I played one game with an friend in which he concentrated on expanding the northern islands while I started colonies in the Orient. Usually if you have 2 people you have two players, now we had 2 people and 1 "player" this may sound difficult since it requires some good coordination but it does add some great options. You both use the same warehouse and you can both control the same ships. One of the interesting things in this expansion is the option to have 2 or more people in one team. With the Venice expansion I can now once again build and trade with my friends. Now I know that it takes a lot of time to play anno and that some people consider it to be to long for multiplayer but I did enjoy it.
In the previous versions of Anno I could play this game with my friends but the lack of multiplayer in Anno was a huge disappointment. One of the thing that did bother me about Anno 1404 was the lack of multiplayer. Like Al Zahir and Lord Northburgh Giacomo also offers you quests. Even though he will not carry out any acts of sabotage, Giacomo will trade you some item which enhances your ships, your sabotage centers( base of operation) and he can also be of some use if you plan to take over an competitors city. Giacomo Garibaldi is the master of sabotage and trade.
In this expansion we will have the pleasure of Giacomo Garibaldi's company. In the original anno 1404 you had 2 neutral trade partners, Al Zahir and Richard Northburgh. So sabotage is (obviously) a great way to weaken your opponent, without waging war. In the orient you can sent out belly dancers which steal some money for you or false prophets which will make sure that your opponent does not get any tax money from the people in that settlement. You can set buildings on fire, start an revolt, poison the wells in the city which will spread the plague. You can now carry out different acts of sabotage depending on the level of your henchman's "safe house" (enemy house which your henchman infiltrates). This does not only mean that you can expand your own borders without war but is means that you can cripple your opponent by taking vital islands from him, if your treasury is filled that is since this won't come cheap.Īnother way to annoy your competitors is by using sabotage. By buying you way into a city council you can now take over your competitors cities without ever waging war. This game does not eliminate the unfortunately weak military aspect of the original game but it does offer a great substitute for it. By KevenE | Review Date: MaAnno 1404/Dawn of discovery: Venice is a great add-on for a great game.