Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? Should that be your response, your surprise matches as I was the moment I learned this secret option. I must briefly leave my empire’s management, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and go for a joyride around the classical city.
Activating the First-Person Feature
As a city-building game, the game Anno 117 usually operates using a top-down camera. However, if you press a covert button sequence — for example “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 the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to try it out in the new release, though I was uncertain it would function until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this feature tends to be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I strolled the bustling streets through my metropolis and toured shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to see my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed a variety of intricacies I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Merely examining the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that not only could I observe crop lands, but also access them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter earthen quarries, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the developers have the budget for that), however, you can definitely wander through a grain field, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (especially stone surfaces) really have no business being this good for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe specific hair details, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, discoloration of masonry, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and proves significantly less intimidating relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions now.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Golden robe? Red toga? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
However, I had no desire to injure my people, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I heard a parent advising their offspring 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 friendly native Celtic person then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate 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 experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, felt highly gratifying, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.
