
  • Fourth event: The Nordamark Conflict - players need to mediate a confrontation between Global Trust and Eden Initiative in a region called Nordamark with diplomats and a nuclear submarine, Orca.
  • Fifth event: The Secret of the Ebashi Trench - players help the Tech faction to develop a geothermal power plant. This event is the prelude of the Deep Ocean expansion.

There are also "Current Events", where a player can complete a particular quest for one of the three factions to gain rewards. Current Events change daily, unlike World Events, which can be around for several months.

Factions

  • Tycoon - Leader: Skylar Banes, CEO. This faction is representative of the Global Trust, Earth's number one leading energy supplier in 2070. Tycoons like to exploit resources quickly for immediate use, which leads to workers that are richer and can pay more taxes. The economy of a Tycoon player accelerates early in the game and declines gradually near the end, as their non-renewable resources run out (Tech's technologies can mitigate this setback however). In turn, Tycoons decrease the eco balance and affect the environment negatively. Tycoons rely on coal and nuclear plants for power, and their citizens enjoy hamburgers, wine and spending time at the Casino. Tycoon citizens do not worry about negative eco balance as much as their Eco counterparts, but they can gain benefits from positive eco balance. To increase eco balance, Tycoons can build, for example, CO2 reservoirs and waste compactors, but their techonogies are only capable of annulling the negative impact on environment, and cannot create positive ecobalance.
  • Eco - Leader: Seamus Green, founder and spiritual leader. This faction is representative of the Eden Initiative, Earth's most influential environmental organization. Ecos rely on green technology to create their cities, which preserve nature and help the eco balance. Their cities are inefficient and slow to prosper, but Ecos' economy will be steady and reliable until the game's end. Ecos rely on wind and solar power, and their citizens enjoy drinking tea, eating health food and listening to orchestral music. Ecos are affected by negative eco balance more than Tycoons, but they can also benefit from a positive eco balance. To increase the eco balance, Ecos use ozone generators and weather changing stations, etc.
  • Tech - Leader: F.A.T.H.E.R., super-intelligent AI. This faction is representative of the S.A.A.T. (Scientific Academy for Advanced Technologies), and are the supreme inventors of technology and masters of the underwater world. They designed the Ark and E.V.E. (the player's in-game advisor), as well as building plans for aircraft, submarines, and missiles. Tech is the only faction that can live and work underwater on submerged plateaus. Farming algae and mining diamonds are a few things they can do underwater. Tech can research hydroelectric dams for energy and utilize marine current power plants underwater. Their people are scientists and like to study in research buildings. To advance to a higher level, their citizens need algae processed food from underwater cities, and they like to drink energy drinks (made from coffee and sugar).

Development

Digital rights management

The game was protected by Tagès SolidShield with a 3 machine activation limit and always needed to be connected to the Internet while playing the game. Changing hardware could use up one activation. After the last activation was used, 1 was regained every 30 days.[5]

This generated wide criticism as legitimate players faced different problems with such online only systems.[6] In 2012, Ubisoft decided to release a universal patch removing the online only DRM from several games including Anno 2070.[7] The SolidShield DRM with its activation limit was entirely removed on July 8, 2020.[8]

Downloadable content

The first DLC packs were released on 13 February 2012:

  • The Keeper Package - S.A.A.T. version of Former technology tool with unique skin as well as access to high-end upgrades.
  • The Development Package - Two exclusive bonus missions on the history of Former technology and a new portrait of the inventor Josh "the Ghost" Steen.
  • The Eden Series Package - Elaborate decorations for the Eco faction, like new Park Systems layouts, Flower Beds, Fountain, etc.

Three DLC packs were added on 26 March, these with a Tycoon theme in contrast to the previous Eco-themed DLCs:

  • The Central Statistical Package - Global Trust skinned version of the Statistics Center building and all its upgrades.
  • The Crisis Response Package - Two exclusive missions focused on restoring the Tycoon's former economic glory after a stock market crash.
  • The Distrust Series Package - Ornamental, decorative buildings for the Tycoon faction, including underground Shopping Malls, Searchlights, Security Fences, etc.

