Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Stunning First-Person Perspective.
Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? Should that be your response, your surprise matches compared to my initial response the moment I learned this hidden feature. Allow me to temporarily abandon managing my empire, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person Mode
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. However, if you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you gain the ability to walk the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to test it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would operate until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature tends to be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I walked the bustling streets across my settlement and visited stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to witness my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected a variety of intricacies I might have missed from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I was especially delighted the moment I learned that I could not just observe farming fields, but also access them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I managed to access clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers have the budget for that), however, you can definitely wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter as long as the door is absent.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary versus the earlier title, now that the citizens don’t look like terrifying apparitions these days.
Testing and Personalization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I then decided to hit certain numeric keys and found I could alter my avatar's look. Golden robe? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A friendly native Celtic person then started applauding my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Fighting Restrictions
The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, yet was completely overlooked. The close-up view remained quite impressive, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.
