Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person View.
Wait — did you know it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? Should that be your response, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response when I discovered this hidden feature. Excuse me while step away from my empire’s management, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
Activating the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117 Pax Romana is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. But, should you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg was included in the earlier game Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in the latest installment, but I wasn’t sure it would work until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this feature is prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Streets of Rome
Upon freeing myself, I walked the busy roads through my metropolis and visited markets, breweries, floral patches, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to witness all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I detected numerous fine points I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post is quite interesting to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that besides being able to look upon agricultural plots, but also step into them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the developers have the budget for that), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, excluding a few unpolished motions and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice any individual strands of hair, but you will see wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, fading on bricks, eye details, and conifer needles. The night, featuring dancing flames and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and proves significantly less intimidating compared to Anno 1800, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons these days.
Testing and Personalization
Given the covert first-person feature has no guided tutorial, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. If you're interested, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Comedy and Population Encounters
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A pleasant regional Celt then started applauding my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I found the joys of joyriding across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (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. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
