Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked as I was upon finding out this secret option. Excuse me while step away from managing my empire, delegate it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and take a spin through Ancient Rome.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret was included in Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in the new release, though I was uncertain it would work until I found myself stuck in a Celtic building (likely not meant to happen — this mode can be prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I walked the bustling streets of my city and toured shops, taverns, floral patches, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to witness all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed numerous fine points I might have missed from above: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Merely examining the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post is quite interesting for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to Anno 117’s first-person mode than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that I could not just view farming fields, but also access them. And despite my expectation the building models would be off-limits, I was able to enter earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see specific hair details, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, fading on bricks, eye details, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary versus the earlier title, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble terrifying apparitions anymore.
Experimentation and Customization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I chose to test various actions, and promptly found the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I then experimented with some number buttons and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
However, I had no desire to injure my people, because they’re way too funny. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” whereas an irritable elderly woman chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
At the moment I believed I had found everything available in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I interacted with a cart and quickly occupied the transport. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
