Ryse Trailer Storms The Beach

Two years after announcing Ryse, Crytek finally offered gameplay footage from the Xbox One hack-and-slash game. They also outlined the game's story and features.

Ryse stars Marius Titus, a young Roman soldier whose family is slaughtered. His quest for vengeance will take him from the battlefields of Britannia to the famed Coliseum of Rome. The Coliseum is also the setting of the co-op mode, in which friends fight side-by-side as gladiators.

The game was initially announced as a Kinect title. However, now it seems that Kinect is optional. During the initial gameplay demo, the player barked orders at fellow soldiers in battle.

The sword-and-shield combat isn't wowing me at the present time. There was an overabundance of Quick Time Events in the demo. I'm hoping that we're looking at an early, tutorial-like part of the game and that these QTE's will be rarer throughout the full game.

Like other Crytek games, Ryse is a visual treat. The invasion scene in the demo is just gorgeous. I'm hoping that the game is as fun to play as it is to watch.

Ryse will be a launch title for the Xbox One. Both the game and console are due in November.