Anno 117 Pax Romana's Top Secret Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person View.
Wait — did you know you can play Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? Should that be your response, your surprise matches as I was the moment I learned this hidden feature. Excuse me while briefly leave overseeing my civilization, leave it in a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.
How to Access the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117 Pax Romana is typically played using a top-down camera. Yet, when 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” on console — you gain the ability to walk the realm as a regular inhabitant. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I felt excited to test it in the new release, but I wasn’t sure it would operate until I found myself stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature is somewhat unstable occasionally).
Exploring the Streets of Rome
After extracting myself, I wandered the bustling streets across my settlement and toured shops, taverns, floral patches, and seafood collectors — it felt magnificent to see my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Even just observing the form of a ledge 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 was especially delighted when I found out that not only could I observe farming fields, but also step into them. And even though I thought interiors would be restricted, I managed to access clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), but it’s entirely possible wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and take a peek inside any small shack as long as the door is absent.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
Although I was fully prepared to observe my settlement depicted in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the first-person view appears far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see any individual strands of hair, but you will see writings on surfaces, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and evergreen foliage. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions these days.
Discovery and Modification
Given the covert first-person feature 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 switch between first and third-person views and return. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Yellow toga? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local 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 Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Battle Constraints
The single feature that frustrated me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.
