Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Stunning First-Person View.
Wait — did you know you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? Should that be your response, your surprise matches as my own reaction the moment I learned this concealed mode. Allow me to temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, leave it in a reliable subordinate, commandere a carriage, and go for a joyride around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
As a city-building game, the game Anno 117 is typically played from a bird's-eye view. But, should you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Because an analogous secret was included in Anno 1800, I was eager to test it in the new release, though I was uncertain it would work prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this option is a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Streets of Rome
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the lively avenues through my metropolis and toured markets, breweries, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to see the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected numerous fine points that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 aside from meandering through streets. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that not only could I view crop lands, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the developers have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted using primitive rendering, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, but you will see engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, iris elements, and conifer needles. The night, featuring dancing flames and stars shining in the distance, creates a particularly moody setting, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, now that the citizens don’t look like nightmarish entities these days.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and found I could alter my avatar's look. Golden robe? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You may carry a sword and shield, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. If you're interested, harming inhabitants is impossible (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A pleasant regional Celt then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Entirely by accident, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
