Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 in first-person? Should that be your response, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction upon finding out this hidden feature. Excuse me while step away from overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, borrow a cart, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 is normally experienced from an overhead perspective. But, should 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” on console — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Since a similar easter egg appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in the latest installment, but I wasn’t sure it would operate until I found myself stuck in a Celtic building (likely not meant to happen — this feature tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the bustling streets through my metropolis and explored markets, breweries, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to see all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted when viewing from overhead: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to Anno 117’s first-person mode aside from meandering through streets. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that not only could I observe crop lands, but also step into them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access mud extraction sites, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Don't bother with door access (not even the studio have the budget for that), however, you can definitely wander through a grain field, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see specific hair details, yet you will notice engravings on walls, fiery particles from lamps, fading on bricks, pupils, and conifer needles. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, creates a particularly moody setting, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, now that the citizens don’t look like sleep paralysis demons now.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and found I could alter my avatar's look. Golden robe? Red toga? Azure and violet outfit? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you activate the engage command, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
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 gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just when I thought I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, although you shouldn't expect open-world vehicular chaos — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Fighting Restrictions
The single feature that frustrated me within the immersive perspective was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
