Ah, Enslaved... It's a tragedy what you turned out to be... Throughout this year I thought, I hoped I'd like this game, it's come from a studio that's based nearby, and seemingly crashed into a rock with Heavenly Sword. Ninja-theory is back again, and...
It's okay. Enslaved is an odd game, that tries too hard, the graphics are intensely brilliant, with each characters emotions brimming out of their facial expressions like it was national eat all the ice-cream in the world day. The animation is amazing, the lip syncing is consistently, and extraordinarily on target, and you really get the impression this was something the actors were going all out on, like it was the next big epic film. Really, that's what it should have been, but however, after some research i came to see, that's what it was originally planned to be. Unfortunately, it was rejected, and what we're stuck with, is an extraordinarily good looking cg movie, with a game stapled on the side. It's like going to a cinema to see The Lord Of The Rings, and having someone pause the movie and make you play the corresponding level before moving on. Yes, the gameplay is awful, like a movie tie-in within the movie. What makes this so heart-breaking is that the narrative is so good.
To get you acquainted, the story is essentially a very unique re-telling of the Chinese tale: Journey to the west. The re-telling is based in an also very unique looking post apocalyptic world. You are Monkey (played by Andy Serkis of Lord Of the Rings fame) a very muscular loner. The guy has issues, and likes to avoid them. Unfortunately for Monkey, he's been caught by the robots which now litter the land. Although, this is quickly changed by Trip (played by Lindsey Shaw). Trip is a techno-whiz that's never really explored beyond her hometown. Her whole towns capture by the robots has forced her into a land she's never seen before, and using her tech escapes to freedom. Accidentally bringing monkey in tow. Once down on the ground from the giant airship the duo were being held captive in, Trip decides she needs Monkey if she is to make it home. So, she straps a device to Monkey's head that will kill him if she dies. In the games words "If i die. You die." So begins the thrilling and ultimately heart breaking tale of Enslaved.
The gameplay is broken down into two sections: platforming, and combat. Platforming is a relatively mundane re-tread of whatever platforming mechanics have been done before, with Monkey jumping and swinging from outcrops and pipes to reach his destination, and at odd times, having to pick up Trip and throw her across a gap, nothing you haven't seen before. What makes this part of the game incredibly annoying is the fact that whatever Monkey can jump on and off from is incredibly specific, it's very linear, and this makes it very annoying, as right from chapter 2 you are faced with turrets that will kill you in a matter of seconds. The correct procedure is to get Trip to distract them with her techno wrist whilst you run around and Flank them. The only problem is when the techno wrist runs out of juice and you're still visible, a lot of times when this happens I find there's no way to go, find I can't jump off a platform, or simply don't notice the only thing I can grab on to, and because of this, I'm killed. This is probably one of the most annoying parts of the game, and something that frustrated me so much i stopped playing on numerous occasions. In other words: Is not fun.
The combat is your basic 3rd person action game set-up, you have a standard attack, a heavy attack, a stun attack, a dodge, a block and a long ranged shooting mechanic. This is all good and well, apart from the dodge because Monkey takes so long to actually perform it that you'd have to be able to read the future for it to be an effective move. Combat in this game is very frustrating when combined with the camera, as the camera likes Monkey, perhaps too much as it's always zoomed right in on his back, and there's no camera control. So when enemies do swarm you, which they like to do by the way. You can't see hardly anything, and it doesn't matter how slow the enemies are to attack, telegraphing what they are going to do for ages before-hand, because the screen just becomes one big clusterfuck whilst your health goes down and you mash away hoping you get a lucky hit in, this part of the game is also: Not fun.
If Enslaved didn't have an incredible story it would be terrible, Terrible. The gameplay is a mess, i never found it fun, or challenging, just frustrating. The only thing that pulls the game out of the ashes is the vision itself, the amazing world displayed before you, seeded with incredible acting talent.
"If you don't mind trawling through a game for the sake of story, then this is definitely the game for you. In fact, i recommend this game to everyone, if only to experience it's narrative. However, be aware that gameplay is frustrating, and the camera is the worst I've seen in years."
Image credit: totalplaystation.com and scrawlfx.com respectively
No comments:
Post a Comment