Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Wait — did you know you can play the game Anno 117 in first-person? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response upon finding out this secret option. I must step away from overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a reliable subordinate, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person View
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played from a bird's-eye view. However, if you press a covert button sequence — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk the realm as a regular inhabitant. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in Anno 1800, I was eager to test it in Ubisoft's newest game, though I was uncertain it would function before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this option is a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the busy roads across my settlement and toured stalls, alehouses, floral patches, and seafood collectors — it felt magnificent to see all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected all kinds of details that would escape notice from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post proves fascinating for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that I could not just observe crop lands, but also access them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (especially stone surfaces) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see any individual strands of hair, but you will see wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, fading on bricks, pupils, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities these days.
Discovery and Modification
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the abilities to leap, run, and adjusting the view — the zoom function permitting me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I then experimented with various digit inputs and found I could alter my avatar's look. Amber garment? Red toga? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
However, I had no desire to injure my people, because they’re way too funny. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
At the moment I believed I had found everything available within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Combat Limitations
The single feature that frustrated me regarding the first-person view was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Sporting my soldier fit, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their appendages thrashing around, seemed enormously rewarding, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something with my burning arrows.
