Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as my own reaction when I discovered this secret option. Excuse me while step away from my empire’s management, delegate it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 usually operates using a top-down camera. However, if you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you can explore your domain as a common citizen. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, but I wasn’t sure it would function until I found myself stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature can be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Discovering the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the lively avenues of my city and toured markets, breweries, floral patches, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to observe the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I detected numerous fine points that would escape notice when viewing from overhead: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the first-person feature in Anno 117 aside from meandering through streets. I was especially delighted upon discovering that not only could I observe agricultural plots, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe separate follicular elements, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions now.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and revert. I then decided to hit some number buttons and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; 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).
Comedy and Population Encounters
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I uncovered all possible content in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I encountered the delight of riding through classical settlements. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.