Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person View.
Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response upon finding out this secret option. Allow me to temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and go for a joyride around the classical city.
Activating the First-Person Feature
As a city-building game, Anno 117 Pax Romana is normally experienced using a top-down camera. However, if you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you gain the ability to walk the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature was part of Anno 1800, I felt excited to experience it in the latest installment, but I wasn’t sure it would operate prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode tends to be a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
Once I crawled out, I strolled the bustling streets through my metropolis and visited shops, taverns, floral patches, and cockle pickers — it was glorious to observe the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed a variety of intricacies that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating for those not residing in classical times.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that not only could I observe agricultural plots, but also enter them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I could walk onto clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, first-person mode looks far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, but you will see engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons these days.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I subsequently tried pressing certain numeric keys and learned I could modify my avatar's look. Yellow toga? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? 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).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Shortly after I activated first-person mode, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my outstanding integration methods by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” whereas an irritable elderly woman chose to intimidate 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 Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I found the joys of joyriding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I interacted with a cart and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Sporting my soldier fit, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to actually hit something with my burning arrows.
