I have played the old anno 1701 AND 1503.  this game looks great but is more complex than the previous versions of the game. I found a lot of things lacking such as the sources of power and an inability to store energy with batteries or regenertive fuel cells as buildings in the game need power. Trade is about the same. My main beef with this it requires an internet connection. Other than that it has wonderful artistry and graphics. It is the same as anno 1701 but set in a future world where global warmming as flood the land and resource scarcity has sent human kind to look to the deep ocean for valuable minerals. I recoment the deep ocean expansion or complete if you get this. I found the ai instructor a little corny but other than that the game has some real polish. I wrote my 2 cents worth on suggestions on anno 2070 wiki and you can read 3 pages on that for game ideas I had.