From Boudica to Nero, Rome to York. This is Ryse: Son of Rome. A cinematic historical fight for Roman survival in a changing world. Enter Marius Titus, the hero of the hour. This is your general, your eyes and ears for the adventure to distant shores and your weapon against the barbican hoard. But Ryse offers more than a simple history lesson; the ever changing plot gives the player a true sense of the Roman Empire.
Fighting alongside your brothers of the Roman army you progress through the various objectives, controlling the fight for Rome, the fight for your emperor and your fight for revenge. The game pre-release was billed as a simple button mashing phenomenon through ancient times but the game delivers on so many more levels. It can be true at times that you do feel as if you are pressing the same combos in order to hack down the enraged Britons trying to rid the Romans of their shores, but in game executions and the power of the CryEngine gives the player a refreshed sense of excitement and at times you can only marvel at the level of detail that Crytek have put into Ryse.
The executions themselves are well executed throughout the game (pardon the pun) with double executions and the varying type of finishing moves providing a gory and bloody ending to your enemies. With over a hundred execution moves Crytek has managed to preserve some replay ability. The game as a whole is difficult, if you have poor timing, you’ll be put to the sword quickly. Using the environment and the weapons at your disposal is key, as well as the upgrade system.
Upgrades can be purchased through earning valour or coin. Coin can be purchased through online stores if you wish, but there is no need unless you are really struggling for valour. Valour is earned through vanquishing the barbarian horde, finishing moves and a variety of kills earns you more towards upgrades which include more health, faster health regeneration and more time with Burning Eagle mode.
The eagle is symbolic within the Roman Empire and Marius’ burning eagle mode allows him to focus and slow time in order to launch a fury of slashing attacks on your foes. I only ever used this if I was in trouble and needed to rid myself of an enemy or two, once you’ve seen it, it doesn’t offer anything different the next time. The way you are attacked is something in which Crytek have clearly attempted to manufacture, this is not just a 1 on 1 battle between you and another warrior. Throughout the game you’re attacked by numerous foes and you’re ability to form combo chains effectively is your ticket to progressing.
Occasionally the game likes to present a different challenge in terms of boss fights. One in particular stands out, as you attempt to free captured Romans you run into the leader of the barbarian platoon, “Glott.” This is not a fella you want to run into on a dark night. Marius is dwarfed by him and the detail on Glott is nothing short of outstanding. Fighting the boss gave me a thought that Crytek had a chance here to do something different but failed to take it.
Although it was different on the face of the challenge once you scratch beneath the surface Ryse fails to offer something different in these battles and it feels as an opportunity lost, personally a change in behaviour patterns for the bosses would have been nice and the chance to perform special executions not seen on the regular barbarian. That being said, you do feel the a real sense of achievement when standing victorious, who wouldn’t after beating some fella 3 foot taller than you with a bull on his head!
As before mentioned, and something which well documented in the gaming community at the moment, is the beauty of Ryse. I can’t understate this, it truly does bring out the best in the Xbox One at the moment and it’s set the graphics bar high for others in the market. Ryse presents traps and different environments with a bite and flair. The forest of Britannia is beautiful and the force feedback on controllers when attacked by surprise traps adds to the intensity of the situation. All of this adds to the experience you buy into when you play Ryse’s campaign and the historical use of the Roman Empire and key historical figures is well calculated and overall adds to a vibrant and viscous experience throughout ancient states.
Ryse makes use of a key piece of Roman history by allowing Marius to control a legion of soldiers by ordering them into formation, this is done into a turtle shape in order to protect the men from arrows fired by the barbarians. This is visually stunning and works effectively throughout the game. Ryse also makes good use of the Kinect's ability to use voice commands. Commands which order archers to shoot or telling your soldiers can come in handy when prompted by the game as sometimes you might have you hands full with a few enraged britons.
Multiplayer gives the player a chance to fight alongside his fellow man through “Round to Round” in an ever changing Coliseum. Literally, the environment changes around you providing a fresh challenge as well as new weapons at your disposal such as weapons and traps. The objective? Eliminating the enemy earning as many points as possible for the win. The game doesn’t relent on the graphics either, providing an ever consistent majestic outset in which you duel your opponents in.
The game flexes its visual muscles through its varying stages, the sandstorm and great games stages really show the game off. Accompanying the “Round to Round” is “Arena.” Various stages as the ones listed above are thrown at the player as they attempt to keep the crowd enthralled through executions and using the coliseum traps and assets to the players advantage. Finally there is “Solo” mode in which the gladiator ventures into the pantheon alone to prove your mettle.
This is mainly fighting for pride on the leader board but can provide a much needed boost to your coin and valour levels. This can be used to purchase more executions, armour and to generally customise your gladiator. The only negative I can find with these modes is that the roar of the crowd is hardly felt and the emotion is portrayed when there is a clear change but in between fails to get your adrenaline pumping.
Ryse: Son of Rome provides an enthralling experience for the player, although the campaign is slightly shorter than most would have liked the opportunity to play again makes up for this. The multiplayer modes and the possibility of extensions through the DLC (Season Pass available) could see Ryse in my disc drive for months to come. Fans of historical type of games this is a must buy.
