Anno 117's Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Turns Out to Be a Stunning First-Person Mode.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? If that’s your reaction, you feel equally astonished compared to my initial response when I discovered this secret option. Allow me to step away from managing my empire, delegate it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and go for a joyride across the Roman world.
How to Access the First-Person Feature
In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 is typically played from an overhead perspective. However, if you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the empire as an ordinary Roman. Since a similar easter egg was included in the previous Anno title, I was eager to test it in the new release, though I was uncertain it would operate prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (possibly an unexpected bug — this mode tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Roaming the Ancient Streets
After extracting myself, I wandered the busy roads through my metropolis and explored markets, breweries, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to observe my diligent efforts using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected numerous fine points that would escape notice from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, fowl roaming freely, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the coating on a pillar becomes engaging to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Beyond Simple Strolling
But there’s more to Anno 117’s first-person mode beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted when I found out that not only could I look upon farming fields, but also step into them. And even though I thought structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access mud extraction sites, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and invade personal courtyards. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators planned for that functionality), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, observe people digging and transporting bags, and glance into any tiny hut provided the entrance is missing.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to witness my city rendered using primitive rendering, apart from certain rough movements and periodic inhabitants sitting in a bench as opposed to atop a bench, first-person mode looks much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) are unexpectedly excellent in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You won't necessarily notice specific hair details, but you will see wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, creates a particularly moody setting, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble sleep paralysis demons now.
Discovery and Modification
Given the covert first-person feature lacks official documentation, I opted to try different commands, and immediately located the abilities to leap, run, and changing perspective — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I subsequently tried pressing various digit inputs and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, as they're remarkably entertaining. Shortly after I activated the first-person view, I listened to a dad instructing his kid that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. One lovely local Celt then proceeded to praise my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
At the moment I believed I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (once more, not admitting any attempts).
Fighting Restrictions
The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy amidst fighting and tried to harm them, yet was completely overlooked. The front-row seat remained quite impressive, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, felt highly gratifying, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.
