Sponsored: Ryse: Son of Rome Prepares to Attack the Xbox One's Launch

[Greg Tito]

Sponsored: Ryse: Son of Rome Prepares to Attack the Xbox One's Launch

Are you not entertained by playing a Roman general in Ryse: Son of Rome?

There's quite a few original IPs debuting on the Xbox One when it launches this November, but none of them are quite as epic as Ryse: Son of Rome. In Crytek's newest jam, you get to play as Marius Titus, a fictional soldier in the Roman army who eventually rises - get it? - to the status of living legend. You could compare the combat of Ryse to many games of the last generation, but the rich landscape and ambitious videography of the game is only possible on Xbox One, Microsoft's next generation console. Look for these amazing visuals showcased in the screenshots below when Ryse: Son of Rome launches with the Xbox One on November 22nd.

[gallery=1843]

It's important to remember that games are continuously developing and what we see at one press event may be improved or changed by the time we see a title launch. For example, The Escapist's own Steven Bogos got a chance to play Ryse [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128035-Ryse-Son-of-Rome-Hands-On-Preview-Are-You-Not-Entertained] at the Tokyo Game Show last month and was impressed with how far it has come since we first glimpsed it during Microsoft's press conferences in the spring.

Will Ryse: Son of Rome be a system-seller? If I were Microsoft, I wouldn't trade a Roman centurion's helmet for Master Chief's just yet, but it will be interesting to see the public's reaction to Marius Titus' story this fall.

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[jackpipsam]

I personally am very intrigued by Ryse and I am looking forward to playing it.
I am kinda sick of shooty-shooty bang bang, so that's why I am taking this over Dead Rising 3 as something to buy with my Xbox One

 

[happy_turtle]

Am I the only one with misgivings about a sponsored 'story'?

Then again, credit for being straight up about it. That at least is respectable and shows integrity.

Yeah, I take it to mean that the contents of the article can't be totally trusted as it's biased. Games that pull these type of advertising stunts are usually the biggest disappointments as they're desperate to get day-one purchases before the reviews come out.

 

[Mothhive]

the rich landscape and ambitious videography of the game is only possible on Xbox One, Microsoft's next generation console.

Hard to take this article seriously with a quote like that.

 

[Clovus]

the rich landscape and ambitious videography of the game is only possible on Xbox One, Microsoft's next generation console.

Hard to take this article seriously with a quote like that.

That's what I thought too, until the I saw this first comment about it being a "sponsored" story.

 

[el_kabong]

Am I the only one with misgivings about a sponsored 'story'?

Nope. I pay for Pub Club specifically so I can enjoy the Escapist content without ads getting in the way. To have a sponsored story take up a slot in the news feed is irritating.

 

[Teoes]

Is 'videography' what we now say instead of 'cinematic'?

Usual grumble: pubclub member, don't want ads, blah blah blah.

What'll be funnier when it comes to review time? Either the game gets a spanking and this particular sponsored story looks even more foolish, or Mr Tito gives it 3.5 stars and and the forumites go nuclear? OOOOH it'll never get old.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Are you not entertained by playing a Roman general in Ryse: Son of Rome?

http://www.pegasusnews.com/media/img/photos/2008/06/22/thumbs-down.jpg
The emperor is not pleased by your linear succession of QTE's. You are sentenced to 10 years behind the xBox Live paywall.

 

[Andy Shandy]

I do have to say, at E3, I couldn't really give a damn about it (since it looked like QTE: The game) but I've progressively gotten more and more hyped about it since, which is odd, considering for most games it tends to be the other way round.

And at least you've said this is sponsored. Some articles on other sites do just read like blatant PR pieces (which this is) but under the veil of a preview, review or news article, so at least you've been honest about this.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Wait, isn't this the Quantic Dream style QTE game that everyone was laughing at after E3?

Sure it'll be entertaining, just like the Xbone reveal was entertaining.

 

[Lightknight]

Am I the only one with misgivings about a sponsored 'story'?

Then again, credit for being straight up about it. That at least is respectable and shows integrity.

Yes, it makes me feel like they've (Microsoft "moneybags" Johnson) found a way around the money I paid to not see ads. At least the Escapist clearly labels it and I didn't have to click into it.

It's cute that the best thing they can say about Ryse is that it looks pretty while staying far away from the leprous subject that is the questionable "gameplay" decision of a game you can't lose that's nothing but QTEs.

FYI, I strongly recommend anyone who hates the banners and popups to be a paid member. The site has drastically improved for me since.

Wait, isn't this the Quantic Dream style QTE game that everyone was laughing at after E3?

Sure it'll be entertaining, just like the Xbone reveal was entertaining.

Yes, hence Microsoft's go-to response to us hating the things they put out: Throw money at it. I'm just glad the money they're throwing is going to a game site I enjoy.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I'll just leave this here:


There's no doubt the visuals look really nice, it's the gameplay I'd be worried about.

