Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Turns Out to Be a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as my own reaction upon finding out this hidden feature. Allow me to step away from overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person Mode
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced using a top-down camera. But, should you press a covert button sequence — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Given a comparable hidden feature was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to experience it in the latest installment, but I wasn’t sure it would function prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature is somewhat unstable occasionally).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I wandered the lively avenues through my metropolis and visited stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to see all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I observed all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted from the top-down view: Front door decorations, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, chickens running loose, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
More Than Just Walking
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited the moment I learned that not only could I observe agricultural plots, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I was able to enter earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see specific hair details, but you will see wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons now.
Discovery and Modification
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the functions for jumping, dashing, and adjusting the view — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and found I could alter my representative's visual design. Golden robe? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
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 overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies 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 Joy of Joyriding
At the moment I believed I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I found the joys of joyriding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, 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 cart, in particular, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.
