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Wait — did you know gamers have the option to enjoy Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, your surprise matches as my own reaction upon finding out this hidden feature. Excuse me while temporarily abandon overseeing my civilization, leave it in a trusted assistant, borrow a cart, and go for a joyride around the classical city.

Activating the First-Person Mode

In its role as a city-builder, the game Anno 117 usually operates using a top-down camera. Yet, when you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” using PC controls or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you can explore the realm as a regular inhabitant. Because an analogous secret was part of Anno 1800, I was eager to test it in the new release, yet I had doubts it would operate before I discovered 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 walked the bustling streets through my metropolis and visited markets, breweries, floral patches, and seafood collectors — the experience was splendid to witness all my hard work using an entirely new viewpoint. I observed numerous fine points that would escape notice when viewing from overhead: Doorway embellishments, an ass transporting a floral pail, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the form of a ledge and the coating on a pillar proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

Beyond Simple Strolling

Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I was especially delighted when I found out that besides being able to observe agricultural plots, but also enter them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter earthen quarries, explore a prestigious Grammaticus building as teaching was underway, and invade personal courtyards. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible meander across a cereal plantation, watch folks shoveling and carrying sacks, and take a peek inside any small shack when there's no doorway obstructing.

Graphics and Ambiance

Although I was fully prepared to witness my city rendered with outdated visual quality, apart from certain rough movements and sometimes citizens positioned within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (especially stone surfaces) are unexpectedly excellent for a title that remains primarily overhead. You might not observe specific hair details, yet you will notice writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and evergreen foliage. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and celestial bodies twinkling afar, is especially atmospheric, and also a lot less scary versus the earlier title, given that the populace appears unlike terrifying apparitions anymore.

Testing and Personalization

Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to switch between first and third-person views and back. I then experimented with certain numeric keys and found I could alter my avatar's look. Yellow toga? Ruby clothing? Azure and violet outfit? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You can wield a blade and protection, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, harming inhabitants is impossible (though I didn't test this, obviously).

Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues

Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I heard a parent advising their offspring that “Owning a fox is prohibited and should you provide another poultry, your grandmother will be furious.” Appropriate response, paternal figure. A friendly native Celtic person then proceeded to praise my excellent cross-cultural strategies by calling it the “Best of both worlds,” while some cranky old lady chose to intimidate me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”

The Fun of Vehicle Use

Just as I assumed I’d discovered all there is to discover in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s first-person mode, I found the joys of joyriding in Ancient Rome. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Bovines, equines, even manually drawn vehicles; you may operate any of them freely. The ass-drawn vehicle, specifically, travels rather rapidly, though you shouldn’t imagine open-world vehicular chaos — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (reiterating, without confirming testing).

Combat Limitations

The only thing that disappointed me in Anno 117’s first-person mode was finding out I couldn’t partake in combat situations. Equipped in warrior attire, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and seeing opponents retreat, their limbs waving wildly, proved very satisfying, but it would’ve been cool to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.

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