Anno 117 Pax Romana's Best-Kept Secret Is a Impressive First-Person Perspective.

Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked as my own reaction upon finding out this secret option. Excuse me while briefly leave overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and take a spin through Ancient Rome.

How to Access the First-Person View

In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates from an overhead perspective. But, should you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam the realm as a regular inhabitant. Since a similar easter egg was included in Anno 1800, I felt excited to test it in the new release, yet I had doubts it would operate prior to being chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this feature tends to be prone to glitches now and then).

Exploring the Ancient Streets

Once I crawled out, I walked the busy roads of my city and visited markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — it felt magnificent to witness all my hard work through a fresh lens. I observed all kinds of details I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post is quite interesting to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

More Than Just Walking

But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased the moment I learned that besides being able to observe agricultural plots, but also access them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter clay pits, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio allocated resources for that), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, 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 see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice specific hair details, but you will see writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, brick decoloration, eye details, and evergreen foliage. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, given that the populace appears unlike nightmarish entities now.

Experimentation and Customization

Given the covert first-person feature has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and revert. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and learned I could modify my avatar's look. Golden robe? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I attempted, naturally).

Comedy and Population Encounters

Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Shortly after I activated the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you offer additional fowl, your gran will have your head.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my excellent cross-cultural strategies 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

Just when I thought I had found everything available in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, 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. Bovines, equines, even people-powered transports; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).

Battle Constraints

The single feature that frustrated me regarding the first-person view was finding out I couldn’t partake in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was nonetheless magnificent, and watching the enemy run, their arms flailing about, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to successfully impact objects using my fiery projectiles.

{Conclusion: More to Discover|Final Thoughts: Additional Exploration