Anno 117 Pax Romana's Top Secret Turns Out to Be a Stunning First-Person View.

Surprisingly — did you realize you can play the game Anno 117 in first-person? If that’s your reaction, you’re just as shocked compared to my initial response the moment I learned this hidden feature. Excuse me while temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, delegate it to a trusted assistant, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride around the classical city.

How to Access the First-Person View

In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117 Pax Romana usually operates from an overhead perspective. But, should you press a covert button sequence — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — you gain the ability to walk the realm as a regular inhabitant. Because an analogous secret appeared in the earlier game Anno 1800, I was eager to test it in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would work until I found myself chin-deep in a Celtic floorboard (likely not meant to happen — this option tends to be somewhat unstable occasionally).

Exploring the Streets of Rome

Once I crawled out, I strolled the lively avenues through my metropolis and explored shops, taverns, flower fields, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to observe the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I noticed all kinds of details I might have missed when viewing from overhead: Entryway ornaments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, folks chilling on their balconies… Merely examining the form of a ledge and the paint layers on a column is quite interesting to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.

Beyond Simple Strolling

However, there's additional content to the game's immersive perspective aside from meandering through streets. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that not only could I look upon farming fields, but also step into them. And despite my expectation structures would be inaccessible, I managed to access clay pits, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio allocated resources for that), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.

Visual Quality and Atmosphere

Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and periodic inhabitants sitting inside seating rather than on a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (notably masonry elements) shouldn't logically be this impressive in what is still, essentially, a top-down game. You may not see any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, fading on bricks, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames and distant stellar illumination, generates a uniquely immersive environment, and proves significantly less intimidating relative to the previous game, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions anymore.

Testing and Personalization

Because the game's hidden immersive perspective lacks official documentation, I decided to experiment a bit, and promptly found the options to jump, sprint, and zoom in or out — with the latter allowing me to switch between first and third-person views and return. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Ruby clothing? Blue and purple toga? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You can wield a blade and protection, or, preferably, wear an archer's uniform; when you press the action key, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (not that I’ve tried, of course).

Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues

But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered the immersive perspective, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your elder will punish you.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” while some cranky old lady opted to menace me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”

The Fun of Vehicle Use

Just when I thought I’d discovered all there is to discover in the title's first-person feature, I encountered the delight of riding through classical settlements. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Cattle, asses, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey-powered transport, notably, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (once more, not admitting any attempts).

Fighting Restrictions

The sole aspect that let me down regarding the first-person view was discovering my inability to participate in any fighting. Equipped in warrior attire, I approached opposing forces during active combat and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The proximate observation remained quite impressive, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, seemed enormously rewarding, yet it would have been exciting to actually hit something via my incendiary bolts.

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