Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response upon finding out this concealed mode. I must step away from my empire’s management, delegate it to a capable deputy, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
Unlocking the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117 Pax Romana usually operates from a bird's-eye view. But, should you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was part of Anno 1800, I felt excited to experience it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would function until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this option can be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I wandered the busy roads through my metropolis and explored stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to witness my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I noticed all kinds of details I might have missed from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
Further Than Mere Wandering
But there’s more to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that besides being able to look upon crop lands, but also access them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I could walk onto earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio allocated resources 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.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented with outdated visual quality, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You won't necessarily notice any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames and distant stellar illumination, creates a particularly moody setting, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities now.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode has no guided tutorial, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and found I could alter my avatar's look. Yellow toga? Ruby clothing? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I attempted, naturally).
Comedy and Population Encounters
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Shortly after I activated first-person mode, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A friendly native Celtic person then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
At the moment I believed I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I interacted with a cart and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (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 battle encounters. Sporting my soldier fit, I approached opposing forces during active combat and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their arms flailing about, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects using my fiery projectiles.
