Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction upon finding out this concealed mode. Allow me to step away from managing my empire, delegate it to a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person Mode
As a city-building game, Anno 117 Pax Romana is normally experienced using a top-down camera. However, if you press a covert button sequence — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in the previous Anno title, I looked forward to experience it in the new release, though I was uncertain it would function before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this mode tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Exploring the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I walked the busy roads through my metropolis and toured shops, taverns, floral patches, and cockle pickers — it felt magnificent to see the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Merely examining 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
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that besides being able to look upon crop lands, but also enter them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I could walk onto earthen quarries, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) really have no business being this good within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see any individual strands of hair, yet you will notice engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, pupils, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble terrifying apparitions now.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I then experimented with various digit inputs and found I could alter my avatar's look. Amber garment? Red toga? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and should you provide another poultry, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
At the moment I believed I uncovered all possible content in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Combat Limitations
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Sporting my soldier fit, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.