Crytek shows off first actual gameplay for Ryse

Smash people with quick-time events

Crytek unveiled gameplay from its upcoming Roman-combat game, Ryse, during the big Xbox conference today. It showed lots of hacking and slashing with Roman guys jumping off from a ship. At first glance it looks like a really big battle, but to me it seemed that the player gets approached by small groups of enemies and the majority of the battle is just background animations. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it might not be as epic as they want you to think it is.

Next Crytek showed the player attacking a wall as part of a phalanx formation, huddling close together with shields raised to block oncoming arrows. Then once inside the city the player runs around killing groups of soldiers again, smashing them with his shield and killing them with lots of crazy slow-motion stabbing. It looks like a lot of bloody fun, and I can’t think of another game that will let me be a part of a shield wall.

The combat is filled with quick-time events, which I personally hate but some people don’t mind them. The killing moves are almost exactly like the ones from God of War. The player will have control over issuing orders to troops as well as being a part of the front line.