Ryse: Son OF Rome: XBox One Review

Ryse: Son OF Rome: XBox One Review

Released by Crytek
Platform: XBox One

Forget Sparta, Rome is where the action is.

Ryse: Son Of Rome is the first title on the XBox One that actually looks cinematic - it's epic and has a feel of an old school movie, and the violence, ironically, given my opening statement, of Spartacus, the 2013 version.

You control Roman general Marius Titus, plunged into a battle as barbarians attack and tasked with the job of saving Nero from the marauding forces. Blocking, dodging and attacking, there's plenty of blood and gore on offer as you slash and hack your way through - but you'll need to be a bit smart as you fight your way, because once you're surrounded with barbarians, it takes a fair bit of skill to escape and you can't just simply slash till you're safe.

At its heart, though Ryse Son of Rome is about revenge - Marius is out to avenge murders in his past and that's what gives this game its drive and thrust. Sure, there's a degree of repetition as you bash and kill your way through the bad guys, but the story telling helps propel it along and it's the different way that you can execute your enemies which proves to add a degree of variety.

The executions come after you've bashed a foe around enough for a skull to appear above their head and you get to sap some of their energy to replenish yourself. Using the old quick time events that were so prevalent in God Of War, pressing the right buttons delivers a bloody result. Elsewhere there are multiplayer options which help to extend the game's life, though these are largely confined to the gladiatorial elements which are better to play with friends.

Ryse: Son Of Rome looks incredible though - minor gameplay niggles aside, the game is an awesome visual feast which really showcases the best of the next generation consoles. It's essentially like watching a dramatic recreation of Rome and its battles, with some backstory thrown in. There's a real miniseries look and feel to Ryse: Son of Rome and it's hard to ignore.

All in all, Ryse: Son Of Rome is a great game to get into - it's ferocious and vicious and definitely shows that XBox One has really done a lot to up the visuals of the gaming world. Based on this historical interpretation and game, the future is exceptionally bright.

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