Three DLC packs were added with the new World Event The Nordamark Conflict:

  • The E.V.E. Package - Give a new portrait of EVE in red theme.
  • The Silent Running Package - Give players access to a nuclear submarine Erebos, and its various upgrades.
  • The Nordamark Line Package - Various harbor ornamental buildings are added, including a lighthouse which can change the time of day to dawn, noon, dusk, and night.

Expansion

In October 2012, Ubisoft published an expansion to the game called Deep Ocean, which adds a new civilization level for the tech faction and new resources and products to satisfy that faction's new needs. It also offers a new energy source, the geothermal power plant, which may cause a new natural disaster: a tsunami. Five new campaign missions introduce these new features. It also adds many new factors to the game, which completely changes the way the game is played, most notably when playing with the Tech Faction.

Players who don't have the Deep Ocean expansion cannot play a multiplayer game with other players who do have the expansion unless the expansion is deactivated.

Reception

Anno 2070
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings84.77%[9]
Metacritic83/100[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid9.0/10[11]
GameSpot8.5/10[12]
IGN8.5/10[13]
Canard PC
Eurogamer Italy9/10[14]
Eurogamer Portugal7/10[15]

Critical reception for Anno 2070 has been positive since the game's release, with a majority of critics considering it a big step forward in the Anno series. Criticism of the game is heavily influenced by the requirement to be always online to access all game options. Without being online the player can still access an offline mode, but one can't edit their own profile information, and the player is unable to update their Ark base, place cargo into it, or upgrade it with equipment. Early reception at the time of release was also negatively influenced by constant crashes, server issues, and critics pointed out that the game worked better on pirated versions instead of the official one with Ubisoft server access.

References

  1. ↑ Ubisoft-TV - Show 10/2011 (ANNO 2070, Assassin's Creed: Revelations) (in Deutsch). Ubisoft. October 2011. Event occurs at 01:25. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "Buy Anno 2070 PC Download - UBIShop - The Official Ubisoft Online Store". Shop.ubi.com. http://shop.ubi.com/store/ubina/en_US/pd/productID.227893100. 
  3. ↑ "Download Games - PC Games and Mac Game Downloads - www.gamefly.co.uk". Direct2drive.com. http://www.direct2drive.com/11685/product/Buy-Anno-2070-Download. 
  4. ↑ "Preview: Anno 2070". ModernMethod. 21 August 2011. http://www.destructoid.com/preview-anno-2070-209519.phtml. 
  5. ↑ "Steam Community :: Discussions". http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2677124%2F. 
  6. ↑ Hagedoorn, Hilbert (14 January 2012). "Why Guru3D probably never will review Ubisoft titles anymore - Anno 2070" (in en-us). https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/why-guru3d-probably-never-will-review-ubisoft-titles-anymore-anno-2070.html. 
  7. ↑ Phillips, Tom (2012-09-05). "Ubisoft ditches controversial always-on DRM for PC games" (in en). https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-05-ubisoft-ditches-controversial-always-on-drm-for-pc-games. 
  8. ↑ "UbiSoft Forums" (in en-us). https://forums.ubisoft.com/showthread.php/2244199-Random-update-on-Steam-showed-up?p=15058741. 
  9. ↑ "Anno 2070 for PC". GameRankings. 2011-11-18. http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/626105-anno-2070/index.html. 
  10. ↑ "Anno 2070 for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. 2011-11-17. https://www.metacritic.com/game/anno-2070/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  11. ↑ "Review: Anno 2070". Destructoid. 2011-11-20. http://www.destructoid.com/review-anno-2070-216180.phtml. 
  12. ↑ VanOrd, Kevin (2011-12-16). "Anno 2070 Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/anno-2070-review/1900-6347765/. 
  13. ↑ Meunier, Nathan (2011-12-02). "Anno 2070 Review - PC Review at IGN". uk.pc.ign.com. http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/121/1213873p1.html. 
  14. ↑ "Anno 2070 - review • Recensioni • PC" (in it). Eurogamer.it. 2011-11-22. http://www.eurogamer.it/articles/2011-11-22-videogiochi-anno-2070-recensione. 
  15. ↑ "Anno 2070 - Anplise • Página • Análises • PC" (in pt). Eurogamer.pt. 2012-01-04. http://www.eurogamer.pt/articles/2012-01-04-anno-2070-analise?page=2. 
  • Official website
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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