It's this kind of tutorial that I'd like to see in more games, to be honest. I hate it when you get a game, and you have to follow rigid, mundane, unnecessary instructions to the letter before you can move on. It's like being a cadet in the army and being barked at by superiors. I hate that crap. A game's supposed to be fun, and you're supposed to explore by yourself and find out how to get through situations in your own way. Anno 1701 does precisely that, by nurturing your curiosity instead of killing it.

Once the tutorial is over, you're on your own through the trials and tribulations of 18th century life in stormy water. Build your settlement up, watch your people and cities evolve, defend them from attackers, then venture forth into lands and seas unknown to meet interesting new civilisations... then obliterate them!

The story twists and turns almost as much as the water beneath your boats, and keeps you absolutely hooked until you complete the game, which will take a long time, believe me. This is not a game that you'll be able to blaze through in a weekend. Anno 1701 has over 15 missions, some of which take well over an hour to complete, which are segmented into five chapters. Luckily, you can save your game as many times as you wish, whenever you wish, so you don't have to worry about starting a new mission when your train's due in 10 minutes.

Once you have finally finished the campaign, there's more Anno enjoyment on the cartridge. There's also an endless game play mode which pits you up against three computer opponents, all vying for precious land and resources, and no time limits. If you wish for competition that's a little bit more human, you can partake in a four-player battle mode on pre-set maps.

Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery should have been a five-star game, but it falls short slightly due to a few issues, which while being minor, certainly detract from the experience.

While you can zoom, and flick, and fling the camera about with relative ease, for some reason you can't rotate it, meaning that as your screen gets busier with buildings and people, it's hard to see what's behind them, making split second decisions — especially when it comes to attacking or defending — cumbersome.