Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Surprisingly — did you realize you can play the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response the moment I learned this hidden feature. Excuse me while briefly leave my empire’s management, delegate it to a trusted assistant, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 usually operates using a top-down camera. But, should you press a covert button sequence — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you gain the ability to walk the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature was part of the previous Anno title, I was eager to test it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature tends to be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I wandered the busy roads across my settlement and explored shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and seafood collectors — the experience was splendid to see all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I noticed a variety of intricacies that would escape notice from the top-down view: Front door decorations, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar is quite interesting to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
More Than Just Walking
Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that I could not just view farming fields, but also enter them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.
Appearance and Mood
Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (especially stone surfaces) really have no business being this good for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see any individual strands of hair, but you will see engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, pupils, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, creates a particularly moody setting, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons now.
Discovery and Modification
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the abilities to leap, run, and adjusting the view — the zoom function permitting me to switch between first and third-person views and revert. I then decided to hit some number buttons and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Red toga? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Comedy and Population Encounters
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman decided to threaten me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Thrill of Transportation
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Bovines, equines, even human-pulled carts; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey cart, in particular, travels rather rapidly, but don't anticipate any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Fighting Restrictions
The single feature that frustrated me regarding the first-person view was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
