Ryse: Son of Rome (Steam) - Xbox One launch sword & sandal actioneer is only $10 on Steam. Worth it?
Time to march on & show our worth.
The main campaign consists of 8 linear missions with a flair for the cinematic (the third mission in particular seemed to give Saving Private Ryan a roman era makeover, as your legions are brutally dismembered by arrow & catapult fire as you make landfall on Brittania, an inspiration the devs don't even try to hide as "Saving Private Marius" is the name of the achievement you get for clearing the mission). All in all the game took me 7.5 hours of playtime to clear on the game's equivalent of Normal difficulty.
Combat seems to take a page out of the Arkham playbook as you tend to be surrounded by enemies and you must strike down a rhythm of strikes, parries, & dodge rolls to engage in a rhythmic dance of death. When an enemy is low on health you can trigger a brutal execution move (these can be contextual, as when you are near a ledge Marius may throw the enemy over, for example). It's not a particularly novel setup, but works smoothly & feels good when you get into a groove (it does a decent enough job of introducing one or two new enemy variants each mission as well, so things don't get too repetitive).
I've disarmed you.
There are 3 perks you can swap around as well, which are activated whenever you perform one of the aforementioned execution moves. Depending on which one you have equipped, each execution will either restore some health (I kept it on this), grant you extra EXP (I was practically able to max everything out without using this anyways), or quickly fill your Focus meter (an ability you can trigger to slow down time, I never had to use it much).
There are also some light "shooter" mechanics, for a lack of a better term. Sometimes archers will be firing on you from afar, and you'll have to wait for openings to throw spears back at them. Other times you'll have to man a ballista (which puts things in a first person orientation) and fire away at waves of foes, striking exploding barrels & knocking over cauldrons of boiling oil for maximum carnage. The former segments can be a bit finicky, while the latter are pretty fun & make you feel powerful.
I'll give it a shot.
One of the game's big twists is that at certain points you can command a legion of soldiers into battle. Occasionally this means marching in a line (these segments feel overly cinematic, where your only options are to move forward, raise shields to block arrows, and throw spears to retaliate, but are nonetheless cool) or getting to slightly alter your next combat encounter (you can have them cover archers while you're left to melee encounters alone, or they can help you on the battlefield but you still have to dodge arrows), but mostly this means a lot of escort/tower defense objectives (probably two or three for every one of the previous types of situations). For example the line may be held down by ballistae positions, and it's up to you to go around on your own to take them out before they whittle your soldiers down (likewise, most of the time your in the ballista seat, you're trying to thin down the waves so they don't overwhelm your line).
Take command.
It also naturally features boss fights, but these tended to be the easiest encounters in the game, IMO. They're almost always one on one fights & they don't tend to have much of a deeper move pool than regular enemies, so they mostly feel spongy rather than challenging. Well, then there's the very last confrontation in the game which is just a hallway of QTE prompts.
There's some longevity added to the campaign in terms of collectables which are hidden in out of the way locations right off the main path (sometimes you may have to break down a gate or some such to reach a little hidden area). There are a bunch of these & despite thinking I did a pretty good job combing through the levels I still missed quite a bit. You have "Vistas" (environmental concept art), "Scrolls" (character, enemy, weapon bios), & "Chronicles" (comic book pages that tell side stories/go deeper into the lore). It's the Chronicles in particular I missed a bunch of, they seemed to be well hidden & there's more of them than the others.
Wonder what's behind there?
There's also an entire gladiatorial themed multiplayer mode included, but I haven't tried it out (at this point I can't imagine there'd be many people playing it anyhow). Though I do know you get to customize the look of your combatant & there's some sort of DLC related to this mode as I saw a "booster pack" option in it's menu.
Graphically it still looks pretty modern & even impressive looking at points, especially the environments (some of the less important NPCs still look pretty "PS360" though). There is some hilariously uncanny valley stuff going on with a few of the female characters though. It's clearly at the point where they were motion captioning real people for the important characters and there's one scene where a prominent woman is in a very serious conversation with Marius, however they decided to map near DOA levels of jiggle physics to her chest so she's just bouncing around as she lightly walks around during this serious moment, lol. There are a handful of other scenes where such effects make some sense, but this didn't feel like one of them.
In terms of vibe it's very much a sword & sandal genre effort from the era where 300, Spartacus, & the OG God of War games were the most prominent names in the field. It's very gory (you can almost guarantee an arm or a leg is coming off during the execution moves, and goops of blood always), and you're not making your way through without seeing some boobs (queue the decadent orgy party showing how corrupt/out of touch Roman leadership is).
Whether you want to see bodies, or... bodies, this game has you covered (hopefully that second screenshot is still covered enough to be safe here).
