Anno 117's Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches compared to my initial response when I discovered this concealed mode. I must temporarily abandon my empire’s management, entrust it to a reliable subordinate, commandere a carriage, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
Activating the First-Person View
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played from a bird's-eye view. But, should you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Since a similar easter egg was included in Anno 1800, I looked forward to experience it in the new release, yet I had doubts it would operate before I discovered myself submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature can be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
After extracting myself, I wandered the lively avenues of my city and visited markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to observe my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected numerous fine points I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted upon discovering that I could not just observe farming fields, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I managed to access mud extraction sites, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see separate follicular elements, but you will see writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, brick decoloration, pupils, and evergreen foliage. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike nightmarish entities now.
Discovery and Modification
Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and immediately located 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 subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Yellow toga? 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 activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Moments after I entered the first-person view, 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.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Bovines, equines, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, yet was completely overlooked. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, yet it would have been exciting to successfully impact objects using my fiery projectiles.
