Preview - Ryse

The first time we saw Ryse was during its big reveal at E3. A thrilling moment for developer Crytek, or at least, that was the aim. Instead critics chose to focus on the quick-time events and button prompts that left combat looking rather dull, despite the awe-inspiring visuals. But during our behind the scenes look at Ryse we witnessed a game that was nowhere near as bad as some would have you believing. In fact, it looks like a game that would be fit to launch any new console.

First up we're shown a test map which won't actually feature in the main game, it's just acting as a way of showcasing the combat system. Enemies appear in a series of waves and it's up to the player to dispatch them however they see fit. That could include slashing them down by button bashing, or it could mean waiting for the right opportunity to strike and then chaining moves together to perform executions.

Executions are one of the big selling points of Ryse. There are over 100 different types of execution manoeuvres for players to perform and each one appears to be more gruesome and gory than the last. An execution could see you ducking under an opponent's attack and jabbing your sword right through the middle of his stomach, or it could have you taking a step back before swiping across an enemy's neck, watching him helplessly fall to the floor.

And no, there are no icons appearing above enemy heads telling you what to do, unlike the E3 demo.

Every execution is superbly choreographed and the facial animations on the fallen warriors are scarily lifelike. Your executions are also graded, so chaining together a few good ones will obviously give you a better grade than an attack that was clumsily put together.

This being Crytek, one thing you can count on is gorgeous visuals. Ryse really does look like a next-generation offering, one that couldn't be pulled off on the limited specifications of the current consoles. The shadow of your character as he marches through the level is faultless, while the sun glistens upon the armour and grass blows in the wind. If Microsoft wanted to release a launch title to show off the sheer power of the Xbox One they've done a good job getting Ryse on the list.

We're then shown what the multiplayer is all about, and it's wave-based action that has you developing your own gladiator. Players can work together in teams to survive rounds, and there're weapons lying around on the floor or spears stuck in dead bodies for you to use as you see fit. The multiplayer also has a custom challenge mode for you to play around with. This means you can set tasks for the next round of multiplayer gaming, such as killing enemies a certain amount of times using a particular weapon, and try to achieve each challenge for more rewards. Crytek is hoping that this ever-changing multiplayer task list will have players coming back for more.

There are several games we've seen this week that show off how integration with a second-screen works, and Ryse is no different. You can access the entire user interface using a tablet or smartphone, and from here you can perform multiple tasks, including the ability to queue multiplayer matches while doing something else - like watching TV. It's not entirely necessary but it is a nice thing to have for players who like to do several things at once.

Ryse is beautiful, there's no doubt about that. The worry was that a gaming mechanic which held your hand throughout combat and told you what to do would ruin the experience for anyone with more than a few weeks experience of gaming. Our behind the scenes look at Ryse has us throwing those fears to one side as we look forward to a title that should be a huge highlight during the launch of the Xbox One.