Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person View.
Hold on — were you aware you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction the moment I learned this secret option. Excuse me while temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and take a spin across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, Anno 117 Pax Romana is typically played from an overhead perspective. Yet, when you enter a secret combination — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was part of Anno 1800, I was eager to test it in the latest installment, but I wasn’t sure it would work prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this feature can be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
Once I crawled out, I strolled the bustling streets across my settlement and visited shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and seafood collectors — the experience was splendid to observe the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I detected numerous fine points I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 aside from meandering through streets. I was especially delighted upon discovering that not only could I look upon farming fields, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The highly detailed textures (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe specific hair details, yet you will notice wall inscriptions, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, creates a particularly moody setting, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble terrifying apparitions now.
Experimentation and Customization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and adjusting the view — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I then experimented with some number buttons and discovered that I could change my character’s appearance. Golden robe? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Comedy and Population Encounters
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 gran will have your head.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” whereas an irritable elderly woman decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine open-world vehicular chaos — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Sporting my soldier fit, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and tried to harm them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
