We've fitted the game to the demands of the Nintendo DS. There is a difference between sitting in front of a PC using a mouse and keyboard, or sitting relaxed on the sofa and playing a game with the stylus. Also, while we've kept the core mechanic, the game itself is much easier than the PC version. There are already a lot of females who play it, so what we've made is game that will appeal to a wide range of players. Pocket Gamer: The people who play the PC version of Anno 1701 are older and more likely to be male than many DS owners, so why do you think this type of game will appeal to the DS market? Pete Walentin: Anno 1701 isn't your typical strategy game. We caught up with Keen's developer director Pete Walentin (pictured) to get some extra behind-the-scene intel. The result is the soon-to-be-released Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery – a game we've previously previewed but thought warranted further exploration. Appropriately enough considering its name, it excitedly approached Sunflowers with some ideas on how to make the game a success on DS. The other however was a much smaller, newer but also Germanic outfit, Keen Games.

Unsurprisingly, one was Sunflowers, the German publisher behind the original PC hit. Like all great ideas, two companies had the inspiration to take the multi-million selling PC historical strategy game Anno 1701 and rework it within the neat shape of the DS.

Anno 1701 windowed mode