Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person View.
Wait — did you know you can play Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked as my own reaction the moment I learned this secret option. Allow me to step away from managing my empire, delegate it to a trusted assistant, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person Mode
As a city-building game, the game Anno 117 is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. Yet, when you press a covert button sequence — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg was included in Anno 1800, I felt excited to experience it in the latest installment, but I wasn’t sure it would operate prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this option is somewhat unstable occasionally).
Exploring the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I walked the bustling streets across my settlement and explored stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and seafood collectors — it felt magnificent to witness all my hard work through a fresh lens. I noticed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Front door decorations, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Further Than Mere Wandering
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted when I found out that not only could I look upon crop lands, but also enter them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I managed to access earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the creators planned for that functionality), but it’s entirely possible wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and take a peek inside any small shack when there's no doorway obstructing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, yet you will notice wall inscriptions, sparks flying from torches, fading on bricks, eye details, and evergreen foliage. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities anymore.
Testing and Personalization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the functions for jumping, dashing, and changing perspective — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and revert. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Golden robe? Crimson attire? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you hit the interaction button, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered first-person mode, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my excellent cross-cultural strategies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman decided to threaten me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
At the moment I believed I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Bovines, equines, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. 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 (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was learning about my exclusion from in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and tried to harm them, yet was completely overlooked. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.
