Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Stunning First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as I was when I discovered this concealed mode. Allow me to temporarily abandon managing my empire, entrust it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and take a spin around the classical city.
Unlocking the First-Person Feature
As a city-building game, Anno 117 Pax Romana is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. But, should 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” on console — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Given a comparable hidden feature was part of Anno 1800, I was eager to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, but I wasn’t sure it would work prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this option is somewhat unstable occasionally).
Discovering the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I walked the lively avenues across my settlement and visited markets, breweries, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to observe my diligent efforts from a brand-new perspective. I observed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Front door decorations, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Merely examining the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I became extraordinarily excited the moment I learned that besides being able to look upon farming fields, but also enter them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I could walk onto clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible wander through a grain field, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and take a peek inside any small shack as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe specific hair details, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, eye details, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities these days.
Testing and Personalization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the functions for jumping, dashing, and adjusting the view — the zoom function permitting me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I then decided to hit certain numeric keys and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You may carry a sword and shield, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. If you're interested, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, as they're remarkably entertaining. Shortly after I activated first-person mode, I overheard a father telling his child that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Joy of Joyriding
At the moment I believed I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I found the joys of joyriding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect open-world vehicular chaos — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Battle Constraints
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The proximate observation remained quite impressive, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, felt highly gratifying, yet it would have been exciting to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
