Ryse: Son Of Rome Video Game Review

Final Verdict - Worth Checking Out

This! Is! Sparta!....wait wrong reference. Welcome to another Friday game review with your friendly neighborhood gamer Zalgo_Cometh. I been excited about this game from day one it was showcased back at E3 2013 but was immediately bummed out to hear it was a Xbox One exclusive. Fast forward to October 10th 2014 and the PC master race is blessed with a version of Ryse: Son of Rome to the elation of PC gamers everywhere. This was no mere carbon copy port however as it effectively made the most of the PC's well know graphical prowess. Anyways enough of my elitism, it has a tendency to show up now and again; were off to Rome...

Ryse: Son of Rome is a third-person action-adventure video game developed by Crytek and published by Microsoft Studios. Ryse follows the life of the Roman centurion Marius Titus as he becomes one of the leaders in the Roman Legion. Released as a launch title for the Xbox One, Ryse received mixed critical reaction from reviewers, being praised for its high production values but criticized for its repetitive and simple gameplay. The player controls Marius Titus, a Roman general.  In combat, Marius can block attacks to break enemy combos to counterattack. There is also a co-operative multiplayer mode, where players team up to accomplish various challenges in a gladiator arena setting. The story follows Marius' life from early childhood to becoming a leader in the Roman Legion. The story is described as "an epic tale of revenge spanning an entire lifetime".

What’s Good:

Graphics: Without a doubt the area this game shines the most in. The PC copy is simply stunning when turned to max graphics. The textures, the shadowing and lighting , it all blends so perfectly together to deliver a top notch cinematic experience. You get to see a wide variety of environments as you progress through the game all with their own unique look and feel.

Story-line: A well portrayed story of revenge, personal growth and honor. It will have you eager to discover the progression and eventual end of it all. Tying in the presentation and delivery of the subject matter is also a testament to the well written story-line of the game.

Soundtrack: Well representative of the era the game depicts. The voice acting is top notch and all auditory cues are executed well.

What’s Bad:

Game Mechanics: They get repetitive. Fast. Thankfully there is a great story-line and a fair portion of epic cinematic scenes to help distract you from noticing too soon. Added to that they include a system of buying and unlocking new moves for kill moves that improve as you progress through the game.

What Should Have Been Added:

Honestly I would have liked to see more of a fleshed out story cause such a rewarding single player experience felt too short as I managed to beat the game in roughly 6 hours. Maybe if they let us play Marius from his Teenage years upwards as he learns to become the epic soldier he is. That would have helped add some more content into the game so it doesn't feel as short.

Final Thoughts:

Not the greatest of games but still a good game. Combat gets repetitive but i enjoyed chopping off many an arm and leg. Wasnt much a fan of the multi-player aspect as it too like the combat system suffers from repetitiveness but more so due to the lack of a story and cut-scenes to distract you from it. In any case I have been mostly just streaming my gameplay having fun with the whole cinematic experience, so feel free to check out my stream archives below.

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Excuse Me; But We Have A Crysis

Game Mechanics - 2/2

Storyline - 1/2

Graphics - 2/2

Soundtrack - 1.5/2

Replay Value - 1.5/2

 Total Score - 8/10

Welcome to your weekly video game review here with me your friendly neighborhood gamer; Zalgo_Cometh. Today we will be looking at the newly released Crysis 3. March is going to be a hectic month because there are so many big name titles being released its ridiculous. Its so hard to hold on to money these days as a gamer I tell you. Between being sick, paying bills, maintaining my car and trying to eat at least 2 meals a day it isn't easy on the wallet being a dedicated gamer. Here is a rundown of what you can look out for in the coming weeks: Tomb Raider, South Park: The Stick of Truth (Subject To Change), SimCity 5, Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Storm 3, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2, Soul Sacrifice, God of War: Ascension, Gears of War Judgment, BioShock: Infinite, and Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel. So you can start doing your research if you haven't already; but wait till after you get done reading this review of Crysis 3.

Crysis 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek, published by Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 and released in North America on February 19, 2013.[3] Officially announced April 14, 2012, it is the third main installment of the Crysis series, a sequel to the 2011 video game Crysis 2, and runs on the CryEngine 3 game engine. Players take on the role of Prophet as he returns to New York in 2047, 24 years after the events of Crysis 2. He discovers the city has been encased in a giant Nanodome created by the corrupt CELL corporation. The New York City Liberty Dome is a veritable urban rainforest teeming with overgrown trees, dense swamplands and raging rivers. Within the Liberty Dome, seven distinct and treacherous environments become known as the Seven Wonders. Prophet is said to be on a "revenge mission" after uncovering the truth behind CELL's motives for building the quarantined Nanodomes.

What’s Good:

Game Mechanics - Solid system design, heavy integration of main focal point of the game which is the suit but finds a balance so as not to make the player too overpowered that they don't find the game challenging. Another noteworthy staple point of the game mechanic is the ability to upgrade and customize specific suit power-ups to better structure the players game-play experience and suit progression.

Graphics - Second to none as always Crysis's claim to fame has always been its stellar graphics and breath taking environments. Crysis 3 is truly a technical marvel and shows that they have not lost sight of this especially for the PC gamers out there who get to put their machine builds to the test. If you can run a Crysis game on max settings then you can do any damn thing under the sun.

What’s Bad:

Story-line - Honestly I don't remember much of the Crysis story-line in detail even after having played all of them. Was just your typical run and gun first person shooter experience.

What Should Have Been Added:

I feel that maybe if they had flashback missions which played through the scenarios and stories you hear about that lead up to the world being in the current state it is instead of just dropping you in the middle of everything after being in a cryogenic state or whatever.

Final Thoughts:

Crysis 3 lives up to its predecessors and even exceeds them but not by much. Don't expect the ground breaking innovation that the first game brought to the table but do expect its calling card of mind blowing graphics that bring a tear to your eye. With enough customization options to suit and and every play-style Crysis 3 is sure to deliver a good time. Check out our game-play footage to see what I mean...

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