Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117: Pax Romana using a first-person camera? Should that be your response, your surprise matches as my own reaction when I discovered this concealed mode. I must temporarily abandon my empire’s management, entrust it to a reliable subordinate, take a wagon, and go for a joyride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 usually operates from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — it becomes possible to roam your domain as a common citizen. Given a comparable hidden feature was included in the previous Anno title, I was eager to test it in Ubisoft's newest game, though I was uncertain it would operate before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode is a little buggy at times).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the busy roads across my settlement and explored shops, taverns, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — it was glorious to observe all my hard work through a fresh lens. I observed a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Beyond Simple Strolling
Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I became extraordinarily excited when I found out that not only could I look upon crop lands, but also access 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 even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The highly detailed textures (notably masonry elements) really have no business being this good for a title that remains primarily overhead. You may not see specific hair details, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, brick decoloration, eye details, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary versus the earlier title, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble terrifying apparitions these days.
Testing and Personalization
Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and promptly found the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I then experimented with various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Golden robe? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Comedy and Population Encounters
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and should you provide another poultry, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Entirely by accident, I interacted with a cart and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and tried to harm them, yet was completely overlooked. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
