Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Impressive First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as I was the moment I learned this secret option. Excuse me while step away from overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 usually operates from a bird's-eye view. Yet, when you input a hidden code — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk the realm as a regular inhabitant. Given a comparable hidden feature was included in the previous Anno title, I looked forward to experience it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would function before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (which probably wasn’t intended — this mode can be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I walked the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored shops, taverns, flower fields, and cockle pickers — it felt magnificent to see my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I observed a variety of intricacies I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
Yet, the experience extends to Anno 117’s first-person mode than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that I could not just view agricultural plots, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I managed to access mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio planned for that functionality), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (especially stone surfaces) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see separate follicular elements, but you will see writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, fading on bricks, eye details, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames and distant stellar illumination, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike nightmarish entities anymore.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and found I could alter my representative's visual design. Golden robe? Red toga? 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 shoot flaming projectiles upward. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Comedy and Population Encounters
However, I had no desire to injure my people, as they're remarkably entertaining. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
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 through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Battle Constraints
The sole aspect that let me down within the immersive perspective was learning about my exclusion from in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.
