Anno 117: Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know it's possible to experience Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as my own reaction when I discovered this secret option. I must briefly leave overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and take a spin through Ancient Rome.
How to Access the First-Person View
As a city-building game, the game Anno 117 is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to test it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would operate until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this feature is a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I walked the lively avenues through my metropolis and visited markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to see the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I detected a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from the top-down view: Front door decorations, an ass transporting a floral pail, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post is quite interesting for those not residing in classical times.
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 upon discovering that I could not just look upon crop lands, but also step into them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the developers allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, besides some crude animations and the occasional civilian resting inside seating instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears far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 for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice specific hair details, yet you will notice engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons anymore.
Experimentation and Customization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my avatar's look. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Blue and purple toga? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I overheard a father telling his child that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I uncovered all possible content in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I found the joys of joyriding through classical settlements. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, moves quite quickly, but don't anticipate open-world vehicular chaos — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
