Whoa, this kind of popped up out of nowhere. I was reading about games set in ancient Rome last night, only to discover that an upcoming title called RYSE from the people who did CRYSIS 2 (hrm..) is a Kinect exclusive set in ancient Rome. The trailer doesn't offer much info, as it's all pre rendered. It seems to be blatantly ripping off the award winning opening credits of HBO's ROME, but if you're going to rip something off for your Rome game, that's certainly the best option IMHO. Identical graffiti comes to life on the walls of the city in the two sequences, brought to life by an identical twisting serpent. It's pretty unoriginal, but still sort of cool I guess
ROME HBO (sorry for the poor quality, it's off youtube):
RYSE GAME:
The problem is that while the early shots of the trailer seem to take place in what ROME executive producer Bruno Heller called the "hot, wild city" - a Rome that is fifthly, colorful and lived in - unfortunately, the only gameplay we see appears to be set in what ROME historical consultant Jonathan Stamp refers to as "Holly-rome" - pristine white marble, a patrician city of starched clean togas. Concept art for the game I've discovered seems to back up this disappointing impression. The city is colorless and the the columns unpainted. It's like the dusty mud colored Rome of GLADIATOR. Impressive in scale, but completely unbelievable as a multi ethnic pagan metropolis of a million people
Oh well
I am still pretty interested, even if the whole Kinect thing seems gimmicky and pointless. Do you reckon I could just play RYSE with a controller, and skip the whole flailing about part? I hope so
Unfortunately the trailer seems to emphasize chaos and death, as the game is set in the fall of Rome. Frankly, I'd be much more interested with a game set in a Rome that is a vibrant, living city. I'm excited to explore a Rome that is so graphically detailed, but it seems like they're going for the whole CRYSIS 2 shock and awe approach, which just totally misses the point of what makes Rome so interesting. I want to walk the forum, not dodge falling rubble
What say you, citizen?
(cross posted from GUY.com)
Edited by Princess Kate - 9/24/11 at 12:30pm
