Anno 117 Pax Romana's Top Secret Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response upon finding out this secret option. Excuse me while temporarily abandon my empire’s management, leave it in a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
Unlocking the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 usually operates from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on 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 was part of the previous Anno title, I was eager to test it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would function until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this feature can be a little buggy at times).
Roaming the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I strolled the lively avenues through my metropolis and toured stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to witness my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed numerous fine points I might have missed from the top-down view: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
More Than Just Walking
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that I could not just observe crop lands, but also enter them. And despite my expectation the building models would be off-limits, I could walk onto clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, 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 observe my settlement depicted using primitive rendering, excluding a few unpolished motions and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, but you will see engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening versus the earlier title, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and back. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and learned I could modify my avatar's look. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? 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. If you're interested, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt 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 across historical settings. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Combat Limitations
The single feature that frustrated me within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces during active combat and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
