Yesterday Crytek and Microsoft Studios released the first in a live-action, four-part webseries The Fall. The series will release a new episode every week leading up to the release of the Xbox One launch title Ryse: Son of Rome. You can watch it now on Machima’s YouTube channel.
I’m looking forward to Ryse. Perhaps less for the game itself and more for the setting and time period where it’s based. Ancient Rome is a terribly fascinating time in human history and one that I’ve felt has never gotten proper attention in video games. While gameplay footage up until this point suggests that the game will be more focused on being a brutal action experience than a grandiose period piece, the fact that Crytek has stepped in that direction is enough to get me interested. I also have to say that I’m a sucker for this type of marketing. While I was never much of a Halo enthusiast, I was a big fan of I Love Bees. I like the idea of expanding a setting through different forms of media, so I was immediately interested in The Fall when I heard about it.
So how is first chapter? Well, it certainly looks nice. The production values are high and the scenery looks pretty good. But I’m afraid there isn’t a whole lot to the first episode. Nearly a quarter of the four-minute and nineteen-second video is taken up by an introduction that’s mostly whispers and swords on a black screen. The remainder gives us a very pretty and very short introduction to the setting, introducing us to the main character, Marius Titus, returned home after the slaughter of his family by barbarians. While the video says more than I can with words, I have to say that it is a visually stimulating work, but feels void of any real depth. I hope this isn’t foreshadowing the game itself.
While it’s far too early to judge the entire series on this first cursory chapter, I’m a little disappointed to start. It just too short and shallow to drum up excitement for the game and it doesn’t stand on its own as an entertaining narrative. Hopefully as the series progresses it will have something more to grab onto. They had better hurry though, they only have three episodes left.
