Anno 117's Pax Romana's Top Secret Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as I was the moment I learned this hidden feature. Allow me to temporarily abandon my empire’s management, leave it in a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played using a top-down camera. However, if you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret was part of the previous Anno title, I looked forward to test it in the new release, yet I had doubts it would operate prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature can be prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the busy roads across my settlement and visited shops, taverns, floral patches, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to see all my hard work through a fresh lens. I observed a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Merely examining the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
However, there's additional content to Anno 117’s first-person mode than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that besides being able to observe crop lands, but also enter them. And even though I thought structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building during active classes, and invade personal courtyards. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible wander through a grain field, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented with outdated visual quality, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, however, you can observe engravings on walls, sparks flying from torches, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames 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 terrifying apparitions anymore.
Testing and Personalization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and adjusting the view — the zoom function permitting me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I then experimented with some number buttons and discovered that I could change my avatar's look. Amber garment? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
However, I had no desire to injure my people, as they're remarkably entertaining. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you offer additional fowl, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Thrill of Transportation
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Sporting my soldier fit, I approached opposing forces during active combat and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects with my burning arrows.