 

[Chinchama]

I played it this weekend at the Xbox One tour thingy in Atlanta, of all the games I played, I thought Ryse was the most fun. The controls were sorta limited though I feel, but it could be because someone changed things around before because they set the character in to airplane mode with the stick, up is down, down is up, which makes it super confusing to chuck a spear at someone.

Controls were simple though, you have a quick slash, heavy slash, dodge, and a push. The bumpers did some sort of like taunt/roar thing maybe to make the crowd more interested because you have a little meter on the side going from amused to disinterested rating your performance.

What I liked is you could chose a god to worship in each mach and you receive some sort of bonus, the map then has a statue of that god and is set up uniquely for each god. The arena is also changing every time an object is done, things are popping up or going down out of the landscape to add new elements which is kinda neat.

There is an execution system for if you weaken your opponent without killing him, you can hit the right trigger and do some brutal execution, but it works sort of like a quick time event and I didn't understand the timing or buttons to press to get a more intriguing finish.

Im sure with a tutorial it would have been a bit better to play.

Oh, the menus in the main screen though are pretty nice and there is an rpg style element in itemization for you character.
Hope that was informative for someone.

 

[-Dragmire-]

They should really drop the button prompts since following the prompt isn't required. If they were gone, it would look like a button combo with a flashy finisher. With the prompt, it can feel like your being penalized for not following it since it takes longer to finish the guy when you know you could have ended it earlier.

My two cents anyway.

Spoiler: snip

I played it this weekend at the Xbox One tour thingy in Atlanta, of all the games I played, I thought Ryse was the most fun. The controls were sorta limited though I feel, but it could be because someone changed things around before because they set the character in to airplane mode with the stick, up is down, down is up, which makes it super confusing to chuck a spear at someone.

Controls were simple though, you have a quick slash, heavy slash, dodge, and a push. The bumpers did some sort of like taunt/roar thing maybe to make the crowd more interested because you have a little meter on the side going from amused to disinterested rating your performance.

What I liked is you could chose a god to worship in each mach and you receive some sort of bonus, the map then has a statue of that god and is set up uniquely for each god. The arena is also changing every time an object is done, things are popping up or going down out of the landscape to add new elements which is kinda neat.

There is an execution system for if you weaken your opponent without killing him, you can hit the right trigger and do some brutal execution, but it works sort of like a quick time event and I didn't understand the timing or buttons to press to get a more intriguing finish.

Im sure with a tutorial it would have been a bit better to play.

Oh, the menus in the main screen though are pretty nice and there is an rpg style element in itemization for you character.
Hope that was informative for someone.

How complex do the qte(s) get? Would it be possible to get a feel for them without the button prompts?

 

[Britishfan]

The E in QTE stands for event, not epic. I'm sure there is a market for an epic hack and slash game with an Ancient setting (that isn't a God of War clone), but I don't think a QTE filled cinematic is going to cut it.

 

[Chinchama]

They should really drop the button prompts since following the prompt isn't required. If they were gone, it would look like a button combo with a flashy finisher. With the prompt, it can feel like your being penalized for not following it since it takes longer to finish the guy when you know you could have ended it earlier.

My two cents anyway.

Spoiler: snip

I played it this weekend at the Xbox One tour thingy in Atlanta, of all the games I played, I thought Ryse was the most fun. The controls were sorta limited though I feel, but it could be because someone changed things around before because they set the character in to airplane mode with the stick, up is down, down is up, which makes it super confusing to chuck a spear at someone.

Controls were simple though, you have a quick slash, heavy slash, dodge, and a push. The bumpers did some sort of like taunt/roar thing maybe to make the crowd more interested because you have a little meter on the side going from amused to disinterested rating your performance.

What I liked is you could chose a god to worship in each mach and you receive some sort of bonus, the map then has a statue of that god and is set up uniquely for each god. The arena is also changing every time an object is done, things are popping up or going down out of the landscape to add new elements which is kinda neat.

There is an execution system for if you weaken your opponent without killing him, you can hit the right trigger and do some brutal execution, but it works sort of like a quick time event and I didn't understand the timing or buttons to press to get a more intriguing finish.

Im sure with a tutorial it would have been a bit better to play.

Oh, the menus in the main screen though are pretty nice and there is an rpg style element in itemization for you character.
Hope that was informative for someone.

How complex do the qte(s) get? Would it be possible to get a feel for them without the button prompts?

It wasn't really a button prompt. The enemy would get weak and a little skull appears over their head, you hit the right trigger and then some graphic execution in slo-mo starts. And its like a yellow haze is around the enemy and then it turns blue when I suppose its the right time to hit a button. It doesn't prompt you as to what button you should hit, sooo I really had no idea what I was doing, its also possible that it went from yellow to blue to some other color, but i didn't wait around to find out. It is possible that there was a button prompt and I just never saw it, but if that is the case they need to adjust that so that its obvious.

I'm sure stuff like this execution qte is covered in the tutorial which is in every game, but since I jumped right in to someone else's game I have no idea.