Anno 117: Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Breathtaking First-Person View.
Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy the game Anno 117 from a first-person viewpoint? If you're thinking that, you’re just as shocked as I was upon finding out this hidden feature. Allow me to step away from overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.
Unlocking the First-Person Mode
As a city-building game, the game Anno 117 usually operates from an overhead perspective. Yet, when you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Since a similar easter egg appeared in the previous Anno title, I looked forward to try it out in the new release, yet I had doubts it would function until I found myself stuck in a Celtic building (which probably wasn’t intended — this feature can be somewhat unstable occasionally).
Roaming the Roman Cityscape
Once I crawled out, I strolled the lively avenues across my settlement and explored markets, breweries, flower fields, and seafood collectors — it was glorious to witness the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed all kinds of details that would escape notice from above: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, citizens lounging on their terraces… Even just observing the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating for those not residing in classical times.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that besides being able to look upon agricultural plots, but also step into them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, tour an esteemed educational structure during active classes, and intrude into private gardens. Don't bother with door access (not even the developers allocated resources for that), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and take a peek inside any small shack as long as the door is absent.
Visual Quality and Atmosphere
Even though I expected to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and periodic inhabitants sitting within a bench rather than on a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You may not see any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe engravings on walls, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, iris elements, and evergreen foliage. The night, featuring dancing flames and stars shining in the distance, 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
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 zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to switch between first and third-person views and revert. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Yellow toga? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You may carry a sword and shield, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you launch incendiary bolts heavenward. In case you’re wondering, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).
Comedy and Population Encounters
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed first-person mode, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and should you provide another poultry, your elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my outstanding integration methods by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” while some cranky old lady decided to threaten me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”
The Joy of Joyriding
At the moment I believed I uncovered all possible content within the game's immersive perspective, I encountered the delight of riding across historical settings. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and quickly occupied the transport. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (reiterating, without confirming testing).
Battle Constraints
The sole aspect that let me down within the immersive perspective was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and tried to harm them, but was entirely disregarded. The front-row seat remained quite impressive, and seeing opponents retreat, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.
