Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as I was when I discovered this concealed mode. Allow me to briefly leave overseeing my civilization, leave it in a capable deputy, take a wagon, and take a spin across the Roman world.
Activating the First-Person Mode
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. But, should you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in the previous Anno title, I was eager to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would function before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this option can be prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the busy roads through my metropolis and visited stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to see all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I observed a variety of intricacies that would escape notice from above: Front door decorations, an ass transporting a floral pail, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post proves fascinating for those not residing in classical times.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that I could not just observe crop lands, but also access them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I could walk onto clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio planned for that functionality), but it’s entirely possible wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut provided the entrance is missing.
Graphics and Ambiance
Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, excluding a few unpolished motions and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see specific hair details, however, you can observe engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, eye details, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble terrifying apparitions anymore.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and changing perspective — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Azure and violet outfit? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” whereas an irritable elderly woman decided to threaten me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just when I thought I had found everything available in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The single feature that frustrated me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Sporting my soldier fit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, yet it would have been exciting to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
