by Mr. Frozen » Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:01 pm
Currently playing Ryse: Son of Rome. This game is actually making me cringe hardcore because it constantly spits in the face of history. The main sin that this game commits is that it puts the player in the role of a Centurion, a Roman officer yet you literally take down entire enemy armies all by yourself and basically play the game on your own. They do sometimes allow you to take command of a small unit and issue commands, but those moments are far and few between. This is a sin because the reason the Roman army was so dominant was because it was the first army to really instill enough discipline in its soldiers to be able to create formations that would tactically dominate on the battlefield. Soldiers also had a strong brotherly affection for other members of the unit, which made them fight harder, and is something that armies today aim to replicate. The fact that the game constantly sends you off on your own to battle enemy armies on your own spits in the face of the complex tactics of the ancient roman armies. I can ignore the inaccuracies of the armor and battles, but goddamn, the fact that they took an entire shit on the core of the Roman army is really bothering me. I don't think I'll be able to finish this game. I mean, damn they could've at least made sure you were accompanied with at least one or two soldiers from your unit at all times, making you actually give a damn about your men. Playing as a Roman officer is pointless if you aren't forced to give a damn about men under your command.
A shame since the core gameplay is pretty solid. If the developers even made a slight attempt to stay true to history they would've had a great game since drama is easy as fuck to create with all the crazy politics at the time. The developers had the opportunity to create a game that involves the player in complicated house politics, being able to rise through the ranks of the Roman military, from being an officer to a general commanding an entire army and then maybe into the senate, but noo.... they chose to create a repetitive hack and slash game. Even if they wanted to stick with combat they could've done a lot better by having the player command an elite unit through intense made up scenarios, kinda like republic commando. Game has so much potential but as is it is mediocre as fuck.