Anno 117: Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches compared to my initial response upon finding out this secret option. I must step away from my empire’s management, leave it in a reliable subordinate, commandere a carriage, and take a spin around the classical city.
Activating the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 is typically played from a bird's-eye view. However, if you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg was included in the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, but I wasn’t sure it would work until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this option can be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I strolled the lively avenues through my metropolis and toured shops, taverns, floral patches, and cockle pickers — it was glorious to observe my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I observed all kinds of details I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the shape of a window sill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
However, there's additional content to Anno 117’s first-person mode beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted upon discovering that I could not just look upon agricultural plots, but also step into them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access earthen quarries, investigate a respected schoolhouse as teaching was underway, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the developers planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Graphics and Ambiance
Even though I expected to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting inside seating as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe separate follicular elements, but you will see engravings on walls, sparks flying from torches, fading on bricks, eye details, and evergreen foliage. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons now.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and quickly discovered the functions for jumping, dashing, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and discovered that I could change my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Red toga? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered first-person mode, 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.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then proceeded to praise my outstanding integration methods by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just as I assumed I had found everything available in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine open-world vehicular chaos — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Battle Constraints
The sole aspect that let me down within the immersive perspective was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Wearing my military outfit, I charged toward adversaries amidst fighting and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat remained quite impressive, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, yet it would have been exciting to effectively strike targets with my burning arrows.
