Anno 117 Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Impressive First-Person View.

Hold on — were you aware gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as I was upon finding out this hidden feature. Allow me to step away from overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.

Activating the First-Person Feature

In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 is typically played from a bird's-eye view. But, should you input a hidden code — 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. Because an analogous secret was part of Anno 1800, I looked forward to experience it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would function prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this option is somewhat unstable occasionally).

Exploring the Roman Cityscape

Once I crawled out, I wandered the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to observe the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed numerous fine points that would escape notice from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.

Further Than Mere Wandering

Yet, the experience extends to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that I could not just view agricultural plots, but also access them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access clay pits, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), yet it's completely feasible wander through a grain field, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut provided the entrance is missing.

Appearance and Mood

Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and the occasional civilian resting inside seating as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems far superior to anticipations. The intricately designed surfaces (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe engravings on walls, sparks flying from torches, brick decoloration, eye details, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons these days.

Experimentation and Customization

Given the covert first-person feature has no guided tutorial, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the functions for jumping, dashing, and changing perspective — with the latter allowing me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I then decided to hit some number buttons and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Yellow toga? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you activate the engage command, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).

Humor and Citizen Interactions

Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and should you provide another poultry, your gran will have your head.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. 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 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 through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I interacted with a cart and was promptly seated on the box. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).

Combat Limitations

The sole aspect that let me down within the immersive perspective was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and tried to harm them, yet was completely overlooked. 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 successfully impact objects using my fiery projectiles.

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