Anno 117: Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Turns Out to Be a Impressive First-Person Perspective.
Hold on — were you aware you can play the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, you feel equally astonished as I was the moment I learned this concealed mode. Allow me to briefly leave managing my empire, leave it in a trusted assistant, commandere a carriage, and go for a joyride around the classical city.
Activating the First-Person View
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. But, should you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you gain the ability to walk the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature appeared in the previous Anno title, I was eager to test it in the new release, though I was uncertain it would operate before I discovered myself submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature is a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Ancient Streets
Upon freeing myself, I strolled the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored markets, breweries, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to see all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed a variety of intricacies that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, folks chilling on their balconies… Merely examining the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging for those not residing in classical times.
Further Than Mere Wandering
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I was especially delighted upon discovering that I could not just view agricultural plots, but also access them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the creators planned for that functionality), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, 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 using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and the occasional civilian resting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, first-person mode looks far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and conifer needles. The night, featuring dancing flames and celestial bodies twinkling afar, creates a particularly moody setting, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions now.
Discovery and Modification
Since Anno 117’s super-secret first-person mode has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. If you're interested, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).
Comedy and Population Encounters
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, 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 if you offer additional fowl, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female opted to menace me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Thrill of Transportation
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. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Battle Constraints
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was learning about my exclusion from in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view remained quite impressive, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, felt highly gratifying, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.
