IGN
"It's a QTE-fest."
"There's no depth to the combat."
"Uh-oh."
In the wake of E3 and beyond, these were some of the most common reactions to Ryse: Son of Rome, the Crytek-developed Xbox One-exclusive launch title that Microsoft is betting big on this November. Widespread fanboy panic ensued -- and for partially good reason. Unless you're Heavy Rain, QTEs generally go over about as well as wearing Red Sox gear in Yankee Stadium with the core gamers Ryse is targeting. Especially in an action game.
After a hands-on with the latest build on the eve of Gamescom, however, I have good news: there's no need to worry about Ryse: Son of Rome. The combat has plenty of depth, and the AI is aggressive enough that you'll be challenged plenty. Oh, and QTEs are merely optional finishing moves, with the giant button prompt over a foe's head replaced by a subtle colored outline around the not-long-for-this-world bad guy that corresponds to the button you're supposed to press in order to nail the best execution.
I fought several waves of increasingly difficult gladiators -- from simple, unshielded axe-wielding fodder to hulking, shield-bearing brutes and dual-sword-wielding barbarians -- on Ryse's combat test area. If you've ever heard of a "white box" -- a blank, untextured room where developers can test out gameplay systems -- this was just like that, though here it was prettied up with tall, wind-blown grass, cliff edges, and striking castles bathed in fog in the distance. Fittingly enough, it looked like a hill where young Roman soldiers might go to hone their skills.
Once the warriors started entering the battlefield, I began to see and feel how combat in Ryse really works. It's easy to get aggressive against the lower-tier guys by giving them a few good X-button sword swipes, but even they'll start dodging you after a couple hits. Before long, the initial group of three surrounded me, and they aren't polite enough to let you fight just one at a time. You'll need to read when the attacks from your rear or flank are coming, and press A before it's too late. Time it right and you'll trigger a defensive block, keeping your health bar (broken into three segments, each of which recharges, similar to what you've seen in many other action games) full. Alternatively, you can perform an evade roll by tapping RB, which I found extremely useful (and borderline necessary) once you start getting five guys swarming you in bigger battles. You can also hold down X, or the offensive shield move on the Y button, to pull off charged-up heavy attacks, but you'll have to save those risk-and-reward maneuvers for when you're not so outnumbered.
Once you've whittled down a target's health enough, a skull-and-crossbones icon appears above his head, indicating that he's ready to be executed. Tap B to trigger the animation, which draws the camera closer in and will vary depending on where you both are on the battlefield (if you're near some spikes, you'll be able to push him into those) and the executions you've unlocked. The more you play, earn experience, and rank up, the higher-tier execution types you'll have access to, including dismembering finishers and more. The animation will begin, and a blue or yellow outline will highlight your target. Time your X or Y button tap well enough and you'll net a better-rated finisher (they're classified from Recruit all the way up to Legendary), resulting in a better quality perk (see below). It's even more fun to try and pull off a double execution if you've got two weakened opponents. And eventually, you'll learn to just read the animation and not need to look for the colored outline anymore. Crytek says they're considering turning it off altogether on higher difficulty levels.
After you've completed your execution, a dynamic camera automatically -- and effectively -- shifts the third-person camera to focus on the next guy closest to you. It's subtle but helps you keep your combo multiplier going once you get into the flow.
Meanwhile, you'll earn perks for each successful execution, and those perks are selectable on the fly with the D-pad. Focus lets you stun foes and briefly slow down time, Damage doubles your attack's impact, XP increases the experience gained from the kill, and Health regenerates a bit of your health bar. It adds a light bit of strategy to the mix, as if you go into a fight hurting, you can select Health as your post-execution reward in order to get back on your feet, figuratively speaking. Alternatively, you could choose Focus, bank a bunch of it, and then deploy it at a choice moment when the odds are particularly stacked against you. And, to my delight, you'll feel the pressure a lot in Ryse.
So what the hell happened at E3? Crytek admits they should've shown off more raw gameplay instead of a "perfect" playthrough. "Without showing the full depth [of the combat], without showing failure [to pull off a move or execution]...did it do us some injustice? Maybe," admitted senior producer Brian Chambers. "It left a lot of questions."
As far as I'm concerned, those questions have been answered to my satisfaction. My only concern about my hands-on time was the fact that it took place in a developer test area that won't be in the final game. I fully understand why Crytek showed me what it did -- the team wanted to focus solely on the combat system fans have been concerned about and not have things like cinematics, dialogue, etc. competing for my attention -- but I do wish the demo could've been longer to allow me to go in and also try things out within the context of the real game. We should get the chance to do just that later this week here at Gamescom, so check back for our updated report.
http://ie.ign.com/articles/2013/08/20/dont-worry-about-ryse-son-of-rome
