Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Turns Out to Be a Stunning First-Person Perspective.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? Should that be your response, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response upon finding out this hidden feature. Excuse me while briefly leave my empire’s management, entrust it to a reliable subordinate, take a wagon, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates from an overhead perspective. However, if you enter a secret combination — including “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 your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg was part of the previous Anno title, I looked forward to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, though I was uncertain it would function before I discovered myself submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this option tends to be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I walked the lively avenues of my city and visited shops, taverns, flower fields, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to witness my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I noticed numerous fine points I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that I could not just view agricultural plots, but also step into them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see separate follicular elements, yet you will notice engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, fading on bricks, eye details, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons these days.
Experimentation and Customization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I subsequently tried pressing certain numeric keys and found I could alter my avatar's look. Yellow toga? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Comedy and Population Encounters
However, I had no desire to injure my people, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “Owning a fox is prohibited and should you provide another poultry, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
At the moment I believed I had found everything available within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Combat Limitations
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Sporting my soldier fit, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and tried to harm them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.
