Okay, so this is the first review I've posted here, although I have written quite a lot that I post on the websites I buy games from. While aimlessly browsing through one of these shops today I came across this game, which I already own, so I decided to write a review for it instead. I literally just wrote it from the top of my head and just finished it right now, so it might not be the best review I've done, but I'd say it's pretty typical of the quality of my reviews.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West - "Not perfect, but well worth playing" (4/5)
I really urge anyone to get this game to anyone who may be a bit disheartened by the decrease in original games in recent years. The game has a good story (based on the Chinese folk take "Journey to the West") and wonderfully realised characters. The work of the motion-capture actors is brilliant, especially that of Andy Serkis. It makes the characters really feel like believable people and they are a lot more expressive than most game characters in their movements and facial expressions. The dialogue between characters is also very good. It carries real weight to it and is so much better at building the story and characters than in most other games as well.
The story itself is a bit hard to come to a decision about. It tells the tale of a girl named Trip who is trying to get back home after being kidnapped by slavers. She realises that she cannot do this alone, so uses a slave control device to force the player character, Monkey, to act as her bodyguard on her journey. At first it seems a bit odd to make the player character a slave, but not long in to the story it becomes apparent that Monkey is the one who has to tell Trip what to do because she is unfamiliar with the dangerous world outside her village, oppose to Monkey who has lived there his whole life. The plot continues in standard video game fashion, you journey across the land fighting robots until you finally reach your goal. But the there is a twist in the middle of the story (which I won't spoil) and a brilliant, if slightly odd ending which is totally unexpected and throws up similar issues as are raised in The Matrix, which leaves the story open for a sequel (which is supposed to be on the way). Even though the story doesn't really feel complete in itself it is still a decent story. It's nothing that amazing (apart from the end), but the way the characters interact with each other and how their relationships evolve over the story are wonderfully crafted.
The game itself is gorgeous. It is set in a post-apocalyptic America. Although the post-apocalyptic setting has become a bit of a tired cliché in modern video games, in this game it is done in a whole different way to others. Instead of the usual grey/brown rubble you are immersed in a wonderful lush, rich world full of different colours and wonderful detail. There is overgrown green foliage of the destroyed New York and the red rust and green waters of the junk yard area to name but a few.
Where the game does lose a star is, unfortunately, in the gameplay. It's not bad or broken, but is not the most spectacular. It's still very fun but not among the greatest of games out there. The gameplay mostly consists of combo based combat and some light platforming. The combos are great to look at. They are acrobatic and flamboyant, but the controls are sometimes a bit sluggish to respond. It's not anywhere as bad as to break the game, but is noticeable and can be frustrating in fights when you get surrounded by many enemies. The platforming also suffers from the same problem. Although you aren't required to do much that requires a huge amount of precision the sluggish controls can sometimes be annoying. Again, it's not enough to make the game not enjoyable but still falls short of the standard of a 5 star game. But these problems are relatively minor. Most of the time it's easy to compensate for the sluggishness, it's no less responsive than GTA4 for example. It can become a problem in situations when you really need to be extremely fast and precise, but these occasions are rare.
Overall, even though this game is not perfect it is still well worth playing, particularly if you want to try something different than the norm.
I hope you enjoyed my review! Constructive criticism is welcome.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West - "Not perfect, but well worth playing" (4/5)
I really urge anyone to get this game to anyone who may be a bit disheartened by the decrease in original games in recent years. The game has a good story (based on the Chinese folk take "Journey to the West") and wonderfully realised characters. The work of the motion-capture actors is brilliant, especially that of Andy Serkis. It makes the characters really feel like believable people and they are a lot more expressive than most game characters in their movements and facial expressions. The dialogue between characters is also very good. It carries real weight to it and is so much better at building the story and characters than in most other games as well.
The story itself is a bit hard to come to a decision about. It tells the tale of a girl named Trip who is trying to get back home after being kidnapped by slavers. She realises that she cannot do this alone, so uses a slave control device to force the player character, Monkey, to act as her bodyguard on her journey. At first it seems a bit odd to make the player character a slave, but not long in to the story it becomes apparent that Monkey is the one who has to tell Trip what to do because she is unfamiliar with the dangerous world outside her village, oppose to Monkey who has lived there his whole life. The plot continues in standard video game fashion, you journey across the land fighting robots until you finally reach your goal. But the there is a twist in the middle of the story (which I won't spoil) and a brilliant, if slightly odd ending which is totally unexpected and throws up similar issues as are raised in The Matrix, which leaves the story open for a sequel (which is supposed to be on the way). Even though the story doesn't really feel complete in itself it is still a decent story. It's nothing that amazing (apart from the end), but the way the characters interact with each other and how their relationships evolve over the story are wonderfully crafted.
The game itself is gorgeous. It is set in a post-apocalyptic America. Although the post-apocalyptic setting has become a bit of a tired cliché in modern video games, in this game it is done in a whole different way to others. Instead of the usual grey/brown rubble you are immersed in a wonderful lush, rich world full of different colours and wonderful detail. There is overgrown green foliage of the destroyed New York and the red rust and green waters of the junk yard area to name but a few.
Where the game does lose a star is, unfortunately, in the gameplay. It's not bad or broken, but is not the most spectacular. It's still very fun but not among the greatest of games out there. The gameplay mostly consists of combo based combat and some light platforming. The combos are great to look at. They are acrobatic and flamboyant, but the controls are sometimes a bit sluggish to respond. It's not anywhere as bad as to break the game, but is noticeable and can be frustrating in fights when you get surrounded by many enemies. The platforming also suffers from the same problem. Although you aren't required to do much that requires a huge amount of precision the sluggish controls can sometimes be annoying. Again, it's not enough to make the game not enjoyable but still falls short of the standard of a 5 star game. But these problems are relatively minor. Most of the time it's easy to compensate for the sluggishness, it's no less responsive than GTA4 for example. It can become a problem in situations when you really need to be extremely fast and precise, but these occasions are rare.
Overall, even though this game is not perfect it is still well worth playing, particularly if you want to try something different than the norm.
I hope you enjoyed my review! Constructive criticism is welcome.