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Hold on — were you aware you can play Anno 117: Pax Romana using a first-person camera? 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 managing my empire, delegate it to a reliable subordinate, take a wagon, and enjoy a ride across the Roman world.

How to Access the First-Person Feature

Being a city-building title, Anno 117: Pax Romana is normally experienced using a top-down camera. But, should you press a covert button sequence — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” on a controller — it becomes possible to roam the empire as an ordinary Roman. Because an analogous secret was part of the previous Anno title, I was eager to experience it in the latest installment, though I was uncertain it would work prior to being submerged in a structural glitch (likely not meant to happen — this option is prone to glitches now and then).

Exploring the Roman Cityscape

After extracting myself, I walked the bustling streets of my city and visited stalls, alehouses, blossom gardens, and shellfish gatherers — the experience was splendid to see my diligent efforts from a brand-new perspective. I detected numerous fine points I might have missed from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, a donkey carrying a flower bucket, chickens running loose, folks chilling on their balconies… Simply noticing the design of a windowsill and the paint layers on a column becomes engaging to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

Beyond Simple Strolling

But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective beyond simply walking the paths. I felt particularly pleased upon discovering that not only could I view farming fields, but also step into them. And although I’d assumed interiors would be restricted, I was able to enter clay pits, tour an esteemed educational structure while lessons were in session, and intrude into private gardens. Avoid attempting to open doors (not even the developers planned for that functionality), however, you can definitely stroll around a barley farm, see citizens working with tools and burdens, and take a peek inside any small shack provided the entrance is missing.

Graphics and Ambiance

Even though I expected to see my metropolis represented using primitive rendering, excluding a few unpolished motions and the occasional civilian resting in a bench rather than on a bench, the first-person view appears considerably improved over predictions. The intricately designed surfaces (notably masonry elements) are unexpectedly excellent within a game that's fundamentally a city-builder. You won't necessarily notice separate follicular elements, however, you can observe wall inscriptions, flames emitting from lights, discoloration of masonry, iris elements, and pine tree leaves. The night, featuring dancing flames 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 terrifying apparitions now.

Experimentation and Customization

Given the covert first-person feature has no guided tutorial, I decided to experiment a bit, and immediately located the options to jump, sprint, and adjusting the view — with the latter allowing me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and return. I then decided to hit certain numeric keys and learned I could modify 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, my favorite, don a marksman outfit; when you press the action key, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, eliminating citizens cannot be done (not that I’ve tried, of course).

Comedy and Population Encounters

But I wouldn’t wish to harm my citizens anyway, as they're remarkably entertaining. Moments after I entered first-person mode, I heard a parent advising their offspring that he “Can’t have a pet fox and if you offer additional fowl, your grandmother will be furious.” Rightly so, Roman dad. A pleasant regional Celt then started applauding my outstanding integration methods by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Repeat that statement, and your disappearance will be permanent.”

The Joy of Joyriding

Just when I thought I uncovered all possible content within the game's immersive perspective, I experienced the pleasure of driving through classical settlements. Completely unexpectedly, I clicked on a wagon and was promptly seated on the box. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, moves quite quickly, although you shouldn't expect any GTA-like shenanigans — colliding with pedestrians or other carts is impossible (again, not saying I’ve tried).

Combat Limitations

The sole aspect that let me down in Anno 117’s first-person mode was discovering my inability to participate in combat situations. Sporting my soldier fit, I ran up to the enemy in the midst of battle and attempted to attack them, but was entirely disregarded. The close-up view was still rather spectacular, and watching the enemy run, their appendages thrashing around, proved very satisfying, though it might have been amazing to successfully impact objects via my incendiary bolts.

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