Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as my own reaction upon finding out this secret option. Excuse me while briefly leave my empire’s management, leave it in a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and go for a joyride around the classical city.
Unlocking the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played using a top-down camera. But, should you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would function until I found myself stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature can be a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Streets of Rome
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the lively avenues across my settlement and visited stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to see the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I detected all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, fowl roaming freely, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post is quite interesting to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted when I found out that besides being able to observe agricultural plots, but also access them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter as long as the door is absent.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, excluding a few unpolished motions and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The highly detailed textures (especially stone surfaces) really have no business being this good within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe specific hair details, however, you can observe engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, brick decoloration, pupils, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions now.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I opted to try different commands, and promptly found the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I then decided to hit some number buttons and found I could alter my avatar's look. Golden robe? Crimson attire? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, as they're remarkably entertaining. Only seconds after I landed the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Thrill of Transportation
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I interacted with a cart and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine open-world vehicular chaos — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Combat Limitations
The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Sporting my soldier fit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
