Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as my own reaction when I discovered this concealed mode. Excuse me while temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a trusted assistant, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
As a city-building game, the game Anno 117 is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. But, should you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Given a comparable hidden feature was included in the previous Anno title, I felt excited to try it out in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would function before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the busy roads of my city and visited markets, breweries, floral patches, and seafood collectors — it felt magnificent to observe my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I observed all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted when viewing from overhead: Doorway embellishments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post becomes engaging to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Further Than Mere Wandering
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that I could not just observe agricultural plots, but also step into them. And despite my expectation the building models would be off-limits, I could walk onto clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The highly detailed textures (notably masonry elements) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, but you will see writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, iris elements, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, creates a particularly moody setting, and proves significantly less intimidating relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like nightmarish entities these days.
Testing and Personalization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and found I could alter my representative's visual design. Golden robe? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you hit the interaction button, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
However, I had no desire to injure my people, as they're remarkably entertaining. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just as I assumed I had found everything available in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The single feature that frustrated me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in combat situations. Sporting my soldier fit, I charged toward adversaries during active combat and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
