Anno 117: Pax Romana's Top Secret Turns Out to Be a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117: Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? Should that be your response, you’re just as shocked as my own reaction when I discovered this hidden feature. Allow me to temporarily abandon my empire’s management, delegate it to a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and take a spin through Ancient Rome.
Unlocking the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 is typically played from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was included in the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to experience it in Ubisoft's newest game, but I wasn’t sure it would function prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this option can be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Roman Cityscape
After extracting myself, I walked the bustling streets through my metropolis and visited markets, breweries, flower fields, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to witness the fruits of my labor through a fresh lens. I observed a variety of intricacies 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… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the coloration on a post becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that besides being able to view crop lands, but also step into them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe writings on surfaces, flames emitting from lights, fading on bricks, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, creates a particularly moody setting, and feels much less frightening versus the earlier title, now that the citizens don’t look like terrifying apparitions now.
Discovery and Modification
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, 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 certain numeric keys and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Shortly after I activated first-person mode, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you offer additional fowl, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Completely unexpectedly, I interacted with a cart and was promptly seated on the box. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, seemed enormously rewarding, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.
