The problem with new consoles is trying to find a game to show off your expensive purchase. With Ryse: Son of Rome, developer Crytec tries to make it easy for you. The real question is should you bother? When this game was first announced in 2010, people were slightly optimistic. It was originally intended to be an Xbox 360 game that would showcase the new Kinect peripheral. After that E3 demo, we never heard from him again, until the Xbox One announcement. With a negative buzz surrounding the game, you may Ryse: Son of Rome guarantee a purchase together with your new Xbox One?

In Ryse: Son of Rome, you play as the Roman soldier Marius, who is a rather bland character at the beginning of the game. He witnesses his family being killed by the barbarian horde and the plot continues from there. It was a fairly short campaign, with around eight hours or so (that’s if you decide to try and find all the collectibles) but the story was surprisingly engaging. It was a useful mix of Gladiator, game of Thrones and even a little 300. Somewhat predictable, but the performance of all the characters was excellent, and even the bored Marius turns into a sympathetic advantage towards the end of the game.

One of the first things you will notice is how beautiful the images are. This is one of the prettiest games for the new Microsoft console. Developer Crytec has some experience with great looking games with their Crysis Serie. If you have a 1080p enabled TV, Ryse: Son of Rome It will reward you with some of the most attractive graphics you have ever seen in a game. The lush forests and the effects of fire were the highlights of this title.

When they finally showed this game at this year’s E3, it looked impressive, except that the gameplay was held back by constant fast-time events. It seemed like he pulled the player straight out of the experience and ever since God of WarFast-time events have been a grueling staple in action games.

After the initial reaction the developers received, they decided to change the overused gameplay mechanic. What replaced it was pretty much the same. Basically, when you start a run with the right trigger, the enemy is highlighted in yellow or blue indicating which button to press on your controller to take out the enemy. The problem is, there is no real punishment for messing it up. After about an hour of constantly executing those pesky barbarians, you will see more or less all the execution animations. It got tiring, but luckily he always had the option to ignore them.

Another big complaint was when the game places you in turrets. Suddenly you will be switched to a first person camera angle and then forced to shoot arrows from a mounted crossbow. These sections weren’t fun and were just an excuse to get a higher kill bonus. There are also sections of the game where you are in charge of leading a protected group of Roman soldiers. This was entertaining and seemed to fit the environment more than a randomly mounted turret section.

Aside from quick time events and turret sections, the game relies on flashy hacking and slashing of swords and shields. This is finally where the game shines. Marius is fast, strong and the game really relies on the fact that you are a Roman star. My favorite aspect of combat was not attacking an enemy, but blocking it with Marius’s shield. With a quick touch of the A button you can deflect your shots. It felt satisfying when you rampaged through a group of enemies without a scratch. You will also earn additional experience points. Plus, if you keep doing it right, you’ll get the focus that with the press of both bumper buttons you can slow down time and make it an even more efficient killing machine.

You can also upgrade to Marius at any time during the single player part. By the end of the campaign, you should be close enough to fully upgrade it. There was even an option to use micro-transactions to enhance your character. Don’t bother with that, like I said, it’s fast enough to update as you go through the story.

Fortunately, there is one more important feature to Ryse: Son of Rome other than the campaign. That’s the Gladiator mode, which is basically just co-op. It is limited to just two players and sadly cannot be played with another person on the same console. It’s just Xbox Live. In this cooperative mode, enemies will rush towards you and you will also have different objectives to accomplish. Think of it as Horde mode of Gears of war 2 or shooting from the aura Serie. Just don’t expect to hit your fellow Gladiator.

Just like in single player, you can upgrade your multiplayer character. Only this time, it’s with a team. It’s interesting because every team has different stats, but at the same time, it can be frustrating because every time you level up, the team you unlock is randomized. Don’t worry, but the co-op mode has some kind of depth, which is a nice addition.

The main question you will undoubtedly have is should you buy this game? The answer is yes, but not right now. $ 60 is a high price for Ryse: Son of Rome. The single player part of the game is a bit short and superficial. I would compare it to EA Lord of the Rings Xbox and PlayStation 2 games. The game is great in short bursts, but it has some extremely obvious flaws. Even with the added co-op mode, the game is simply not worth the price of admission. Hopefully this is not the last Ryse game and if I get the chance I’m sure Crytec will make an awesome sequel. Wait for the price to drop or a used copy and you will get your money’s worth.