Enslaved: Odyssey of the West
Developer: Ninja Theory
Price: $59.99
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3 (reviewed)
Ninja Theory’s previous effort ‘Heavenly Sword’ had great characterisation and story but the gameplay didn’t quite match up to the same level of detail. Now with the developer set to reboot the popular and apparently sacred Devil May Cry series, Enslaved is their best chance to show us what they can do. Is Enslaved a step up or does it fall into the same traps ‘Heavenly Sword’ fell into?
Enslaved: Odyssey of the West is loosely based on the classic Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’. Set in a post-apocalyptic version of America where most of humanity has been wiped out and robots have taken control of civilisation. You play as Monkey a powerful but agile loner who just spends his time surviving moving from place to place. After barely escaping from a crash landing slaver ship he awakens to find he has been enslaved via a headband by a woman called Trip who needs help getting home. The headband is more than just an accessory, if Monkey doesn’t do what Trip says he dies. To make matters worse if she dies Monkey dies. Enslaved narrative and characterisation is what Ninja Theory excess at and it shows. Monkey and Trips relationship starts off on the wrong foot but as the game unfolds we truly do believe that the 2 grow attached to one another. This is partly to do with how natural the characters feel and speak thanks to 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland, and how the mechanics behind the game work so that they both can’t live without each other.
Enslaved uses a similar gameplay style to Uncharted using a combination of action and platforming. The platforming works the same only the game highlights what areas can be jumped to or not. Deaths based on these sections are impossible, Monkey will only jump if he can actually make it across. For the most part this works though you do find stubborn moments where Monkey will only jump at the right spot, this is made worse when you assist Trip over platforms. 9 times out of 10 I had to correct where I was throwing Trip just so the button would actually work. Except for those odd hiccup Monkey’s movements are very fluid and works well.
Combat is a completely different beast, at first glance the 2 button mechanic seems shallow and basic but very quickly combat evolves into something far more tactical. You soon will be able to use ranged energy blasts, use Trip to distract ranged enemies and take advantage of faulty mechs that can taken down to cause area effects such as bombs, EMP’s or as a machine gun. For the first half of the game each encounter will have a different strategy. You can’t just handle each battle the same, you will be using all the weapons and actions at your disposal in order to win the battle effectively. Some mechs stay inactive until you get within a certain radius, so finding the perfect flanking point also weighs into the situation. Others have different threats like turrets and landmine’s which you can use to your advantage. Every Boss battle also require different tactics to handle the situation but their patterns are very predictable. Unfortunately towards the end these use of tactics becomes obsolete as enemies will just simple appear and attack you, giving you little time to prepare and make the most of the situation. You either resort to using cover and picking off ranged enemies or meleeing your way through waves of mechs.
At first you think Trip will be your worse nightmare. She has no combat capabilities and will have to find cover during every battle. Luckily throughout my whole journey I experienced no deaths because of her shortcomings. Only once or twice did the enemy ever get close to killing her. She has the ability to cast an EMP once an enemy grabs her allowing you to get over there and take out the stunned enemies. She can lure enemy fire away with a decoy while you get around and flank them. She can also upgrade your equipment in exchange for tech orbs which are scattered throughout the world. You can also distract the enemy while she can run and find cover, though this mechanic is only ever used a couple of times during the first few hours of gameplay and is never need to be used again, it makes you wish they did more with this. Her usefulness easily outweighs her shortcomings, you will often forget that the majority of the game is just a big escort mission because she will never get in your way. Finally escort missions done right.
A post-apocalyptic seems to be all the rage now, so it’s refreshing to see such a spin on the brown grey wastelands. Green litters the early environments where nature has taken over the once urban metropolis. Every environment is very detailed and the frame rate stays constant 99% of the time. The only technical hiccups appear towards the end and only once did the action pause to load the nearby area. While the environmental backdrops are good, the characters details are amazing. Characters move and react realistically and the facial expressions are the best I’ve seen in a game. There expressions don’t just show during cut-scenes but during gameplay. You can sense the rage in Monkey’s eye’s when you rip apart of mech during a slow mo finisher. You really tell they captured the emotion from the actors faces during cut-scenes, characters act as you would expect them to in a given situation.
The game will take you around 8 to 10 hours to complete, normal length for this type of game. I personally feel that the game ends just a little too soon. They could of easily of added a few more hours to the campaign before it started to outstay it’s welcome. Other than collecting all the tech orbs, hidden skulls and all achievements there is very little need to come back. There are no worthwhile extras, but your stats will carry over into the next playthrough allowing you to max out your abilities and find any of the collectables you didn’t find the first time round.
Enslaved’s one of the best new IP’s to come out this year. There are some problems but it’s strengths easily makes up for it’s downfalls and then some. It’s not one aspect of the game that makes it stand out, it’s how it embodies everything into a great experience from start to finish. You may feel like it’s just simply taking you on for the ride, but who’s complaining when it’s this entertaining. Ninja Theory are a developer to look out for. You’ll be a sucker not to miss out on this grand adventure or will I have to enslave you?
The Final Word
What initially looks bad on paper ends up being one of the most entertaining titles you will see this year.
– MonsterVine Rating: 5/5 – Excellent
