Back at E3 in 2011, Ryse: Son of Rome was originally announced as a Kinect-only title for the Xbox 360. With Microsoft announcing the Xbox One a year after Ryse was announced, Crytek scrapped the whole idea of bringing it to the Xbox 360 as a Kinect-only title and decided to make it a launch title for the Xbox One. Crytek made Ryse into an action game that depicts similarities to blockbuster games like God of War and Heavenly Sword. Bearing the stigma of having hack-and-slash gameplay, Ryse is one of those games that can get quite boring at times but still manages to pull you in.
Ryse: Son of Rome puts you in the shoes of Marius Titus, a soldier of Rome aspiring to become a great General just like his father. Having his family killed by the army of Barbarians when he visited his family back in Rome, he sets out on an adventure to seek vengeance and find the people responsible for the murder. His vengeance will make him join the war efforts of Rome against the Barbarians where he will become the General. In his journey to seek vengeance, he will uncover dark and ominous mysteries surrounding Rome where a great story awaits. If you are into a game that has a deep story, this is where Ryse: Son of Rome shines as it will show you what great storytelling should be like in a game.
In terms of visuals, I must say that Ryse: Son of Rome has the best looking graphics on consoles to date where the promise of next-generation visuals can be seen. The moment you see the intro, your jaw will drop as it will give you the feeling you are watching a movie – perfect blend of light and shadows, realistic terrain and environments. The presentation are every cinematic and the voice acting is superb. Mostly in games that are heavy in cutscenes, many complain as to how lip syncing ruins the overall satisfaction of watching them. Well in Ryse: Son of Rome, that will not be the case as this game is the first to have a perfect lip syncing when speaking their dialogue.
Often times in hack-and-slash games, they tend to get repetitive very quickly. This happens in Ryse: Son of Rome as the combat of this game is purely hack-and-slash but Crytek implemented some new features to add flair to its repetitive combat. Unlike other games where you will button mash your way through in defeating enemies, Ryse will add some challenges to the way you take your opponents down. Watching carefully and knowing how your enemies move are important as they can block or counter your attack. When doing the basic hack-and-slash mechanics, you will be pressing the block and guard buttons consecutively to make sure you will survive.
Gamers who thought Kratos is a bad-ass because of his stylish takedowns, I must say that Marius does it better. As you perform combos to your enemies, an indicator showing that you can execute them will pop above their heads. Pressing a corresponding button that reflects the color of the buttons of your color will initiate a stylish move that Marius can do called Execution, which is more like a QTE in this game. The color that appears during executions are based on the colors of your Xbox One controller. Don’t worry if you fail to press them at the right time as it will still do the execution, although pressing it in a timely manner will give you an added perks in battle.
