I just finished watching Gamespot’s Ryse: Son of Rome gameplay and here’s how the five-minute video breaks down:
0:01 – Marius runs.
0:30 – He runs some more.
0:45 – He fights skinny guy with Mohawk.
0:55 – He fights fat guy with mullet.
1:11 – He fights skinny guy with Mohawk.
1:30 – He fights fat guy with mullet.
2:10 – He runs.
3:08 – He fights skinny guy with Mohawk.
3:53 – He fights fat guy with mullet.
4:25 – He fights skinny guy with Mohawk.
5:09 – He fights fat guy with mullet.
Okay, so I left out a few things, but it’s safe to say, the game is repetitive. Here are some other observations:
- The first kill scene at about 1 minute was pretty cool. Marius thrusts his gladius through the neck of the mullet barbarian in slow motion. And then another kill scene not long after that, and then just about one with every other kill. It not only becomes repetitive, but disruptive. The battles should flow and be quick but these kill scenes chop-up the pacing.
- The other legionnaires look like extras from Braveheart. If you watch the movie’s battle scenes carefully, many of the extras in the background are lethargically tapping their swords together. That’s what these Romans seem to be doing. Tap, stand, tap, stand…useless.
- At 2:28, Marius comes upon enemy archers. The game says Press B to evade and A to deflect the arrows. In the video, Marius rolls a few times, runs, rolls, but gets hit anyway. But it doesn’t do much damage and he’s already reached the archers.
The gameplay video reconfirms my initial thoughts about this game. It’s eye candy meant to leach off of the Xbox One launch. Very similar to Shadows of the Empire and N64. Good for TV spots, bundles, but ultimately, forgettable.