Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person Perspective.
Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? Should that be your response, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response upon finding out this concealed mode. Excuse me while briefly leave my empire’s management, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, take a wagon, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
Activating the First-Person View
As a city-building game, Anno 117 Pax Romana is normally experienced from a bird's-eye view. But, should 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 — you can explore your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret was part of the previous Anno title, I was eager to test it in Ubisoft's newest game, but I wasn’t sure it would function before I discovered myself stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature can be a little buggy at times).
Exploring the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the bustling streets across my settlement and visited stalls, alehouses, floral patches, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to see all my hard work through a fresh lens. I detected a variety of intricacies I wouldn’t have spotted from above: Front door decorations, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column is quite interesting to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.
Further Than Mere Wandering
Yet, the experience extends to Anno 117’s first-person mode than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that besides being able to look upon agricultural plots, but also enter them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, 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 creators allocated resources for that), however, you can definitely meander across a cereal plantation, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to observe my settlement depicted with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench rather than on a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The highly detailed textures (especially stone surfaces) are unexpectedly excellent 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, brick decoloration, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, given that the populace appears unlike sleep paralysis demons these days.
Experimentation and Customization
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode lacks official documentation, I chose to test various actions, and promptly found 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 subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and discovered that I could change my avatar's look. Golden robe? 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 activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
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 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.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then started applauding my excellent cross-cultural strategies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female chose to intimidate me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
Just as I assumed I had found everything available in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I interacted with a cart and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Battle Constraints
The single feature that frustrated me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and attempted to attack them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.