Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware you can play the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response upon finding out this hidden feature. I must temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, leave it in a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. However, if you input a hidden code — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Since a similar easter egg appeared in Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would operate prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this feature tends to be prone to glitches now and then).
Exploring the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I wandered the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to see the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I noticed numerous fine points I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to Anno 117’s first-person mode than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that I could not just view farming fields, but also access them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons these days.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and discovered that I could change my avatar's look. Golden robe? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
However, I had no desire to injure my people, because they’re way too funny. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then started applauding 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 Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I found the joys of joyriding across historical settings. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view remained quite impressive, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
