Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person Mode.

Hold on — were you aware you can play Anno 117: Pax Romana using a first-person camera? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response the moment I learned this secret option. Excuse me while step away from managing my empire, leave it in a capable deputy, take a wagon, and take a spin across the Roman world.

How to Access the First-Person Feature

In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 usually operates from a bird's-eye view. Yet, when you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was included in the previous Anno title, I looked forward to experience it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would function until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode is prone to glitches now and then).

Exploring the Roman Cityscape

Upon freeing myself, I strolled the busy roads through my metropolis and explored stalls, alehouses, floral patches, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to see my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed all kinds of details that would escape notice from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.

Further Than Mere Wandering

However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that besides being able to look upon farming fields, but also step into them. And even though I thought structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the studio have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.

Appearance and Mood

Even though I expected to see my metropolis represented with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see any individual strands of hair, yet you will notice engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and distant stellar illumination, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons anymore.

Testing and Personalization

Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — the zoom function permitting me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I then decided to hit some number buttons and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).

Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues

Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Thrill of Transportation

At the moment I believed I had found everything available in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).

Fighting Restrictions

The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in battle encounters. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view remained quite impressive, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.

{Conclusion: More to Discover|Final Thoughts: Additional Exploration