Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 in first-person? If that’s your reaction, you’re just as shocked as my own reaction when I discovered this secret option. Excuse me while briefly leave overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and take a spin across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person Mode
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates from an overhead perspective. Yet, when you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in the previous Anno title, I was eager to try it out 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 Streets of Rome
Upon freeing myself, I wandered the bustling streets of my city and visited shops, taverns, flower fields, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to see my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I observed numerous fine points I might have missed from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Beyond Simple Strolling
Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that besides being able to view crop lands, but also enter them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I managed to access earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, but you will see writings on surfaces, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons these days.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Yellow toga? Ruby clothing? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you hit the interaction button, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
However, I had no desire to injure my people, 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 feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A pleasant regional Celt then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was learning about my exclusion from in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, yet was completely overlooked. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects using my fiery projectiles.