Story is pretty simple but sets the stage well. You play as Marius (a young soldier with a family legacy in the Legion), and after being sent off to quell a revolt in Brittania he must question loyalties as the sons of emperor Nero just make things worse with each decision. In the end he'll have to make choices that'll effect the future of Rome. While it's not to the level of the GoW games, there is some level of supernatural/divine work at play as well (though your only foes are fellow humans... and a few elephants).
Overall:
While it's GotY material or anything of the sort, it's still a pretty solid action game that's well worth the inexpensive $10 (that's not even it's sale price). As far as short launch window "look what our box can do" titles go, I think I liked it more than the other brand's The Order: 1886.
A new legacy is born.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
Over the last couple of weeks I have been playing Live A Live after getting it for Christmas. I had been waiting for an opportunity to play it, as I don't actually have a Switch and instead rely on the generosity of my siblings. When I finally got the chance to play it, I was really excited. I had waited about half a year to play it, so as to avoid spending my own money. After playing it, I find it stupid I waited so long, as it is incredible. Each individual chapter in the game is at least rather different from the others in many ways, such as music or the effects of the Y-button, which is somewhat context-sensitive, so even if there is one you don't like, such as the far future one for me, as it's pretty much survival-horror and the music is lacking, there might be one you absolutely adore, such as the prehistory one for me, because the music is awesome and it's kinda funny. Even if I didn't like the far future chapter as much, it's still good even though it's the worst for me gameplay-wise. The Japanese voice acting, at least, is great, but I'm probably somewhat biased on this matter, as it featured some of my favourite voice actors, and after playing the wild west chapter in English, that one was alright, but could have been better. Mad Dog sounded fine, though. The fact that it gives you the Jukebox in the menu is definitely a point in its favour. I'd genuinely call it an 11/10, and say it was my favourite game out of all the ones I've played. And this became longer than I thought it would. Sorry.
Truly I am mankind's natural foe! Evil Incarnate! A walking cataclysm! A shapeless insanity! GUNDHAM TANAKA!
Kelpies. Be they hound or horse?
Currently Playing on Switch: Chaos:Child, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-
@blindsquarelDream Team is part of my backlog. It's genuinely one of your favs? I've been gradually playing the M&L titles in order and am due to start Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey on the 3DS whenever the mood finally strikes me.
@Kermit1, yeah, it's a pretty nice looking game when it wants to be. I have a few other screenshots I didn't use in the writeup that I may post in the "Other Gaming Screenshot Thread".
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
@Tyranexx
I will admit that I have a fair bit of nostalgia, since Dream Team was my introduction to the series. But if you can get past the long intro, it is amazing. Fun areas, bosses, improved giant battles, and the music is amazing. Plus I like how Luigi’s character is developed in the story. Bowsers Inside Story is my favorite, but it is very close.
Currently playing: Pokemon Soul Silver, Mario RPG
Enos 1:15
@blindsquarel I have heard Dream Team can be pretty bloated at times, but many online impressions I've seen appear positive. A lot of top picks I've seen are often between Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story. I'd say SS is my favorite right now, partially thanks to the guy in your profile pic. XD Prince Peasley was pretty great too. Plot and setting wise I really enjoyed PIT, though it didn't always work for me mechanically. I'm still surprised that one never received a remake before AlphaDream went under.
Tomb raider. Anniversary on Wii. Awesome flashback to the nineties! Started underworld straight after but it's very janky and I just can't get on with the grappling hook central mechanic
Looking for animal crossing buddies on switch FC is SW-7803-7785-1593
Link's Awakening remake on Switch. Great game. Made me remember how good Links Awakening is. Probably my second favourite after OoT or maybe even ahead.
I wrapped up Mole Mania on the 3DS VC yesterday evening. Definitely a fun action puzzle game and an underrated Miyamoto gem. The player digs around and solves puzzles as Muddy Mole, who is trying to rescue his wife and seven kids from the evil farmer Jinbe. There are all sorts of objects to push and pull around, hazards and enemies to navigate, and secrets to find. An underground area to dig through adds a literal layer to each puzzle and can help make or break if the screen needs reset or not. I was surprised at how difficult the game becomes in later levels, but the challenge was certainly appreciated.
Definitely one for puzzle aficionados and for those looking for something different.
Just beat Mega Man 3 for the first time!
I'm not quite sure what to say about it yet honestly. It's got some absolutely terrible level/boss design moments and the Wily Stages made me want to curl up in a ball and cry with how ludicrous some of the things it was asking me to do were.
