Anno 117 Pax Romana's Top Secret Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches compared to my initial response when I discovered this secret option. I must temporarily abandon my empire’s management, entrust it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and go for a joyride through Ancient Rome.
How to Access the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. Yet, when you enter a secret combination — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard 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. Given a comparable hidden feature was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to test it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would function prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature can be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Discovering the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I walked the busy roads across my settlement and visited shops, taverns, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to see the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I detected a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, folks chilling on their balconies… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column is quite interesting to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to the first-person feature in Anno 117 aside from meandering through streets. I was especially delighted upon discovering that I could not just view agricultural plots, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access clay pits, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building while lessons were in session, and invade personal courtyards. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, but you will see wall inscriptions, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, 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 now.
Discovery and Modification
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and discovered that I could change my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Ruby clothing? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered 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 elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten 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 in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Fighting Restrictions
The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and watching the enemy run, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.
