Anno 117's Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 in first-person? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response upon finding out this concealed mode. Allow me to temporarily abandon my empire’s management, leave it in a trusted assistant, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person View
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature was included in the previous Anno title, I looked forward to test it in the latest installment, yet I had doubts it would function before I discovered myself submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this option can be prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Streets of Rome
After extracting myself, I strolled the lively avenues across my settlement and visited stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to observe my diligent efforts through a fresh lens. I noticed all kinds of details I wouldn’t have spotted from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Merely examining the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating for those not residing in classical times.
Further Than Mere Wandering
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that not only could I observe farming fields, but also step into them. And despite my expectation the building models would be off-limits, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, investigate a respected schoolhouse during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio have the budget for that), however, you can definitely wander through a grain field, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and glance into any tiny hut provided the entrance is missing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (notably masonry elements) shouldn't logically be this impressive for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice any individual strands of hair, but you will see wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities anymore.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and promptly found the functions for jumping, dashing, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I then decided to hit some number buttons and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Yellow toga? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I had found everything available within the game's immersive perspective, I found the joys of joyriding through classical settlements. Entirely by accident, I interacted with a cart and quickly occupied the transport. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, travels rather rapidly, 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).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces during active combat and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The proximate observation remained quite impressive, and watching the enemy run, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects using my fiery projectiles.
