Ryse: Son of Rome Hands-On

Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) has certainly inspired a lot of creative efforts over the years. Some derivative, others more worthwhile. There's always been a fascination with the Roman Empire, its rise and fall, internal politics, and bloody battles. Crytek's Ryse: Son of Rome is obviously the next game to borrow heavily from Scott's epic motion picture, and if there's such a thing as an overly cinematic experience then Ryse takes the cake.

The story of Ryse: Son of Rome started three years ago at E3 when something called Codename Kingdoms was presented at the Microsoft press conference. The following year it resurfaced as Ryse - now a Kinect exclusive. Then we saw nothing for a while and rumours were the game was being redesigned to make use of a controller instead. And as it turns out that is exactly what was going on - Ryse: Son of Rome is now a controller game for Xbox One with some added Kinect features (we're told).

By now you've likely seen the brief gameplay demo that was on stage at the Microsoft press conference last week. There was lots of scripting, and it looked as though gameplay was reduced to quick time events, with suitably gory finishing moves performed one after another. The good news is combat isn't as scripted as it looked, the bad news is that the demo felt very constraining, scripted and linear. And the fact that you couldn't die and that you didn't even have to execute the button prompts to perform finishing moves made for a somewhat bizarre experience on the showfloor. The combat was rather basic, but sound. Blocking, shield bash and striking all available at the press of a face button, with a heavy emphasis on timing. If you allow yourself to get surrounded you're in trouble (as I experienced), so another part of your strategy should be to isolate and pick off the enemies one at a time.

We already knew Crytek were at the top of the game in terms of graphics, with Crysis 3 still standing as perhaps the most visually pleasing game released to date (in terms of technical merits), and Ryse: Son of Rome stood out as the most visually impressive next-gen title at this year's E3. Detailed facial animations, a chaotic battlefield, and various effects worked together to make it look as though you were playing something pre-rendered. It simply screamed next-gen. Sure the gameplay was somewhat limited, but for some gamers these visuals will no doubt make up for that fact.

The zoomed in camera and the constant panning for cinematic angles took some getting used. Marius Titus, the general who stars as the main character, was only seen on the battlefield for this demo, and it remains to be seen if there are softer sides to him as there was with Gladiator's Maximus. With death turned off in order not to frustrate first time players at the showfloor we never faced the death screen, but we assume it may involve wheat fields.

If the E3 demo is anything to go by this is a far cry (pun intended) from the sandbox experiences Crytek has been known for in the past. This game will chain bombastic set pieces one after another in a way that resembles the game design of Star Wars Kinect more than say a God of War. The gameplay is divided into short sections that feature new mechanics such as moving in formation and throwing spears, or taking advantage of archers to provide cover fire. Hopefully the game will open up a bit in places, but from what we've seen and experienced Crytek are going for the tightly scripted cinematic approach here. Could it be that the game is still carrying over some of the limitations of its origins as a Kinect title?

Our fascination with Rome is as strong as ever with Total War: Rome II ranking high on our most anticipated list. However, Ryse: Son of Rome leaves us both excited and somewhat puzzled. The visuals are there, the combat gruesome, but the frantic pacing and heavy scripting is not really hitting the mark. Here's hoping the E3 demo was just that, a condensed slice of the experience and that the full game will allow for a little more freedom. After all freedom is what the Romans were fighting for, right? Or perhaps it was women and wine? Wheat fields?