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"GO FORTH MY SON, go west, seek fame and fortune…" What must it have been like in the 1500's and 1600's? This was a time of discovery, a time of new lands, and new beginnings. A time of pirates, buried treasure, new cultures and the beginnings of new empires. Now is your chance to relive this time with the soon to be released strategy/empire building game from Sunflowers Entertainment (a German development team) and distributed by EA Games called 1503 AD: New World.

This game builds on their earlier success of 1602 AD and is a sequel that is set as a prequel. Like the original it is a unique mixture of micro-managed economies, diplomacy, trade and combat. Its choice of setting and its attention to detail has already made this game a big hit in Germany and has far out stripped sales of the first version. It's economic model relies on a system of production chains where goods are grown, traded for or 'acquired' and by various profession made into items that your people want. Ofcourse peasants being peasants they always want more and varied items and the trick will be to carefully balance needs against the financial needs of building a new empire. Throw into this mix the diplomacy of dealing with new races that may or may not welcome you to their continent you have a very challenging game.

On top of this and just when you think you can manage the complexities of the game there are the pirates to deal with (no not the CD kind but the ones with sharp swords, eye patches and wooden legs). These guys raid your trade routes or can be bought equally by yourself or your opponents to attack enemies. The combat takes place either on the land or sea with it being in the style of an RTS game.

The feature list for the game is as follows: -

• The Best of Both Worlds - A real-time strategy game with in depth empire-building.
  
• Brilliant Graphics - over 350 authentic building types from churches to watch towers to tobacco plantations
  
• The Superpowers of the 16th Century - From the stone streets of Europe to the steps of Asia to the jungles of South America, trade and war with nine different cultures, including Venetians, Mongolians, Aztecs and more
  
• Brave the Elements - Settle in climates as diverse as frozen Tundra, bleak deserts, and heavily vegetated jungles, each with their own unique natural resources and indigenous life and each posing unique challenges
  
• A World of Action – Various game play modes including tutorial mode, single scenario mode, campaign mode and open-ended mode.
  
• Wage War on Land or at Sea - Build your armies through up to 14 different military units and 26 military upgrades. Vary your tactics based on the terrain - command armies to storm city walls, or empower navies to create embargoes against neighbouring cities
  
• Enhanced AI - Observe the differences in the cultures you encounter - some may look to establish trade and diplomatic ties while others may simply be out for blood. Different situations lead to different patterns of behaviour

Show me the screenshots!