Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience Anno 117: Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response when I discovered this concealed mode. I must temporarily abandon managing my empire, entrust it to a reliable subordinate, commandere a carriage, and take a spin around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played from an overhead perspective. Yet, when you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — it becomes possible to roam the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to test it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I walked the bustling streets through my metropolis and toured stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — it was glorious to witness the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I observed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, poultry scattering about, folks chilling on their balconies… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar is quite interesting for those not residing in classical times.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the first-person feature in Anno 117 aside from meandering through streets. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that not only could I observe farming fields, but also step into them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I managed to access clay pits, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators allocated resources for that), however, you can definitely wander through a grain field, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting within a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe separate follicular elements, but you will see wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Experimentation and Customization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and back. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my character’s appearance. Golden robe? Red toga? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
However, I had no desire to injure my people, because they’re way too funny. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Thrill of Transportation
At the moment I believed I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Combat Limitations
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
