Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction the moment I learned this concealed mode. Excuse me while temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
Unlocking the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. Yet, when you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you can explore your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, but I wasn’t sure it would work before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (likely not meant to happen — this option can be prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
Once I crawled out, I wandered the bustling streets of my city and explored shops, taverns, floral patches, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to see all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I detected all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Simply noticing the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted when I found out that besides being able to look upon agricultural plots, but also enter them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (especially stone surfaces) are unexpectedly excellent in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe specific hair details, yet you will notice wall inscriptions, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode has no guided tutorial, I opted to try different commands, and promptly found the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I subsequently tried pressing certain numeric keys and found I could alter my avatar's look. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. Should you be curious, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered first-person mode, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. A pleasant regional Celt then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, 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-powered transport, notably, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (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. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, yet was completely overlooked. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.
