No its quite different fron Anno.
The only thing I can compare it to is either Tropico (the previous versions) or a little bit of railroad tycoon but only because thats what its roots are.
Basically you play the part of a dictator benevolent or othewise of a small tropical island. Trying to keep the money rolling in and keeping the citizens happy or at least under control
One of the things that has always fascinated me about this game is that every single 'person' on the island has a personality, story, wants and needs right down to where they were born their education level family ties and so on. You can even read their 'mind' to see what there thinking. Some humorus things in there too like "Im hungry I guess I will just eat rocks instead".
One thing that has always bothered me about this game is the issue of taxes. It is more or less glossed over with the sole exception of a 'tax cut' edict which will raise their happiness for a short while (usefull in an election cycle).
I'm not sure that the new game goes into that kind of detail.