Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Breathtaking First-Person View.
Hold on — were you aware it's possible to experience Anno 117: Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as I was the moment I learned this secret option. Excuse me while briefly leave my empire’s management, entrust it to a trusted assistant, borrow a cart, and go for a joyride through Ancient Rome.
Activating the First-Person View
As a city-building game, Anno 117: Pax Romana usually operates from an overhead perspective. However, if you enter a secret combination — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “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 included in the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in the new release, yet I had doubts it would work prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this mode can be a little buggy at times).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
Upon freeing myself, I walked the busy roads through my metropolis and toured markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and seafood collectors — it felt magnificent to witness the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected numerous fine points that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column proves fascinating to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that I could not just look upon crop lands, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and invade personal courtyards. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the developers have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Graphics and Ambiance
Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and the occasional civilian resting within a bench rather than on a bench, the immersive perspective seems considerably improved over predictions. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) shouldn't logically be this impressive within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You won't necessarily notice specific hair details, but you will see engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames and stars shining in the distance, is especially atmospheric, and feels much less frightening relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions anymore.
Testing and Personalization
Because the game's hidden immersive perspective has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I then experimented with various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Golden robe? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; if you hit the interaction button, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Comedy and Population Encounters
However, I had no desire to injure my people, as they're remarkably entertaining. Moments after I entered the immersive perspective, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you feed it one more chicken, your gran will have your head.” Understandable stance, father character. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by labeling it “Perfect fusion,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Joy of Joyriding
Just when I thought I had found everything available within the game's immersive perspective, I found the joys of joyriding through classical settlements. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Cattle, asses, even human-pulled carts; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I approached opposing forces in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, yet was completely overlooked. The front-row seat was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to effectively strike targets via my incendiary bolts.
