Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Impressive First-Person Mode.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play the game Anno 117 in first-person? Should that be your response, your surprise matches as I was when I discovered this secret option. Allow me to temporarily abandon managing my empire, delegate it to a capable deputy, take a wagon, and go for a joyride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person Feature
As a city-building game, Anno 117 Pax Romana is typically played from a bird's-eye view. However, if you enter a secret combination — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “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 appeared in the previous Anno title, I felt excited to experience it in Ubisoft's newest game, though I was uncertain it would operate prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this option can be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Roman Cityscape
After extracting myself, I wandered the bustling streets across my settlement and toured stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to witness all my hard work through a fresh lens. I noticed a variety of intricacies that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that not only could I view crop lands, but also step into them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I could walk onto mud extraction sites, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers allocated resources for that), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.
Graphics and Ambiance
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, excluding a few unpolished motions and the occasional civilian resting within a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, but you will see writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons now.
Discovery and Modification
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 zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I then experimented with some number buttons and found I could alter my avatar's look. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Entirely by accident, I interacted with a cart and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
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 during active combat and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects with my burning arrows.
