Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Impressive First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as I was upon finding out this hidden feature. I must briefly leave overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and take a spin across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person Mode
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. Yet, when you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or else “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 appeared in Anno 1800, I looked forward to experience it in Ubisoft's newest game, but I wasn’t sure it would operate until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this mode is somewhat unstable occasionally).
Roaming the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I walked the bustling streets through my metropolis and toured shops, taverns, floral patches, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to observe the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted when viewing from overhead: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, poultry scattering about, folks chilling on their balconies… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I was especially delighted when I found out that I could not just view farming fields, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I managed to access earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented using primitive rendering, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting within a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see any individual strands of hair, yet you will notice wall inscriptions, sparks flying from torches, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and evergreen foliage. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Testing and Personalization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. If you're interested, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).
Comedy and Population Encounters
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, as they're remarkably entertaining. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding through classical settlements. Totally unintentionally, I interacted with a cart and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Sporting my soldier fit, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.
