Anno 117 Pax Romana's Top Secret Turns Out to Be a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction when I discovered this secret option. Excuse me while step away from overseeing my civilization, leave it in a capable deputy, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
How to Access the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. But, should you enter a secret combination — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would work before I discovered myself submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this mode is a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Streets of Rome
Upon freeing myself, I walked the lively avenues of my city and visited markets, breweries, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to observe the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I observed a variety of intricacies I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
More Than Just Walking
Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted the moment I learned that I could not just view farming fields, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter earthen quarries, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the developers planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.
Graphics and Ambiance
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating instead of on a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The highly detailed textures (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see any individual strands of hair, yet you will notice wall inscriptions, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, eye details, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, creates a particularly moody setting, and proves significantly less intimidating relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities now.
Testing and Personalization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and promptly found the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and revert. I then experimented with some number buttons and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Golden robe? Crimson attire? Blue and purple toga? 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’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Comedy and Population Encounters
However, I had no desire to injure my people, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I uncovered all possible content within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Combat Limitations
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
