Think about what the next generation of gaming means to you, and it could be that a certain mantra popularised in dance music comes to mind: harder, better, faster, stronger. And the Crytek-developed Xbox One launch title Ryse: Son Of Rome embodies this attitude by delivering one of the most action-packed, graphically powerful experiences seen this side of a 3D IMAX screening of the Die Hard trilogy. Yeah, we said trilogy. Anything after Samuel L just isn’t making the yippee-ki-yay grade, motherf*cker.The player assumes the role of Roman general Marius Titus, progressing through a story that takes place in an alternative telling of well-documented history. This isn’t the Roman Empire as seen through a scholar’s eyes, or even Ridley Scott’s – instead using the period’s total-war tactics and the onward march of progressive colonisation as the backdrop to an epic adventure. But in its details, accuracy is absolute: from weapons to armour to the methodology behind the combat, every element of this game’s mechanics is impeccably researched and subsequently realised on screen.Ryse: Son Of Rome takes the player on a highlights-reel tour of an ancient world turned living reality – like Horrible Histories made for some X-rated, late-night channel that your parents would scramble if they understood the technology. In the heat of battle, swords clashing and arrows flying, the experience is giddying – as Titus and his legion storm a beach, the scene is marked by such realism that the blood soaking into the sand could be your own. Insert your own remark here about perhaps picking your nose less.By using the Xbox One’s Kinect sensor, the player can have Titus issue orders to his loyal soldiers, evening odds that would otherwise overwhelm an individual, whatever their determination. But when the warfare becomes up close and personal, Titus can hold his own using an array of deadly moves – the result of which can be a motion-captured head being rudely removed from its shoulders courtesy of the well-timed swing of a sword.This might be the year 68AD, but the way that flesh separates from bone – and the way that bone crunches against masonry – is more brutally visceral here than it’s ever been. A great, gruesome showcase for Ryse: Son Of Rome’s gut-crunching graphical fidelity is Titus’ finishing moves, which see the camera zoom in for a spine-slicing thrust of blade through neck, or focus on the heel that splinters a jaw.Underpinning the game’s narrative arc is a time-tested revenge scenario – Ryse: Son Of Rome begins with Titus discovering that his family has been murdered, and with Rome itself in a period of political instability and governmental corruption, it’s up to him to seek retribution personally. And in doing so, Titus just might be able to right the wayward direction of the Empire he’s served so faithfully.To the outsider looking in, the combat of Ryse: Son Of Rome might appear to be carnage at play. But hold the controller yourself, and follow the clear commands, and Titus eliminates adversaries with an effortless grace, using his shield to deflect blows and his sword to carve his legacy into the bodies of the fallen. Ryse: Son of Rome really empowers the player – it gives them control of one of history’s most famous military forces, and the right to butcher those who dare to stand before it.A next-generation showcase of considerable style, Ryse: Son of Rome harnesses the power of the Xbox One to provide a spectacle without peer. Harder, better, faster and stronger, it’s a sensory assault akin to going 12 rounds with a really pissed off Russell Crowe. Romper Stomper period, obviously – that Maximus fellow was a pussycat by comparison.Find out everything else you need to know about Ryse: Son of Rome on the official website.Keep up with Xbox One on the official website, Facebook and Twitter.
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