Review - Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

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

Gameplay Vs Narrative

-What's the best focus of a video game?-

So we've had a good weekend. Fallout New Vegas and Vanquish have finally landed on shelves,
and I was lucky enough to pick them both up, and on playing Vanquish, I noticed something.

The plot, is not the main motivator in playing the game.

Now, this is an odd statement, I understand this, being that gaming is centralized around telling a story nowadays. But there's something about Vanquish that really brings a reality to light, single player campaigns are story centric these days, all sharing similar mechanics, which are used to display a story. You see, recently developers seem to be fighting to get a unique story in their game, rather than some unique mechanics. Back in the NES days your story could be shown in a single "cut-scene" of a monster taking a princess away from you. Then you'd be sent across the land fighting generic monsters like zombies and bats to get her back, but that was never a problem back then because you were playing a game.

Take Enslaved for example. It features mediocre platforming, and a set of incredibly frustrating battle mechanics. In fact, within the whole gameplay area, it contains nothing original. Your only motivation to play is to see what happens next, not because you're having fun with the new mechanic, but because you want to explore these two characters set before you. Now, call me crazy, but isn't that a bit off? Vanquish's story is simply "Russian terrorists have built a space city, and they're evil! Destroy them! Oh yeah, and you're in a robot suit!" from there on out, Vanquish includes action packed cut-scenes and some funny cliches, but never forms a plot that you'd want to follow, no, what you realize you're there for, is the gameplay. Throughout the game you're fighting the most generic of enemies these days: robots. However, this becomes a blast because of the set of mechanics you're given with which to do so. The game is astoundingly original for a game about a space marine, a concept that I think everyone believed was dead in the water. Which reminds me, Platinum games offered a similar experience in terms of originality with Bayonetta, a game that on surface looks like a re-tread of explored ground, but is in fact brimming with intelligent gameplay features, some would say the dodge mechanic is revolutionary within games right now.

There are extremes to this theory, like Heavy Rain, which is essentially a movie, and Noby Noby Boy, which is based solely around gameplay, and very unique gameplay at that. The former is bashed for not having any decent mechanics and not really being a game, whilst the latter is bashed for having no discernible objective. There are games like Fallout: New Vegas that balance game-play and narrative almost perfectly by having lots and lots of selections and mechanics for the player to take advantage of. The narrative is handled very well for a game by including many side quests and interesting locales which, to be discovered involve the gamer going off the beaten path and playing more. However, it's a very fragile balance, as previous entries from the developer have shown us. Fallout 3 had very impressive mechanics, but lacked a decent central narrative, same with Oblivion. It just poses a question. Would you rather there were games like Enslaved that focus mainly on narrative, or games like Vanqish that focus mainly on gameplay?

I know I'd rather go for gameplay, because that makes the title unique to the medium.

Image credit: www.Playstationlifestyle.net and www.gametestlab.com respectively

It's a love/hate relationship... Enslaved: Odyssey to the west

Dear Enslaved.
Thank you ever so much for inviting me on that road-trip of yours this week. I do believe it was one of the best I've had in years, jostling between combat and climbing effortlessly is something i don't think many can achieve, in fact, i think it may be what draws me towards you. That and the subtle beauty of the way you make me see the post-apocalyptic Manhattan before my eyes. The lush greenery presents a sense of ambience over the events that may have befallen the unfortunate creatures caught in whatever event ceased normality. Indeed, i enjoy the sight-seeing the most. But what of the company? By Jove, that Monkey fellow and that Trip, they're a lovely pair! We had a rocky start, but we all came together soon enough. I'm aware that we're still traveling together, and i suspect romance is in the air between the two, oh yes... Indeed, that giant robot dog we saw forged a friendship i don't believe could be created in any other way. Those two may have their flaws, but don't we all as human beings? I suppose that Monkey is called what he is because he was very monotone before he met Trip. Luckily for us that's soon going to change i presume. Especially with all those "glitches" we've been seeing. The narrative we've shared so far has indubitably satisfied me greatly, and i look forward to what we shall see together next!

