Ryse: Son of Rome Review | EGM

"For those who enjoy a simple hack-n-slash game, Ryse: Son of Rome fits the bill. This is no deep adventure, but rather a chance to burn your aggression by chopping your way through hundreds of barbarians, slowing only to enjoy the carnage during the brutal executions. Still, the stunning visuals and compelling setting will keep some gamers engaged throughout, making Ryse a flawed-but-interesting addition to the Xbox One launch lineup."

[JokesOnYou]

Some varied opinions, as expected still Ryse definitely falls short overall but some like it.

[jriquelme_paraguay]

Denial

[lastofgen]

so it isn't denial when a game like knack gets reviewed poorly yet almost all of the comments say to screw the reviews because they think it's a good game?

and by the way, his comment didn't read like someone in denial. He was just stating how the reviews are panning out.

[Hellsvacancy]

Denial, how did you get that from his comment, I don't like alot of what he has to say but saying he's in denial is just plain stupid after he said

"as expected still Ryse definitely falls short overall but some like it" some will like it

[XB1_PS4]

By definition. That's not denial. More like acceptance.

[dantesparda]

He doesnt say the same thing when PS4 games rate similarly. Nope he (and you's to) just jump to fanboyism

[LeCreuset]

I think the "denial" was in reference to JOY saying that the opinions are varied, as in the reviews have been pretty consistent in rating the game low.

@lastofgen

I agree with "screw the reviews." One reason is that I am capable of using my own brain to think. I didn't need a review to tell me I wouldn't like Ryse.

Another reason is that too many in the gaming industry are simply biased. Take egmnow. They gave Knack a 4.5 and Ryse a 7.5. Even more important than that, let's look at how they put a positive spin on Ryse's simplicity and mediocrity in the article excerpt above, versus what they had to say about Knack's simplicity:

"Knack is a by-the-numbers mediocre platformer that amounts to little more than a PlayStation 4 tech demo that, somehow, for some reason, someone at Sony thought should be elevated to “full game” status.

"It should not have been"

[XB1_PS4]

Lecreu, the opinions are varied, there have been 4-8's, if that's not varied I don't know what is..

Also, just because a reviewer likes an adult roman beat em up more than a family platform beat em up doesn't mean they're biased. That's just their opinion. The biased card is basically n4g's equivalent of the race card. Something you don't think is ideal for your opinion. It is undoubtedly biased. If anyone would be in denial I think it may be you.

[LeCreuset]

@XB1_PS4

Don't ever bring that race card crap up to me again. We don't usually talk about those issues here, but for whatever reason you brought it up, so I'm telling you what I'm telling you. Take it somewhere else. The history of race relations is not some game, though some of you that go around talking about "race cards" may have the luxury of believing that it is.

OT: I didn't say I agreed with jriquelme. I haven't sat there and counted up reviews, but most do seem to be low. A few outliers of an 8 do not constitute mixed.

The bias is in how the reviews are written up. The same flaw in both games is spun in different directions. I challenge anyone to go through both reviews and compare them. I will warn you that the Knack one contains spoilers, because the review was so unprofessional and disrespectful as to include them. You can play the Pee Wee Herman "I know you are but what am I" game all you want, but I actually took the time to explain why I found something biased, and broke it down, rather than just declaring it so as you did.

[XB1_PS4]

@Lecreu

I just took a read through both their Knack Review, and their Ryse one. First off, they're reviewed by different people. Second, they describe Knack's world as forgettable and underwhelming while saying Ryse's world is compelling. Also, they talk about the simplicity in controls in knack as being almost insulting to an adult gamer.

To be clear here, I don't agree with the scores. They should have been closer. From reading their review on Ryse I would have called a 6.5/10 before looking at the score. Also, these reviews are not my opinion. I'm simply pulling things out, since I haven't played either.

OT: I never said anyone used the race card, I just said they have the same purpose in certain situations. I'm native american, and having no racial discrimination is important to me; although bringing up race in situations that benefit ones self, while knowing that race is not actually related is what i'm referring to. There is a convenience in being able to dismiss something, without question, as a race issue.

[christocolus]

@jokes

Yeah it seems so..im kind of eager to still try it out..many of my friends have it preordered and my brother too..will check it out first before making a final deceision.

[VENOMACR1227]

I didn't think this game was going to score 8's or 9's. I figured it would be between 5-7.

[tigertom53]

I thought it was going to get 7s

[mrpsychoticstalker]

I love this game. Who cares about reviews. Play it urself and decide.

[NoLongerHereCBA]

Haha at all the fanboys downvoting you :) Sad times.

[mrpsychoticstalker]

This game plays very similar to the first assassins creed years ago. It actually got really bad reviews back then. Look at assassins creed now! I'm sure Ryse will evolve to become one of the greatest blockbusters of this generation.

[Ezz2013]

i didn't downvote you
but you already own xbox one ?!

[mrpsychoticstalker]

Yes, both systems

[Ezz2013]

ok, that's cool
enjoy man :)

[first1NFANTRY]

that's 1.5 too high. i'd give this game a 5 from all i've experienced.

[PS4OUR]

Ryse getting average to bad reviews all over the place:

Shacknews - 5/10
Eurogamer - 5/10
Polygon - 6/10
Joystiq - 2.5/5
Gamespot - 4/10
IGN - 6.8
Destructoid - 5/10
Videogamer.com - 6/10
EGNNow.com - 7.5/10
OXM.co.uk - 7/10
Kotaku - YES
Gamesradar - 3.5/5
GameInformer - 6/10
Rev3Games/Sessler - 2/5
MMGN - 6.5
Eurogamer.de: 7/10
Gameswelt - 7.5/10
Gamersglobal.de - 6.5/10
EveryEye.it - 7.5
Venturebeat: 86/100
Eurogamer.it: 7/10
Gametrailers - 7/10
Metro.co.uk - 3/10
CVG - 5/10
T3.com - 3/5

Some quotes from the reviews:

"Ryse: Son of Rome had potential, but Crytek did too little to expand upon its repetitive combat. While I ran through the campaign in about five hours, it honestly felt like 20"

"As repetitive and shallow as it is, Ryse is always blandly playable; its handsome looks and the daft vigour of the scenario will easily get you to the end of a game that doesn't outstay its welcome. The closing chapters even manage a kind of idiotic grandeur. Marius brings a reckoning back to Rome and ends up reliving earlier events at the Colosseum, where fanciful contraptions transform the scene like the set of a lavish Broadway musical, and there's a clanging reference to Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (as opposed to the trashy TV series which Ryse much more closely resembles). There's even an authentically Roman tinge to way Marius' story ends"

"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.
(EuroGamer)"

^^^ L-O-L. So much for the mighty Ryse. Anyone with half a brain could see this coming miles away. Crytek has not made a good game since Crysis 1 and Far Cry. All looks and no fun.

[Funantic1]

Ryse is in the same category as Killzone and Knack, they all suck.

[PS4OUR]

That may be true but Ryse has been paraded around as the Xbox One's AAAAA title. One would think a game of this magnitude would do well to keep gamers entertained but judging by reviews this is nothing but a glorified tech demo that can't hold a steady 30fps at 900p resolution on a machine that is billed as a next gen.

Killzone and Knack atleast have stable frames and are full 1080p.

But this is Crytek. Anyone expecting a half decent game that plays well is going to be disappointed all the time, everytime.