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Wait — did you know you can play Anno 117 Pax Romana in first-person? If you're thinking that, you feel equally astonished as my own reaction when I discovered this secret option. I must step away from overseeing my civilization, entrust it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and take a spin across the Roman world.

Unlocking the First-Person Mode

Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played from a bird's-eye view. Yet, when you input a hidden code — for example “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on keyboard alternatively “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on console — you gain the ability to walk your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret was part of the earlier game Anno 1800, I looked forward to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, yet I had doubts it would operate until I found myself submerged in a structural glitch (which probably wasn’t intended — this mode can be a little buggy at times).

Exploring the Roman Cityscape

Upon freeing myself, I walked the busy roads across my settlement and toured stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and cockle pickers — the experience was splendid to witness all my hard work from a brand-new perspective. I detected numerous fine points I might have missed from the top-down view: Front door decorations, an ass transporting a floral pail, chickens running loose, citizens lounging on their terraces… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the coloration on a post becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

More Than Just Walking

Yet, the experience extends to the first-person feature in Anno 117 than strolling along the road. I was especially delighted when I found out that not only could I observe agricultural plots, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure as teaching was underway, and even trespass into people’s gardens. Don’t try to open any doors (not even the creators have the budget for that), but it’s entirely possible stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and look within any modest shelter when there's no doorway obstructing.

Visual Quality and Atmosphere

Although I was fully prepared to see my metropolis represented using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating instead of on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The highly detailed textures (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You might not observe specific hair details, however, you can observe writings on surfaces, sparks flying from torches, discoloration of masonry, pupils, and pine tree leaves. Nighttime, with its flickering fires and celestial bodies twinkling afar, creates a particularly moody setting, and proves significantly less intimidating versus the earlier title, now that the citizens don’t look like nightmarish entities now.

Testing and Personalization

Because the game's hidden immersive perspective doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and quickly discovered the abilities to leap, run, and zoom in or out — the last option enabling me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I then decided to hit various digit inputs and discovered that I could change my representative's visual design. Amber garment? Crimson attire? Sapphire and amethyst dress? Or — perhaps even better — full armor? You might hold a weapon and defense, or, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; if you activate the engage command, you shoot flaming projectiles upward. Should you be curious, harming inhabitants is impossible (not that I’ve tried, of course).

Amusement and Inhabitant Dialogues

Yet, I didn't want to damage my population, since they're incredibly amusing. Moments after I entered the first-person view, I overheard a father telling his child that “Owning a fox is prohibited and if you feed it one more chicken, your grandmother will be furious.” Understandable stance, father character. A pleasant regional Celt then began complimenting my brilliant Romano-Celtic policies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” whereas an irritable elderly woman opted to menace me: “Utter those words again, and your fate will be sealed.”

The Thrill of Transportation

Just as I assumed I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Totally unintentionally, I selected a carriage and quickly occupied the transport. Bovines, equines, even manually drawn vehicles; you can drive them all at your leisure. The donkey cart, in particular, travels rather rapidly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (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. Wearing my military outfit, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, but was entirely disregarded. The proximate observation was still rather spectacular, and observing foes flee, their limbs waving wildly, 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