According to sources at The Verge, Microsoft is planning on launching their new console with Ryse and a new Forza title.
The new Forza title with “super life-like” graphics will, at the end of the day, still be a racing game. Which is all well and good, but it’s still a racing title. Hard to get super pumped over a car racer as a launch title for your next-gen console. Which leaves us with Ryse. Originally debuted at E3 way back in 2011, Ryse seemed like a gimmicky afterthought cashing in on the novelty of The Kinect. Microsoft seems to think differently.
“Ryse is designed to be Microsoft’s new Gears of War / Halo mega launch title. It’s set in the Roman Empire period and uses deep Kinect integration to allow players to slash and kick at enemies.”
That’s putting a lot of  expectations on a title that has been in development for two years and relies on the Kinect. 2011 was a while ago.
“Crytek, along with Microsoft Studios, has been rewriting the game to take advantage of its next-generation console, due later this year.”
That’s reassuring, but these titles don’t strike us as ‘mega launch’ fare, but we could be wrong. Microsoft assures us that these are just a small sampler of the launch titles.
Forza and Ryse will be released “..alongside a zombie game and a family game set on an island with Pixar movie-style graphics. We’re told that the family game will utilize Kinect to scan a body and generate a virtual character in the game.”
We’re just going to have to sit tight till E3 in June, and Microsoft’s rumored May Xbox event, to see what else shakes loose. Watch the trailer for Ryse and let us know what you think.