However.

Whenever i see one of those robots... Well, it just flips my flaps! I mean, the least you could do was have a camera that worked better than as if it were an epileptic patient mid-seizure during combat! Perhaps you could even make Monkey's evade move worth a damn by making the animation happen as soon as the bloody button is pressed! Then i wouldn't be hit every fucking fight because i hadn't seen a robot before the last shitty second and then had no time press the block button! Perhaps you could make the game seen a bit less fucking linear too! I mean, i can so jump down some places that "apparently" Monkey has some fucking issue's with! Christ, it comes to situations where i'm stuck in a room, running around like a fucking headless retard that's somehow still alive, blood pouring out in gallons, hoping, just hoping there's a fucking handhold monkey will jump onto somewhere! Not only does the camera usually deny this, but usually the objects so fucking small ant's are tripping on it, big ants to be fair. Which reminds me, Trips such a bitch! You tell her next time she say's "Go take em out! I'll be here where it's safe" I'm going to clobber her! Also tell her that if i ever hear "I'll perform a scan" again i think I'm going to have to nail her mouth shut! She's a purty lass, but she doesn't half rile me up! I haven't even mentioned how many times i've failed to live because the world looks samey throughout! FUCK THIS GAME! FUCK THI-

Let's just say it's a love/hate relationship.

-Serde - Full review of Enslaved coming soon.

Image credit: www.tothegame.com

A Bright Apocalypse

A Bright Apocalypse
The World In Transition

We're used to seeing the end of the world depicted in video games. The post-apocalyptic landscapes of games like Fallout, Borderlands, and Rage (among others) have been thoroughly traversed by millions of gamers, but seldom do we see alternatives to the windswept deserts of so many games. The recent release from Ninja-Theory, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, shows us another take on the classic “after the end” scenario.

The game follows two human characters who have been captured by the mechanized creations of mankind. These automatons are still acting on the orders given to them during a worldwide war that exterminated most of mankind over one-hundred-fifty years ago, and while rusting robots and crumbling cities may be familiar, what's striking about Enslaved is the brilliant color that saturates the game. Instead of dull and subdued cityscapes and slowly decaying buildings, the world of Enslaved is bursting with new life. In contrast to the desolation that we normally experience, Enslaved is a celebration of life.

That said, the life that is thriving isn't human. Perhaps that's why Enslaved is still unsettling: while not showing the end of all life, that's not really what humans are interested in. Humanity is intrinsically selfish, as are all species: we don't fundamentally care about the well-being of other animals except where it influences ourselves. The world of Enslaved may be thriving with life, but it's all life that has moved into the niche where we once lived. In a sense, we have been defeated in the fight for survival, humanity has not turned out to be a successful model for life. A world that has moved on is almost more affecting than an empty world: if we're the only ones unsuited for the world, there's no one else to blame.

There too are the mechanical creations of humanity that haunt the future that Enslaved portrays. Our civilization is not entirely forgotten, but it might have been better it it had. The only thing left for the world to remember us by is a legacy of war and destruction. The machines of our hate remain and continue to kill; threatening our future by continuing to follow the orders that we gave them. The game shines a light on the absurdity of war by taking it to the extreme. The petty hatred that we could once afford has backfired and now holds the possibility to cause our ultimate defeat.

In initial reviews for Enslaved have been positive, and sales numbers aren't in yet, but even if Enslaved isn't commercially successful, it may still have an influence on the way future video games portray the end of the world. Instead of fitting into the mold of other post-apocalyptic games, Ninja-Theory took a chance by making a colorful and visually interesting game. Whether or not they are rewarded for their experiment is yet to be determined, but it is already an important entry in the genre. Innovation is driven by experimentation, and a healthy genre will grow from creative inputs of different types. Don't be surprised if aesthetic and conceptual elements from Enslaved start showing up in the some of the grimmer games that are set after the end of the world.

--Tom