Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Impressive First-Person Perspective.
Wait — did you know you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as my own reaction the moment I learned this secret option. Excuse me while step away from my empire’s management, delegate it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and go for a joyride around the classical city.
Activating the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates from a bird's-eye view. However, if you input a hidden code — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you gain the ability to walk the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg appeared in the previous Anno title, I looked forward to experience it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would function before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this feature is a little buggy at times).
Roaming the Roman Cityscape
Once I crawled out, I wandered the busy roads through my metropolis and toured markets, breweries, floral patches, and cockle pickers — it felt magnificent to witness the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I observed all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, chickens running loose, 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.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to Anno 117’s first-person mode aside from meandering through streets. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that besides being able to observe farming fields, but also access them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I was able to enter clay pits, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don't bother with door access (not even the developers allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and take a peek inside any small shack as long as the door is absent.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see specific hair details, yet you will notice wall inscriptions, sparks flying from torches, brick decoloration, eye details, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities these days.
Experimentation and Customization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, 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 back. I then decided to hit some number buttons and discovered that I could change my avatar's look. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Comedy and Population Encounters
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, as they're remarkably entertaining. Moments after I entered first-person mode, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate 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 within the game's immersive perspective, I found the joys of joyriding across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I interacted with a cart and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and endeavored to damage them, yet was completely overlooked. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.
