To make Marius even more stronger and competent in battle, there are four perks that he can equip. The four perks will help Marius survive in battle as there is a perk that gives him health in battle, boost his damage, gives him additional XP and adds a focus bar beneath his health. These perks will be activated when you successfully initiate an execution attack. Doing the executions perfectly will yield bonuses to the perks that are equipped, thus giving Marius more power and advantage at battle.
Aside from Marius’ deadly execution attacks, there is one more skill that Marius can do and that’s by using his Focus bar. Beneath the health bar at the upper left hand corner is a focus bar that allows Marius to do a special attack when activated. Since there will be times where you will be surrounded by four to five enemies, using the Focus bar will allow Marius to temporarily slow down time, allowing him to do his deadly moves. This is often useful when you are cornered or want to get rid of one tough enemy that can get annoying.
While the combat tends to get repetitive, Crytek added some things to make the game somewhat less-tedious to bear for those who gets bored with hack-and-slash game very easily. As you go through the different chapters of the game, you will find collectibles. Unfortunately, the collectibles that you collect are more of a distraction since they don’t offer anything to the game that benefits Marius. Sure, it’s fun to collect items hidden throughout the game but the levels are too linear where you most of them will be easy to find.
Those who are expecting Ryse to be a long game will be disappointed. In Ryse, there are total of eight chapters in the game that can be finished in roughly six hours. Some might say it’s too short in today’s standards but I guarantee you that in those six hours, you will enjoy every fight, cutscenes and the storytelling the game has to offer. If the core campaign isn’t enough, there’s a multiplayer arena that you can participate into.
The multiplayer area comprises both solo and co-op gameplay. If you love the smashing down enemies from the single-player campaign, you can take the battles in the arenas. When playing the arenas, you are there to survive waves of enemies as environments changes as you go far in the challenges. Think of the arena as a horde mode where you will use everything you have to survive in battle. Luckily, you will have an option to have a friend that can join you. Honestly, the multiplayer mode will be fun for several rounds but it’s something you will not visit again once you see most of it.
Ryse: Son of Rome definitely has flaws and is far from perfect, but it’s a launch title that Xbox One owners shouldn’t miss out on. While the game has the stigma that plagues hack-and-slash games where it gets repetitive, the engaging story and satisfying combat mechanics will make enjoy the game anyway. Not to mention the visual quality that you will see is very endearing that you will be asking for more.
[Editor’s Note: Ryse: Son of Rome was reviewed on the Xbox One platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
