PlayStation 3
XBox 360
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Product Features

Genre
Role Playing
Publisher
Namco Bandai
Release Date
October 08, 2010
Available Platforms
PlayStation 3, XBox 360

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Enslaved Odyssey to the West

In Enslaved you take on the role of Monkey a strong, brutish loner who has been captured on a mysterious slave ship 150 years into the future. War and destruction have left the world in ruins and you are one of only a few humans left. On the slave ship you encounter Trip - a beautiful, tech-savvy young woman who is also at the mercy of her captors. Trip is anxious to escape so she can make her way back home, but she knows she can't do it alone. She has the brains, but not the brawn - you, as Monkey are her ticket to freedom. You soon become Enslaved by Trip - bonded together by a slave headband. If you stray, you will be paralyzed by excruciating pain. If you stay, your fate is in her hands. In both cases, your freedom is no longer your own. A cinematic masterpiece: Featuring dramatic...

  • Jake Sommers October 17, 2010 360
    ****

    Story:
    Enslaved casts you as Monkey, a recently enslaved man so-called for his climbing ability and his agressive but caring nature. The opening sequence does a brilliant job of introducing you to the mechanics of the game, set to the backdrop of a slave ship falling from the sky. It is after crash landing that you meet your companion Trip, who enslaves you (again!) and tasks you with taking her home or facing death. What really stands out is the interaction between these two characters, as it develops in a believeable way throughout the game. The script is of high quality too, which is nothing less than expected from the scribe behind films like 28 Days Later. It really needs to be, considering that these are the only characters in the game until two-thirds of the way through, when a completely unique character is introduced. Called Pigsy, he is the complete opposite of Monkey or Trip and manages to feel completely out of place and yet he also fits right in at the same time. Whilst the story sometimes seems to lag in the middle a bit, the game finishes on a high with a perfect cliffhanger ending. This is a perfect example of how stories in games should be just as strong and gripping as any movie counterpart. 9/10

    Graphics:
    The first level shows off the scale and graphical prowess this game was aiming for. At one point you are hanging onto the side of a massive flying ship as huge pices fall off and it crashes into a tower. Throughout this section there is no drop in detail, and although there are a few framerate problems dotted around, the game never loses this high level of technical quality. There is one major problem though. For the first half of the game you travel through a city that has been taken over with wildlife. Here the colour palette is full of bright and colourful greens and is a joy to look at. But towards the end of the game you start going through huge machines and wastelands, where the environments turn into a dull browney grey mess. This is perhaps most prevalent in the final level, which is insanely massive in its scale but is made up entirely of browns. Whilst it is a shame that the game falls down in the final half, the artisitic quality of the first half more than makes up for it. 8/10

    Gameplay:
    The game is split into two main types of gameplay: platforming and combat. Some of the major criticisms levelled at the game is the pre-determined jumping: the game only allows you to jump in certain directions in a very linear fashion. Although it takes any sense of challenge out of the game it does help it to feel smooth and refined, which to me actually makes the game better because of it. The combat also feels like it has been simplified, as there are very few hand to hand combos and the shooting is limited due to the existence of only two types of ammo and a maximum ammo capacity of only 20 for each. What it means is that the game mostly forces you to get up close and personal, which does get slightly repetitive as the game goes on. In order to break up some of the boredom, Monkey is sometimes allowed to get out a hoverboard called the Cloud. But the fact that you can't attack whilst on it and also the problem that it breaks the linear and precise experience the game tries to get you to follow means that it is probaably the weakest part of the whole package. This game is definitely not for people who want to experiment and find their own way through the game. There is nearly no exploration, except for the mostly easy to find orbs and masks, and it always feels like the game is keeping you on a tight leash. In many ways, although they same completely different on the outside, this game reminds me of my personal favourite game of the year so far Alan Wake, as it puts forward an experience that it wants everyone to follow. Whether this makes Enslaved a good or bad game is completely up to the player. 8/10

    Replayability:
    The game comes in at around 8 hours, which is standard for these types of games nowadays. There are three difficulty modes and various fun achievements to obtain that will probably require another playthrough. The orbs scattered throughout the levels are sometimes ridiculously hard to find, even when you try to collect all of them, and should make you want to replay the game just to find them again. Plans for future DLC starring Pigsy sound interesting and shoud provide a couple hours of extra and unique entertainment down the line, but this game probably isn't worth the full £40. 7/10

    Overall:
    So, the story is brilliant whilst the gameplay lacks variety. This game obviously has its flaws, but it is up to you to decide whether they will derail your experience. For me, however, this game is definitely worth more tha the sum of its parts, and I will be waiting anxiouls for any more of ENslaved or Ninja Theory's games in the future.

    9/10