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Wait — did you know it's possible to experience Anno 117 Pax Romana using a first-person camera? If that’s your reaction, your surprise matches compared to my initial response the moment I learned this concealed mode. Allow me to briefly leave my empire’s management, delegate it to a capable deputy, borrow a cart, and take a spin through Ancient Rome.

How to Access the First-Person View

In its role as a city-builder, Anno 117: Pax Romana is typically played from a bird's-eye view. But, should you input a hidden code — including “Ctrl,” “Shift,” and “R” on a keyboard or else “Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B/Circle, A/X” with a gamepad — you can explore your domain as a common citizen. Because an analogous secret appeared in Anno 1800, I was eager to try it out in Ubisoft's newest game, though I was uncertain it would operate prior to being stuck in a Celtic building (possibly an unexpected bug — this option tends to be a little buggy at times).

Exploring the Ancient Streets

After extracting myself, I strolled the bustling streets through my metropolis and explored markets, breweries, flower fields, and cockle pickers — it was glorious to observe the fruits of my labor using an entirely new viewpoint. I detected numerous fine points that would escape notice from the top-down view: Doorway embellishments, a beast of burden holding a blossom container, poultry scattering about, people relaxing on their verandas… Simply noticing the shape of a window sill and the coloration on a post proves fascinating to modern individuals unfamiliar with ancient life.

More Than Just Walking

But there’s more to the game's immersive perspective than strolling along the road. I was especially delighted when I found out that not only could I observe agricultural plots, but also enter them. And even though I thought the building models would be off-limits, I managed to access 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 creators have the budget for that), yet it's completely feasible meander across a cereal plantation, observe people digging and transporting bags, and look within any modest shelter provided the entrance is missing.

Visual Quality and Atmosphere

While I was completely ready to observe my settlement depicted using primitive rendering, besides some crude animations and sometimes citizens positioned inside seating as opposed to atop a bench, the first-person view appears much better than expected. The meticulously crafted materials (notably masonry elements) really have no business being this good for a title that remains primarily overhead. You won't necessarily notice any individual strands of hair, however, you can observe writings on surfaces, fiery particles from lamps, discoloration of masonry, eye details, and conifer needles. The night, featuring dancing flames and stars shining in the distance, creates a particularly moody setting, and also a lot less scary compared to Anno 1800, now that the citizens don’t look like nightmarish entities anymore.

Testing and Personalization

Given the covert first-person feature doesn’t come with an instruction manual, I chose to test various actions, and promptly found the functions for jumping, dashing, and zoom in or out — the zoom function permitting me to alternate between immersive and external perspectives and revert. I then decided to hit some number buttons and found I could alter my character’s appearance. Golden robe? Ruby clothing? 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 hit the interaction button, you’ll fire burning arrows into the sky. If you're interested, it’s not possible to kill civilians (though I didn't test this, obviously).

Comedy and Population Encounters

However, I had no desire to injure my people, since they're incredibly amusing. Only seconds after I landed 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 elder will punish you.” Understandable stance, father character. One lovely local Celt then began complimenting my excellent cross-cultural strategies by describing it as “Ideal combination,” meanwhile a grumpy senior female decided to threaten me: “Say that one more time, and they’ll never find your body.”

The Joy of Joyriding

Just when I thought I uncovered all possible content in the title's first-person feature, I experienced the pleasure of driving across historical settings. Totally unintentionally, I clicked on a wagon and immediately found myself in the driver's position. Oxen, donkeys, even manually drawn vehicles; you can control each one as desired. The donkey-powered transport, notably, is pretty fast, but don't anticipate Grand Theft Auto-style mischief — you can’t drive into people or other wagons (again, not saying I’ve tried).

Combat Limitations

The only thing that disappointed me within the immersive perspective was discovering my inability to participate in combat situations. Wearing my military outfit, I charged toward adversaries in the midst of battle and endeavored to damage them, only to be ignored completely. The close-up view remained quite impressive, and observing foes flee, their arms flailing about, seemed enormously rewarding, but it would’ve been cool to actually hit something using my fiery projectiles.

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