Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Stunning First-Person View.
Wait — did you know it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 in first-person? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response upon finding out this hidden feature. Excuse me while temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
Unlocking the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117 Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. However, if you enter a secret combination — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret appeared in the previous Anno title, I was eager to try it out in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would function prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this feature is somewhat unstable occasionally).
Exploring the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I walked the bustling streets of my city and explored stalls, alehouses, floral patches, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to witness all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I detected a variety of intricacies that would escape notice when viewing from overhead: Front door decorations, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I was especially delighted upon discovering that besides being able to look upon agricultural plots, but also access them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I managed to access mud extraction sites, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting in a bench instead of on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see any individual strands of hair, but you will see wall inscriptions, sparks flying from torches, brick decoloration, pupils, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities these days.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and back. I then decided to hit certain numeric keys and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; when you press the action key, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your grandmother will be furious.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then proceeded to praise my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female 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 uncovered all possible content within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The single feature that frustrated me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in combat situations. Sporting my soldier fit, I approached opposing forces in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
