Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.

Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction the moment I learned this secret option. Excuse me while step away from managing my empire, leave it in a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.

Activating the First-Person View

As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates from an overhead perspective. But, should you enter a secret combination — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore 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 latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (which probably wasn’t intended — this mode tends to be a little buggy at times).

Roaming the Ancient Streets

Upon freeing myself, I walked the busy roads across my settlement and visited stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to observe my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the shape of a window sill and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

Beyond Simple Strolling

However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted when I found out that besides being able to view crop lands, but also access them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I managed to access clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut provided the entrance is missing.

Graphics and Ambiance

While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, but you will see writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, fading on bricks, eye details, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike nightmarish entities now.

Experimentation and Customization

Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and revert. I then experimented with some number buttons and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (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 immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited 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 calling it the “Best of both worlds,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Thrill of Transportation

Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (again, not saying I’ve tried).

Fighting Restrictions

The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy during active combat and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.

{Conclusion: More to Discover|Final Thoughts: Additional Exploration