Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117: Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches compared to my initial response upon finding out this concealed mode. Excuse me while step away from my empire’s management, leave it in a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person Mode
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced using a top-down camera. But, should you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg was included in Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in the new release, though I was uncertain it would operate until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature can be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the busy roads through my metropolis and explored shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to observe the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that I could not just look upon agricultural plots, but also access them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and take a peek inside any small shack as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (especially stone surfaces) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe separate follicular elements, however, you can observe engravings on walls, sparks flying from torches, fading on bricks, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like terrifying apparitions these days.
Testing and Personalization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and found I could alter my avatar's look. Golden robe? Crimson attire? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You may carry a sword and shield, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. Should you be curious, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies 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
At the moment I believed I had found everything available within the game's immersive perspective, I found the joys of joyriding across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (reiterating, without confirming testing).
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 approached opposing forces amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.