IGN writes: "If you read Dan Adams' review of the original 1701 A.D., you already have a good idea of what we think about this game. When we first reviewed the game, we were impressed by its intricate gameplay that combined city building with mutli-step economic production and maritime trade and placed it all in the context of some truly challenging missions. Now the Gold Edition is out with an entirely new campaign that is, if possible, even more difficult than any the series has seen so far. A load of new toys are also being included in the package just to sweeten the deal for gamers who are still on the fence about the upgrade.
Since we already reviewed the core game, we're just going to focus on the features that are new for the Gold Edition. Keep in mind, though, that everything that we liked (and didn't like quite so much) about the previous game also hold true for this new version."
If you're not a hard-core strategy fan, you may not be familiar with this weekend's Steam discount. Until Sunday, 1701 A.D. will cost $14.99 instead of $29.99.
Gamersgate is offering Koch Media's strategy title 1701 A.D. Gold Edition for $14.99, a savings of 50%.
The Gold Edition packs both the original 1701 A.D. game along with The Sunken Dragon expansion.
WorthPlaying writes: "Not-so-hot on the heels of its European release in late 2007, German-developed 1701 A.D. Gold Edition has finally arrived stateside, offering new content and challenges to fans of the original title, as well as new AI opposition and a powerful world creation suite. Colonizing the Caribbean (and now Asiatic territories) has rarely been so attractive and engaging ... or time-consuming.
Let's face it: You really can't get much done in this game without sinking about four or five hours per sitting. More time is lost trying to make sense of some of the objectives or unclarities, like why your citizenry won't progress despite having all of their needs met ages ago. An extensive reference tool has been built into the game, the ANNOpedia, which will answer many of your questions, but it really is a lot to get your head around."
