Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117: Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response upon finding out this secret option. I must briefly leave my empire’s management, entrust it to a capable deputy, take a wagon, and take a spin across the Roman world.
How to Access the First-Person Mode
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 usually operates using a top-down camera. But, should you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg appeared in Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would function before I discovered myself submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this option can be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I wandered the lively avenues across my settlement and visited stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to see all my hard work through a fresh lens. I noticed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Doorway embellishments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Merely examining the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that besides being able to observe crop lands, but also enter them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building during active classes, and invade personal courtyards. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators planned for that functionality), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter as long as the door is absent.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to see my metropolis represented using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see specific hair details, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Testing and Personalization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and back. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and learned I could modify my avatar's look. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you activate the engage command, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and should you provide another poultry, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female opted to menace me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Joy of Joyriding
At the moment I believed I had found everything available in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I found the joys of joyriding in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
