Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person View.

Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? Should that be your response, you feel equally astonished as I was upon finding out this concealed mode. I must briefly leave overseeing my civilization, leave it in a capable deputy, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.

Activating the First-Person View

Being a city-building title, Anno 117 Pax Romana is typically played using a top-down camera. But, should you input a hidden code — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam the realm as a regular inhabitant. Because an analogous secret appeared in the previous Anno title, I felt excited to test it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would function until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature can be prone to glitches now and then).

Discovering the Roman Cityscape

Upon freeing myself, I wandered the lively avenues through my metropolis and toured shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to see my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating for those not residing in classical times.

More Than Just Walking

Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that I could not just view agricultural plots, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I could walk onto clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.

Graphics and Ambiance

Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe wall inscriptions, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like nightmarish entities anymore.

Testing and Personalization

Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I subsequently tried pressing certain numeric keys and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).

Comedy and Population Encounters

But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A pleasant regional Celt then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Joy of Joyriding

At the moment I believed I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I interacted with a cart and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (reiterating, without confirming testing).

Fighting Restrictions

The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was finding out I couldn’t partake in battle encounters. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and tried to harm them, yet was completely overlooked. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.

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