Anno 117's Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Breathtaking First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana from a first-person viewpoint? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response the moment I learned this hidden feature. I must step away from my empire’s management, leave it in a reliable subordinate, commandere a carriage, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. Yet, when you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg appeared in Anno 1800, I looked forward to test it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this option is prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
After extracting myself, I walked the busy roads across my settlement and toured shops, taverns, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to see all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed all kinds of details that would escape notice when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
More Than Just Walking
But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that besides being able to look upon crop lands, but also access them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the studio allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Graphics and Ambiance
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see separate follicular elements, however, you can observe writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and conifer needles. The night, featuring dancing flames and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike nightmarish entities these days.
Discovery and Modification
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I attempted, naturally).
Comedy and Population Encounters
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Shortly after I activated the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I had found everything available in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, travels rather rapidly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Combat Limitations
The sole aspect that let me down within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in battle encounters. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something with my burning arrows.
