Starting out as a Kinect game and having to be hastily cobbled together into a working alternative is surely what it's like when any otherwise made-for-2D flick has a few extra passes to crowbar in that extra dimension on the silver screen. Something just feels off, and in the case of Ryse there's no way of getting around the fact that you're essentially playing 'How Cool Is This Animation: The Game'. Gameplay itself is serviceable if not completely devoid of innovation, and you could argue a pretty fireworks show was all that's needed for a console's launch. But at the same time when all you're doing is matching coloured prompts on-screen to trigger death-animations - that happen anyway if you miss - it takes the impact out of what could've been a very viscerally satisfying 'God-of-War-goes-next-gen' title.