And yet....despite all of the pain, suffering and agony I suffered throughout those stretches....it's probably my favourite of the original three. It's got issues, undoubtedly so, but god did it more than make up for it with the sheer across-the-board improvement to spritework, control/physics, music, level/boss theming and the way it was never afraid to take risks with the Mega Man formula, good or bad. I went into 3 with very low expectations since it always seemed to be the awkward middle child of the first three entries: 2 is beloved, 1 is derided and 3 just kind of exists was the sentiment I always saw online. After playing it though? I concur with @Tasuki : Mega Man 3 (to pardon the pun) absolutely rocks.
Mario Maker 2 Maker ID: YT1-0Q2-YFF
Please ask for permission before using my FC!
@Fizza Yeah alot of people consider 2 the top of the mountain but I always enjoyed 3 alot more. The Wily stages never gave me a problem the ones I always hated were the Doc Robot stages. Even the Wily fight I found really easy especially if you use the Top Spin.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it so, you going to go on to Mega Man 4 now??
RetiredPush Square Moderator and all around retro gamer.
@Fizza Yeah alot of people consider 2 the top of the mountain but I always enjoyed 3 alot more. The Wily stages never gave me a problem the ones I always hated were the Doc Robot stages. Even the Wily fight I found really easy especially if you use the Top Spin.
Yeah the Doc Robot stages were painful (especially when if you die to the first one, you go all the way back to the start of the stage) but I don't think I'll ever be able to recapture the look of absolute anguish that spread across my face when I recognised the Yellow Devil boss room.
Still really enjoyed my time overall though like I said and, although I think 2 and 3 are both 8 out of 10's for different reasons, I'd definitely say I prefer 3 overall
Glad to hear you enjoyed it so, you going to go on to Mega Man 4 now??
ABSOLUTELY NOT. I've greatly enjoyed my time so far with the classic series, but I'm definitely starting to feel a bit burnt out after playing 3 very similar games back to back to back. For the time being, I'm probably going to move on to either a game from my backlog (Paper Mario, Skyward Sword HD, etc.) or, the far more exciting option, get some new games for my newly found Wii from about a decade ago. Got Mario Galaxy 2 and Zack & Wiki lined up already with games like Punch Out, Warioware Smooth Moves and Madworld not far behind! 😁
I finished Kirby: Planet Robobot not too long ago. It's a fantastic game for sure, and it's easily the best Kirby game on the 3DS. As I've said before, the mech is so much fun to use throughout the levels, and it's got some very solid level design as well. I've acquired all the Code Cubes, too.
"Give yourself the gift of being joyfully you."
Favorite games: Super Mario 3D World, Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Playing: Hollow Knight
Ask if you want to be Switch friends with me, but I'd like to know you first. Thanks! ❤️
@Fizza Yeah alot of people consider 2 the top of the mountain but I always enjoyed 3 alot more. The Wily stages never gave me a problem the ones I always hated were the Doc Robot stages. Even the Wily fight I found really easy especially if you use the Top Spin.
Yeah the Doc Robot stages were painful (especially when if you die to the first one, you go all the way back to the start of the stage) but I don't think I'll ever be able to recapture the look of absolute anguish that spread across my face when I recognised the Yellow Devil boss room.
Still really enjoyed my time overall though like I said and, although I think 2 and 3 are both 8 out of 10's for different reasons, I'd definitely say I prefer 3 overall
Glad to hear you enjoyed it so, you going to go on to Mega Man 4 now??
ABSOLUTELY NOT. I've greatly enjoyed my time so far with the classic series, but I'm definitely starting to feel a bit burnt out after playing 3 very similar games back to back to back. For the time being, I'm probably going to move on to either a game from my backlog (Paper Mario, Skyward Sword HD, etc.) or, the far more exciting option, get some new games for my newly found Wii from about a decade ago. Got Mario Galaxy 2 and Zack & Wiki lined up already with games like Punch Out, Warioware Smooth Moves and Madworld not far behind! 😁
If you ever want to get around to MM 4-6
4 is great and has some great music, great mix of weapons, and is challenging. Not "pull your hair out" challenging like 2 is. 4 feels like MM2, if they streamlined it for efficiency.
5 feels like a drag. The weapons you get, IMO, are the weirdest combination of weapons across MM 1-6. Darkman stages and bosses are extraordinarily forgettable. It was kind of boring. The only standout memory I have of the game--and not in a good way--is THAT Crystal Man section. Also, why is THAT stage so long?!
6 is...really easy. Its music is a step up from 5, but nothing in the game felt like a challenge. Just don't do what I did and walk into MM6 thinking that they took in all the feedback from 1-5 and put it all together for one last massive hurrah on the NES. Like, you could be on painkillers and beat the game comfortably.
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