Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person View.
Hold on — were you aware gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response the moment I learned this concealed mode. Excuse me while step away from my empire’s management, delegate it to a capable deputy, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 usually operates from an overhead perspective. However, if you press a covert button sequence — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard 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 appeared in Anno 1800, I felt excited to test it in the new release, yet I had doubts it would work until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this mode tends to be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I wandered the busy roads through my metropolis and explored stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and seafood collectors — it felt magnificent to witness all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Further Than Mere Wandering
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 aside from meandering through streets. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that besides being able to look upon agricultural plots, but also enter them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I managed to access earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe specific hair details, however, you can observe writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, eye details, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, creates a particularly moody setting, and feels much less frightening versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions now.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — the zoom function permitting me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I then experimented with some number buttons and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. If you're interested, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
However, I had no desire to injure my people, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A pleasant regional Celt then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” whereas an irritable elderly woman decided to threaten me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Thrill of Transportation
At the moment I believed I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Entirely by accident, I interacted with a cart and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The single feature that frustrated me within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in battle encounters. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces during active combat and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.
