Here is my next video review. In this video, I give you a quick overview of Ryse: Son of Rome, go over the rating and content, and let you know if I think it is good for your gamer.
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Transcript:
Hello, my name is Eric Rogers from parentinggamers.com and this is Parenting Gamers Review of Ryse: Son of Rome. In this video, I am going to give you a quick overview of the game, go over the rating and content, and let you know if I think it is good for your gamer.
So the first question is, what is Ryse: Son of Rome?
Ryse: Son of Rome is a third-person action game. A third-person game is a game where the character the player controls is visible on the screen. This view is popular is story driven games because it helps the player connect more with the main character of the story. You can see what I mean in this clip here.
Ryse also feature sections where the player controls more than just the main character. The main character is a Roman soldier. In some sections, the player is tasked with moving a group of soldiers through a given area, as you can see in this clip here.
There are two other things I want to mention about Ryse’s gameplay.
First, Ryse is a heavily story-driven game. There are a lot of cut scenes that take control away from the player to move the story forward. The gameplay is very linear and has very little freedom for the player to leave the given path.
The second thing I want to mention is the execution system. Whenever an enemy reaches a certain threshold of health, a skull icon appears above his head. The player then has the opportunity to perform an execution, which finishes the enemy off in a very brutal fashion. Performing an execution will give the player different bonuses, such as filling the health bar up or awarding more experience. So the player is encouraged to perform these executions whenever possible.
The next question is, what about the content?
A quick warning, I am about to show you some clips explaining the rating Ryse received. These clips are graphic and contain some sexual content.
Ryse: Son of War received an M rating, which is the equivalent of an R rating in the movies. The rating includes these 5 descriptors:
“Intense Violence” and “Blood and Gore”
“Strong Language”
and “Partial Nudity” and “Sexual Content”
The other thing to keep in mind is Ryse contains a multiplayer component that allows players to team up to kill enemies. You need to be aware of this because you will have no control over who your gamer might play with in a public game.
So what’s the verdict? Is Ryse: Son of Rome a game you should allow your gamer to play?
I have to say I cannot recommend this game to parents. The executions are pretty brutal and happen very frequently throughout the game. That in and of itself is enough to make me say hold off.
But then the nudity takes Ryse into the definite no category. The ESRB gave it the “Partial Nudity” descriptor saying, “female characters are sometimes depicted topless (e.g., pasties over breasts; covered in body paint)”. However, the clip I showed you was much more graphic than “Partial Nudity” implies, in my opinion. Yes, the nipples of the female characters are covered but that makes the scene only slightly better than what you would see in the strip club in Grand Theft Auto 5.
With the violence and sexual content in this game, I have to say give it a pass.
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