Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? Should that be your response, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction the moment I learned this concealed mode. Allow me to step away from overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. However, if you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk 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, yet I had doubts it would work until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature tends to be a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I walked the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored shops, taverns, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to see all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I noticed a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that besides being able to look upon farming fields, but also step into them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers planned for that functionality), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and take a peek inside any small shack when there's no doorway obstructing.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, excluding a few unpolished motions and the occasional civilian resting within a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The highly detailed textures (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see specific hair details, however, you can observe writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and evergreen foliage. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and proves significantly less intimidating compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities these days.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and revert. I then experimented with various digit inputs and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Golden robe? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Comedy and Population Encounters
However, I had no desire to injure my people, because they’re way too funny. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then proceeded to praise my excellent cross-cultural strategies 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 Thrill of Transportation
At the moment I believed I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (again, not saying I’ve tried).
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 ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to successfully impact objects with my burning arrows.
