Anno 117 Pax Romana's Hidden Gem Is a Impressive First-Person Mode.

Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as my own reaction the moment I learned this hidden feature. Allow me to step away from my empire’s management, entrust it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.

Activating the First-Person Feature

Being a city-building title, Anno 117 Pax Romana usually operates using a top-down camera. But, should you enter a secret combination — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg appeared in Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would work before I discovered myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (possibly an unexpected bug — this option tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).

Exploring the Streets of Rome

After extracting myself, I walked the lively avenues through my metropolis and visited markets, breweries, flower fields, and shellfish gatherers — it was glorious to witness the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected numerous fine points I might have missed from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the form of a ledge and the coloration on a post is quite interesting for those not residing in classical times.

More Than Just Walking

However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I became extraordinarily excited upon discovering that not only could I observe farming fields, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the studio planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely wander through a grain field, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.

Graphics and Ambiance

Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered using primitive rendering, apart from certain rough movements and the occasional civilian resting inside seating rather than on a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (notably masonry elements) really have no business being this good within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe specific hair details, yet you will notice engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, brick decoloration, iris elements, and conifer needles. Evening, with glowing light sources and celestial bodies twinkling afar, creates a particularly moody setting, and feels much less frightening compared to Anno 1800, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities these days.

Discovery and Modification

Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to change from first-person to third-person mode and return. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Red toga? Blue and purple toga? Or — maybe superior — complete battle gear? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. Should you be curious, eliminating citizens cannot be done (though I didn't test this, obviously).

Humor and Citizen Interactions

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 “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female chose to intimidate me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Joy of Joyriding

Just as I assumed I had found everything available in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving in Ancient Rome. Completely unexpectedly, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Cattle, asses, even people-powered transports; you can control each one as desired. The donkey cart, in particular, 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 single feature that frustrated me regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in battle encounters. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, seemed enormously rewarding, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.

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