Anno 117's Pax Romana's Top Secret Reveals Itself as a Breathtaking First-Person Perspective.
Hold on — were you aware you can play the game Anno 117 using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches as I was upon finding out this secret option. Allow me to temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a capable deputy, commandere a carriage, and take a spin across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person View
Being a city-building title, the game Anno 117 is typically played from an overhead perspective. But, should you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg appeared in Anno 1800, I felt excited to try it out in the new release, though I was uncertain it would operate prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this mode tends to be prone to glitches now and then).
Roaming the Streets of Rome
Upon freeing myself, I wandered the bustling streets of my city and explored markets, breweries, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it felt magnificent to observe the fruits of my labor from a brand-new perspective. I detected numerous fine points that would escape notice from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, fowl roaming freely, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the shape of a window sill and the coloration on a post proves fascinating 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 felt particularly pleased upon discovering that besides being able to look upon farming fields, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I could walk onto mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.
Appearance and Mood
Even though I expected to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and sometimes citizens positioned in a bench rather than on a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The highly detailed textures (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You won't necessarily notice specific hair details, yet you will notice engravings on walls, sparks flying from torches, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and evergreen foliage. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities these days.
Experimentation and Customization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and quickly discovered the options to jump, sprint, and changing perspective — the zoom function permitting me to change from first-person to third-person mode and back. I then experimented with various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the immersive perspective, I overheard a father telling his child that “You cannot keep a fox as a pet and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Rightly so, Roman dad. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” whereas an irritable elderly woman chose to intimidate me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Thrill of Transportation
Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding through classical settlements. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, travels rather rapidly, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — impacting citizens or additional vehicles cannot occur (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The single feature that frustrated me within the immersive perspective was learning about my exclusion from in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces amidst fighting and endeavored to damage them, yet was completely overlooked. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, though it might have been amazing to actually hit something with my burning arrows.
