If anyone can show me how to shrink images here I would appreciate it.
Edit: Thanks DoPo
Rather then reaching for my bag of "memory lane" games, I'm going to mention something recent... as in just yesterday.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
First thing that should be noted is the inspiration for the game. They derived concepts and characters from the old Chinese story "Journey to the West". Some folks may already be familiar with aspects to the story if they have ever watched Dragonball (first series) since many concepts and characters are taken straight from Journey to the West as well (and given some unique flavour). In fact, I'd say many people who played Enslaved would have thought it was inspired by Dragonball entirely due to certain similarities, like the Brutish but lovable "monkey like" male (Goku=Monkey), tech savvy but not-so-brave girl (Bulma=Trip) and, at later points, a "Pig" (Oolong=Pigsy).
[img width= 70%]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uVTDLOZYImI/Tcw8X4IJ98I/AAAAAAAAACo/XwtK2UUFHyk/s1600/Enslaved_NinjaMonkey+%25281%2529.jpg[/img]
Note: Monkey appears to be of an alternative design, possibly an early concept.
Of course all these characters have their origins in Journey to the West, in the form of Tripataka the travelling monk (Trip/Bulma, though female, are contextually similar to the monk, though its a rather loose similarity), Sun Wukong (The monkey king) and Zhu Bajie (or Pigsy, same as the character from Enslaved).
Second thing that should be noted is that its post apocalyptic. But unlike many games of its time and before, it was the first to run with the Urban Jungle concept for Post Apocalyptic imagery. The game has an amazing amalgam of Bright and colourful trees, flowers coupled with warming bright light and blue skies, in contrast the to dilapidated ruins, rusted metals and gaping wholes of earthy brown left in the wake of incredibly destructive forces.
The biggest selling point for this game is character. Aside from the world which has ample amounts of character and despite using a lot of done to death character types and falling into several traps of lazy writing, the characters are acted out and played very humanly. Certain expressions they pull, the pacing of dialogue, the way they animate when interacting with each other... its impressive, as good as, if not better then, the Uncharted series quality for character interactions. The only downside is that these interactions are rather few throughout the game, possibly only having 20-30 cutscenes in total. Voice work is really good, definitely a highlight, but considering there are only 5-6 voiced characters in the entire game it would have been pretty poorly to let the dialogue slide.
Animation in general is amazing too, from the way characters navigate the world (especially monkey) to the lovely flourishes Monkey adds to combat. There are a few hiccups, namely jerky transitions (Going from a run to a jump doesn't feel as fluids as it should) and the occasional bit of lag related interference (animations failing to perform properly or doing other strange things), but they are sparing enough or mild enough to look past for the most part. I would also like to add that, in combat, I believe Enslaved has pulled off the greatest form of "kill cams" I've ever seen, though it only happens for one type of attack.
Speaking of which, combat is very simple... possibly to a fault. If the game was any longer then it was (more on that later) I might have made a fuss about the relatively limited approach to combat, but for what it is, it feels solid, fluid and satisfying. Those looking for a serious challenge or something deep and intricate will not find it here, but one can't fault it for flow... combat never overstays its welcome or halts progress through the game and it helps to break up the pacing of what is essentially a pure-blood action-adventure game.
The story is good, its engaging and interesting but nothing mind blowing or unique. Its also short... too short. Without spoiling anything, it hits the end when I felt like it should only be coming into the final stages. I don't think I've ever felt "Budget cuts" or "harsh deadline" this bad. It's not dissatisfying per say, it ends on a "For you to think about it" level of ambiguity and wraps up the core drive of the story for the most part, but it just feels like there should be way more to it then we get. Its hard to describe as It isn't "Awww, I wanted more" and more "Is that all? Oh..."
Beyond that everything else is somewhat minor, so I'll bullet point them:
*Graphics are great at a distance, but textures are pretty awful up close... and they like close ups for some reason. Also, texture loading is an issue.
*Music fits the game like a glove, I'm crap at describing music but this game does it well.
*Game can get laggy on PS3, but it doesn't affect precision in combat.
*Navigating the world is fun but its, more often then not, push forward and hit X to continue. They throw hazards in occasionally to add some peril but its just a matter of timing. Its never a chore though and you never feel like its overdone and rarely feels like its been used to pad out the length of a sequence.
*There are RPG elements. They work, but aren't innovative or interesting on their own merits.
This game is a diamond in the rough. It has all the ingredients for a spectacular game, but only manages to be a novel experience. Its worth experiencing but not revolutionary or ground breaking. Its different... but abundantly safe at the same time. Its also dead in the water since it sold like ass. If you find a copy now it will likely be cheap. I got my copy for ?5, so if you want a cheap but cheerful game, get this, it shouldn't disappoint.
Now, I hate trailers as they are very misleading more often then not, but fuck it, it shows some of the game in action... just don't buy into the hype its generating... also its a stupid fucking trailer.
