One might think that the Xbox One launch wasn't as successful as Microsoft had hoped – at least when it comes to software sales. Last month Dead Rising 3 made the jump from Xbox One to PC, and this month Ryse: Son of Rome makes the same trip, albeit with a bit more success.

Positives Stunning 4K visuals and excellent character designs

Negatives Repetitive combat system is neither fun or terribly challenging; Limited character models is distracting; Pointless and meandering story; Poor co-op and slow character building

Music cognition specialist Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis tells us that "rituals [...] harness the power of repetition to concentrate the mind on immediate sensory details rather than broader practicalities .

Incredible visual fidelity; Repetitive combat rhythms are sometimes satisfying; Exemplary acting

Repetitive combat rhythms are usually brainless; Lack of freedom is exasperating; The violence is so commonplace it becomes boring

Much has happened since the international release of Ryse: Son of Rome . The studio behind it has all but fallen to pieces, which means no matter how you looks at it, this is likely the one and only chance you'll get to play this new IP on console.

Best graphics on console to date | Voice commands that actually work

Very short adventure | Lack of Variety | Combat gets repetitive once mastered

This game is a lot of fun to play. I didn't find it hard at all, even on the highest difficulty, which is great if you get bored with games easily this is probably the one for you as its not overly long, and it has a decent story.

This game was my very first purchase for X1. And for a next gen game it was really nothing to do back flips over. The fighting dynamics were very robotic and uninspiring. Almost a direct annex of other free form fighting games like Assassin's Creed.

Graphics are probably the best I've ever seen, even more detail than I expected. The Age Rating should be borne in mind as the fighting is realistically graphic severed limbs with protruding bones etc quite a lot of gore

Ryse certainly is a game that showcases the visual quality that the Xbox One can produce, as the graphics are stunning at times. Sadly the gameplay is not quite up to the same standard. The timed events can get repetitive in the beginning and you don't really feel as if you are in total control.

"A beautiful but weak experience While taking out a group of barbarians, the feeling of playing as this unstoppable warrior might feel remarkable. As time goes on, this Roman soldier reveals that he has some big flaws. While Ryse: Son of Rome is visually stunning, it lacks in gameplay and being fun.

This game has a great storyline that is very fun to play. The graphics on the game are great, but the kill scenes do become a little repetitive after a while. Unfortunately the story doesn't last all that long and there isn't much to do after you have finished the story mode.

Ryse: Son of Rome on the Xbox One takes two steps forward with graphics, sound and music but more than one step back with the story. The gameplay is heavy with one on one combat along with some Roman era battles where you act as a centurion.