Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Hold on — were you aware you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If that’s your reaction, you’re just as shocked as I was the moment I learned this concealed mode. Allow me to step away from managing my empire, leave it in a reliable subordinate, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117 Pax Romana is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. Yet, when you input a hidden code — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret appeared in Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, though I was uncertain it would work until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this feature can be a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I walked the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to witness the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I detected a variety of intricacies that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that besides being able to view farming fields, but also access them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible wander through a grain field, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter as long as the door is absent.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see specific hair details, but you will see wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, fading on bricks, pupils, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble terrifying apparitions anymore.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode has no guided tutorial, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I then experimented with some number buttons and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Golden robe? Crimson attire? Azure and violet outfit? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you hit the interaction button, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female chose to intimidate 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 within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I selected a carriage and was promptly seated on the box. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Battle Constraints
The single feature that frustrated me within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and tried to harm them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
