Xbox Wire

Ryse: Son of Rome" follows Marius Titus, a young Roman soldier who must avenge the murder of his family at the hands of barbarian bandits. As he rises through the ranks of the Roman army, Marius' quest for vengeance will take him to the barbarian-infested shores of Britannia, and eventually straight into the heart of Rome.

Marius: The hero of Ryse: Son of Rome, Marius is a young soldier with a strong sense of duty who is completely dedicated to Rome and her ideals. Initially eager to fight against Rome's enemies and expand the Empire, he soon realizes that Rome is vulnerable to an even more insidious threat than the barbarians he faces on the battlefield. Ever loyal to Rome, he resolves to rid the Empire of her true enemies.

Vitallion: A wise and charismatic general who has served Rome for decades, Vitallion has fought in many campaigns and serves as a mentor to Marius. As events transpire he begins to wonder if duty has its limits, and whether self-restraint is always the correct course of action.

Nero: Nero, Emperor of Rome, struggles to maintain his grip on power. He promotes his two sons Commodus and Basillius to powerful positions, letting them take control of the rebellious province of Britannia. Nero feels threaten by all potential rivals and exacts ruthless retribution against anyone who crosses him.

Commodus and Basillius: As governor of Britannia, Nero's eldest son, Commodus, sees himself as a god, and the people of Britannia as his subjects. His reign is characterized by brutal repression. Nero's youngest son, Basillius, enjoys anything carnal or cruel. At the Colosseum he delights in watching gladiators kill each other, and lords over the terrified slaves he keeps in his harem in the bowels of the structure.

Boudica: The daughter of King Oswald, the ruler of the Britons. Strong and resilient, Boudica hates Rome, and with good reason: under Roman rule, her people are made to suffer horribly. When her father faces horrific retribution from a perceived insult, it galvanizes Boudica and she rallies her people to rise against their oppressors. Boudica is a principled woman and has the will to go to the ends of the world to save her people.

Oswald: Benevolent king of the Britons. He leads a rebellion against the tyrannical rule of Rome, but when the Romans brutally repress the rebels, Oswald submits to Roman dominance in hopes this will spare his people. His naivety leaves him vulnerable to the Romans.

Glott: Enigmatic leader of the Northern barbarians, rumored to be more beast than man. Very little is known about him except that he is fiercely independent and will make war on both the Romans and Oswald's tribe.

The Spirit Gods: Immortal spirit, one who watches over humanity, guides Marius. She appears in mortal form, but radiates an otherworldly aura. Another (known in mortal form as Aquilo) seeks the destruction of Rome and allies himself with her enemies.

http://news.xbox.com/2013/07/games-ryse-sdcc-announcement

These guys don't get it.

No one cares about the characters in this type of game. Neither the genre or the period of ancient Rome lends itself well to story telling, character development and stuff.

And a comic book? Oh, com'on. That's a terrible idea.

They're doing so much wrong with this game (the QTE's, simplistic gameplay, tacked on Kinect, on-rails, stiff animations are things we have touched before). It's going to be a gigantic flop.

Love it when people turn their own opinion into a universal truth. All it takes is one person to disagree with you, and you're wrong. Which you are. 

Anyway, the game looks gorgeous. Also, I posted this link in the other Ryse thread

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/07/19/crytek-usa-the-ex-darksiders-studio-is-helping-out-on-ryse-son-of-rome/

Not sure if people were already aware of this, but it was news to me.

Qhat... ancient rome is fascinating. Pre-20th century history is a massive untapped resource in gaming imo bar a few good strategy games. Genghis Khan? Attila the Hun? Alexander the Great? Dramatised documentary-style storytelling between gameplay could work really well.

Though I have to say I am dissapointed at the small scope of this game.

Those graphics!

Not really interested in a comic.

Don't get me wrong. I personally love the era, I love history. But I also know from the movie world, how Hollywood is thinking, that ancient Rome and stuff is considered an era that the movie audience largely don't care about as much, that it's harder to make an interesting story and drama who people will invest themselves in and identify with.

Luckily there are exceptions of course, like myself and you and others, but generally speaking I think there's truth to it. For every Spartacus or The Tudors TV-series there are dozens and dozens of Prison Breaks and True Bloods.

Also I don't think it's a coincidence that most games with settings in old eras aren't story or character focused.

Either way I don't think it's gonna work out with this game. Just no way. Read how they present the characters, how they describe them. As if anyone cares at this point?

Impressive looking game. I hope this game is received well both critically and commercially. I like games like these. Hopefully it does well and spawns sequels later.

lol sales won't be able to brag about the metacritic on xbox one games. people will down anything and everything that comes up on xbox one. microsoft better prepare for the pack of hating hyenas

This game is so historically fake i cant even take this game serious, hollywood style Saving Private Ryan beachlanding including dude with his arm cutoff made me want to vomit.
Rome II releases in a few weeks yet no one seems to know, shame on you people.

I will predict a ~50 metascore, maybe lower. Solid sales, though, and very deservingly so.