Ryse: Son of Rome Review

Disclaimer: I write for me but I like it when people read my reviews so that’s why I publish them. They also contain spoilers so you have been warned.

So I pre-ordered my Xbox One and picked up Ryse with it as I got a fiver off with my purchase. I was a little hesitant to get it at first as the early release footage didn’t inspire me that much, but the later footage changed my mind completely and I don’t regret it.

Let’s start off by saying this game looks phenomenal. It’s not just the tech that shows off the game and I think this is partly down to my love of all things Rome (TV, history, museums etc) but this game has moments where the scenery just blows you away. Especially when you go into the colosseum and you’re playing the first chapter or two in Rome. You just can’t believe this is in-game footage.

The game itself is a tried and tested method, attack, counter, block, dodge to build up your combat counter and keep the action flowing. This helps to level up Marius and unlock more health, more executions and faster ways to gain XP.

When you’ve done enough damage to an enemy you can perform an execution or just kill them normally, it’s up to you, but executions are quicker and more rewarding to Marius, and they look god damn cool.

The story is a simple tale of revenge that soon spans the entire empire. It’s split up into chapters and sets Marius on his path of legend and glory. You play in a few places in the world including Britain with an epic beach incursion, though it’s hardly raining so it’s not all that realistic. Things soon take a turn for the worse for the Romans and you’re soon facing the hordes of men (side note: there’s only one woman warrior in this which I find hard to believe) besieging York and it’s up to you to save to evacuate as many Romans as possible.

Aside from the typical combat there’s also sections where you’re tasked with taking charge of squads, whether it mean attacking a fortified position or rounding up survivors from an ambush and attempting to free your commander.

Where this game really shines for me though is the co-op play in the colosseum. I’ve not played with a random yet, only a friend, but it’s a very fun and often exhilarating experience as you bay to the crowds, working together to slaughter and survive whilst doing your best to entertain the crowds and work through the various scenarios that see you hunting down barbarians in a forest or slaughtering the ‘undead’ (remember it’s all theatrics to please the crowd) who are arising from the dead.

I have to say personally that I think this game got a bad press-rap and whilst the combat can get a bit repetitive and it’s only really challenging on the hardest difficulty, it doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t which is a good hack and slash. The animations are slick and fast and it reminds me a lot of Spartacus, bloody, brutal and lots of slow moooo.

Verdict: 6.6 out of 10

Chief -

Still Lost

Sorry for any potential spoilers here but I have to get it off my chest.

Are they saying that all the people in the parallel universe were died on the plane, and that the plane actually crashed? If so, where was Michael, Walt etc. Why was Ben outside the church?

Why was Penny in the church? WHAT THE FUCK is with Jack having a son?

In regards to the majority of the story, the island, there are many unanswered questions.

Who was the woman who killed Jacobs and Smokies mother and where did she come from? Why'd she know so much about this light?

What is the light? And what is smokey? Why didn't you show us smokey changing from human to smoke. Bastards.

Why would a stone in the floor produce light, but you take it out and it turns into a volcano that starts to slowly sink the island. Why was the island sunk in the parallel universe?

How did Ben get out from under that tree in the finale?

POLAR BEARS and tatooed sharks.

All the stations dotted around the island. Why!! There was clearly only one light.

The button. What?

The temple with the Japanese guy who hated speaking English. What?

Why couldn't women give birth on the island?

What were the numbers about?

Smokey died pretty easily for a smoke monster.

Why could the island time travel? Why was it killing people as they time traveled with it.

Jacob's a dick.

Duck Tales

Today I tried to save the world (for four little ducklings that is). When I was in the gym yesterday I noticed that there was a small posse of ducklings wandering about on their own. It was raining, they were chirping away and they looked so sad and on their own.

I decided that today I'd go back and see if I could find them, and, if they were still on their own then feed them some seeds. Give them a hearty meal and a wave, you know.

So I rounded up my trusty sidekick, Sarah J and we got the seeds and headed out in the rain. After waddling around the side of the lake for a bit we found they were still on their own, much to our dismay. So we tried to get near to them to feed them but they kept swimming away from us.

We decided to throw some seeds near them in the hope that they would still get some food even though they didn't want to come near us, and luckily they did. But we couldn't help but feel sorry for them, being on their own with no parents to put the world to rights and make sure they didn't stay up past their bed time.

I dropped the RSPCA an e-mail just letting them know that there was four ducklings on their own and that this probably isn't uncommon in the wild but an electronic chirp for help couldn't go a-miss.

Good deed done for the day. I also got a picture or two to show anyone reading but I cannot find my cable to hook them up. I'm sure it will turn up though (when I beg my better half to help me find it) but for now, here's a nice picture from Google Image search of two cute ducklings in a cup.

Time to sneak up on my lady and give her a big kiss on the nose!

Chief -

Down at the Gym with a view to die for

Not as seedy as it sounds. Today I was at the Gym and most of the torture equipment I use is against this big glass window running the length of the wall. It really is a site to look outside. Let me explain.

There's a big body of water, like a big pond. And it is teeming with wildlife! This is on the Science Park.

There is:

• Countless varieties of birds and water birds
• Ducks
• Ducklings that are so cute and small
• Fish (big fish!)
• Geese
• Rabbits
• A Squirrel

Time really does fly when you're watching nature at its finest. I keep wondering to myself why am I in the gym when I could be running outside in nature and all its glory?

Well for one I would easily scare away most of the wildlife with my heavy panting and lumbering cardio mechanics. And flat ground. It's a lot easier to run and not fall over on a treadmill than it is on the uneven floor outside. But my main point is that it is much easier to run in the air-conditioned gym and watch nature at its most raw (last week a duckling was killed) than it is to run around the body of water and scare everything off.

Time to shower.

Chief -