Anno 117 Pax Romana's Top Secret Is a Stunning First-Person View.
Surprisingly — did you realize it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If you're thinking that, you feel equally astonished as I was upon finding out this concealed mode. Allow me to temporarily abandon my empire’s management, leave it in 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 from an overhead perspective. But, should you input a hidden code — such as “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Given a comparable hidden feature was included in Anno 1800, I looked forward to experience it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would function before I discovered myself submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this option can be prone to glitches now and then).
Discovering the Roman Cityscape
After extracting myself, I walked the lively avenues of my city and visited stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to witness my diligent efforts from a brand-new perspective. I observed all kinds of details that would escape notice from the top-down view: Entryway ornaments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, chickens running loose, people relaxing on their verandas… Even just observing the shape of a window sill and the coating on a pillar is quite interesting to someone who doesn’t live in Ancient Rome.
Beyond Simple Strolling
However, there's additional content to the first-person feature in Anno 117 beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased when I found out that I could not just observe crop lands, but also access them. And despite my expectation interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter mud extraction sites, investigate a respected schoolhouse while lessons were in session, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the studio have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and glance into any tiny hut when there's no doorway obstructing.
Graphics and Ambiance
While I was completely ready to see my metropolis represented in PlayStation 1 graphics, excluding a few unpolished motions and the occasional civilian resting within a bench as opposed to atop a bench, the immersive perspective seems much better than expected. The intricately designed surfaces (particularly rock faces) really have no business being this good 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, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. Evening, with glowing light sources and distant stellar illumination, is especially atmospheric, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, especially since the inhabitants no longer resemble nightmarish entities now.
Experimentation and Customization
Given the covert first-person feature has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I subsequently tried pressing some number buttons and learned I could modify my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Azure and violet outfit? Or — potentially preferable — armored suit? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, personally chosen, equip a shooter's costume; if you hit the interaction button, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. In case you’re wondering, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I attempted, naturally).
Humor and Citizen Interactions
But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, because they’re way too funny. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I overheard a father telling his child that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your elder will punish you.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”
The Fun of Vehicle Use
At the moment I believed I had found everything available in the title's first-person feature, I found the joys of joyriding through classical settlements. Entirely by accident, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even people-powered transports; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).
Combat Limitations
The single feature that frustrated me regarding the first-person view was learning about my exclusion from in any fighting. Sporting my soldier fit, I charged toward adversaries amidst fighting and tried to harm them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, proved very satisfying, yet it would have been exciting to effectively strike targets using my fiery projectiles.
