Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person View.
Hold on — were you aware you can play the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches compared to my initial response when I discovered this secret option. Excuse me while step away from overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a capable deputy, take a wagon, and take a spin around the classical city.
Activating the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, Anno 117 Pax Romana is typically played using a top-down camera. Yet, when you press a covert button sequence — 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 your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret was included in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to test it in the latest installment, but I wasn’t sure it would work prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode can be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I wandered the busy roads through my metropolis and toured markets, breweries, flower fields, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to observe all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I observed all kinds of details I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar is quite interesting to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
More Than Just Walking
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited the moment I learned that besides being able to look upon agricultural plots, but also step into them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I could walk onto clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the developers have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears much better than expected. The highly detailed textures (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons 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 options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and found I could alter my avatar's look. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Comedy and Population Encounters
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female opted to menace me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Thrill of Transportation
Just as I assumed 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 interacted with a cart and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down within the immersive perspective was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, yet was completely overlooked. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
