Anno 117's Pax Romana's Top Secret Reveals Itself as a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Hold on — were you aware you can play the game Anno 117 in first-person? If you're thinking that, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response the moment I learned this secret option. Allow me to briefly leave managing my empire, entrust it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
How to Access the First-Person Mode
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. However, if you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Since a similar easter egg was included in the previous Anno title, I was eager to test it in the latest installment, yet I had doubts it would work before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this mode is prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Streets of Rome
Once I crawled out, I wandered the bustling streets through my metropolis and toured shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to witness all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I detected a variety of intricacies that would escape notice from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to Anno 117’s first-person mode beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that besides being able to look upon crop lands, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I managed to access earthen quarries, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building while lessons were in session, and intrude into private 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 take a peek inside any small shack as long as the door is absent.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and the occasional civilian resting inside seating rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice specific hair details, but you will see wall inscriptions, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, pupils, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, 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 options to jump, sprint, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and learned I could modify my avatar's look. Amber garment? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. Should you be curious, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
However, I had no desire to injure my people, because they’re way too funny. 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.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” whereas an irritable elderly woman chose to intimidate me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Thrill of Transportation
At the moment I believed I had found everything available within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Battle Constraints
The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation remained quite impressive, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.
