Ryse: Son of Rome

Ryse is an entertaining ride that often values spectacle over skill.

Ryse: Son of Rome is a repetitive and tedious homage to the gruesome battles showcased in the film 300.

By the time you've seen that ending, though, you'll have unlocked the majority of Marius' upgrades, and there's nothing like enough substance to the gameplay to tempt you to run the campaign on another difficulty setting or to lure you into long-term engagement with the two-player arena mode. There's no brains, no muscle, no fibre beneath Ryse's extravagantly engineered good looks - this game rings loud but hollow. Crytek likes to contrast Marius' moral strength with the vanity and cruelty of Nero and his made-up sons, but Ryse feels like a product of their dying empire. It's just empty decadence.

Ryse: Son of Rome's combat and incredible graphics are entertaining, but it's too narrow and repetitive, even for a short game.

Ryse is beautiful but hollow

Ryse will undoubtedly exceed your expectations with its interesting story and unbelievable visuals. Combat might get repetitive, but you'll enjoy your time as a Roman soldier.

In the five hours it took to complete Ryse, I experienced a whirlwind of excitement and disgust. I loved the sights, sounds, and basic combat, and loathed the finishers and gameplay deviations

As good a showcase for the new console's graphics capabilities as Forza 5 – if only the gameplay was as beautiful

I found myself admiring the work that had gone into it rather than the results. Man hits other men and those men fall down, and apart. It's a tale as old as time and there's nothing new to see except the "realtime physical dangling pieces".

In fact, the promising arena mode is the only saving grace of Ryse. The campaign may as well not even be there, and having to fight the same handful of enemies over and over on top of a trite, stereotypical narrative is not an example of a good time. Ryse looks great and has a lot of great ideas, but it falls flat in nearly every respect in regards to its core story. If you're a hardcore action fan you may get some satisfaction on the highest difficulty setting, but even then I'd wait for an equally hardcore price drop.