Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as I was when I discovered this concealed mode. Excuse me while temporarily abandon managing my empire, entrust it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
Activating the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 usually operates using a top-down camera. However, if you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to experience it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would operate before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this option tends to be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I wandered the busy roads through my metropolis and visited markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to witness my diligent efforts from a brand-new perspective. I noticed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Simply noticing the shape of a window sill and the coloration on a post becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that not only could I view agricultural plots, but also step into them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse 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), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting inside seating instead of on a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) really have no business being this good for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and proves significantly less intimidating compared to Anno 1800, now that the citizens don’t look like 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 abilities to leap, run, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I then experimented with various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my avatar's look. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
However, I had no desire to injure my people, as they're remarkably entertaining. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you feed it one more chicken, your elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Thrill of Transportation
At the moment I believed I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I found the joys of joyriding through classical settlements. Totally unintentionally, I interacted with a cart 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, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine open-world vehicular chaos — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Fighting Restrictions
The single feature that frustrated me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and endeavored to damage them, yet was completely overlooked. The proximate observation remained quite impressive, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects with my burning arrows.
