Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as my own reaction when I discovered this secret option. Excuse me while temporarily abandon managing my empire, entrust it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and take a spin across the Roman world.
Activating the First-Person Mode
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. Yet, when you input a hidden code — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you gain the ability to walk the empire as an ordinary Roman. Since a similar easter egg was included in Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in the latest installment, yet I had doubts it would operate prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (likely not meant to happen — this feature can be a little buggy at times).
Roaming the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I wandered the busy roads across my settlement and toured shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to see all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I observed all kinds of details I might have missed from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, fowl roaming freely, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Beyond Simple Strolling
Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I was especially delighted when I found out that not only could I view farming fields, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access mud extraction sites, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted using primitive rendering, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (notably masonry elements) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, but you will see engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Discovery and Modification
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and back. I then experimented with some number buttons and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Crimson attire? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, travels rather rapidly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view remained quite impressive, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, yet it would have been exciting to successfully impact objects using my fiery projectiles.
