The Anno series goes ancient. Anno 117: Pax Romana brings the city-building franchise to the Roman Empire, and the soundtrack trades the colonial-era maritime themes of previous entries for something sunbaked and Mediterranean.
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"Pax Romana" opens with the kind of sweeping grandeur you'd expect from a game named after Rome's golden age, while "Mare Nostrum" captures the warm, salt-air feeling of building a coastal province. "Tyrrhenian Sunset" and "Bay Of Laurels" are the gorgeous ambient pieces you'll hear hundreds of times as you zone out arranging aqueducts, and they never get old.
"Undercity - Overcity" hints at the social stratification mechanics, contrasting something brooding below with brightness above. "Caeso Syracus, Slave Trader" goes darker, a reminder that the game doesn't shy away from Rome's uglier realities.
The tracklist has this wonderful warmth running through it, names like "Lavender And Laurels," "Cypress Sway," and "Dolphins Of The Azure" painting a picture of the ancient Mediterranean you actually want to live in. "All Roads Lead To Rome" is the obvious title but it earns its place.
A lush, expansive score for Ubisoft's latest city-builder.