Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Reveals Itself as a Impressive First-Person Perspective.
Surprisingly — did you realize gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as I was upon finding out this concealed mode. Allow me to step away from overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 is typically played from an overhead perspective. But, should you enter a secret combination — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would operate prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this option is prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I wandered the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored stalls, alehouses, flower fields, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to observe all my hard work through a fresh lens. I detected a variety of intricacies that would escape notice when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post is quite interesting for those not residing in classical times.
Further Than Mere Wandering
But there’s more to Anno 117’s first-person mode than strolling along the road. I was especially delighted the moment I learned that besides being able to observe agricultural plots, but also access them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access earthen quarries, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the creators allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
While I was completely ready to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, besides some crude animations and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see separate follicular elements, but you will see wall inscriptions, sparks flying from torches, discoloration of masonry, iris elements, and conifer needles. The night, featuring dancing flames and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike nightmarish entities now.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and learned I could modify my character’s appearance. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
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 “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
At the moment I believed I uncovered all possible content within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and was promptly seated on the box. Bovines, equines, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The only thing that disappointed me regarding the first-person view was learning about my exclusion from in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was nonetheless magnificent, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to actually hit something with my burning arrows.
