Enslaved - Xbox 360http://www.gameinformer.com/games/enslaved/b/xbox360/default.aspxen-USTelligent Community (Build: Strong Story Sideswiped By Uneven Gameplayhttp://www.gameinformer.com/games/enslaved/b/xbox360/archive/2010/10/01/a-strong-story-sideswiped-by-uneven-gameplay.aspxFri, 01 Oct 2010 16:23:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:524680Andrew Reiner0<p><img src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/namco-bandai/enslaved/enslavedhero.jpg" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p> <p>Enslaved lives up to its namesake both with its conceptual hook of robots enchaining mankind and through the unnecessary shackles tied to gameplay. Developer Ninja Theory spends far too much time holding the player&rsquo;s hand, and in the process removes any sense of escapism to this intriguing tale of humanity&rsquo;s last gasp for life.</p> <p>The game starts off with a bang reminiscent of Uncharted 2&rsquo;s introductory train sequence. A robot-infested slave ship is sabotaged by a resourceful female prisoner and starts plummeting toward the skyscraping remnants of a lost metropolis. Your first goal is to survive the crash. This feat takes you through exploding corridors and out onto the ship&rsquo;s hull, where breath-stealing leaps must be made as debris passes overhead and every second wasted brings you closer to impact.</p> <p>This exciting sequence concludes with an unlikely partnership being forged between the female, Trip, and a protagonist who never reveals his true name, yet insists on being called Monkey. To no surprise, Monkey is ape-like in appearance and possesses the uncanny ability to swing across poles just like a simian. Monkey is brought to life aptly by Andy Serkis, Hollywood&rsquo;s resident primate expert (he played King Kong, the ape-ish Gollum in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>, and will play Caesar in the forthcoming <i>Planet of the Apes</i> film).</p> <p>The relationship that develops between Trip and Monkey is fun to watch. It doesn&rsquo;t follow the path you think it would. Their personalities clash, yet neither could survive in this harsh climate without the other. Thanks to sharp writing by Ninja Theory&rsquo;s scribes, I cared about the fate of both characters. The banter between them is emotional at the right times, filled with smart jabs and amusing sarcasm, and their chemistry shows noticeable progression as their journey family takes them farther west. The resonance of the tale, however, is undermined by the gameplay.</p> <p>Most of the platforming sequences showcase action-packed moments, such as a bridge falling apart as Monkey shimmies along. But rarely do these tense set pieces offer a real threat, as Monkey can never fall or miscalculate a jump&rsquo;s trajectory. If he isn&rsquo;t lined up correctly and you press jump, he won&rsquo;t jump. He just stands there until you move him into the correct position. Toward the end of the game, he has to avoid flames and spinning gears but up until this point, most of Enslaved&rsquo;s platforming is simply an exercise in basic movement.</p> <p>Combat, while offering a great sense of brutal physicality with each of Monkey&rsquo;s staff strikes, lacks depth. I used the same combo sequences from start to finish. Ninja Theory also fails to offer interesting adversaries. The largest foe, a robot dog, looks cool, but is easy to snuff out with repeated EMP blasts. Watching this beast rise from the ground only to knock it down again with another EMP shot feels like cheating, but as far as I could tell, it was the only way to destroy it.</p> <p>Enslaved also lacks a sense of exploration. Whenever Trip enters a new area, she must first scan her surroundings. This extensive fly-by of the level details all of the enemies and points of interest along the way. Trip&rsquo;s findings are digitally broadcast to Monkey through his slave headband. He can see the distance at which he&rsquo;ll alert an enemy, as well as all the objects with which he can interact. One platforming stretch toward the end of the game even has Monkey following a dragonfly that is discharging a sparkling trail for fear that the player may not know where to go next.</p> <p>Given the amount of hand holding, I&rsquo;m surprised this game doesn&rsquo;t play itself. The lack of immersion and knowledge that every jump &ndash; no matter how perilous it is &ndash; will land without fail saps Enslaved of its entertainment value. You know a game is troubled when you find solace in its extensive orb collecting.</p> <p>This experience is also marred by a lack of polish. Ugly textures frequent most environments, the jump command is touchy, the framerate skips like a lopsided record in certain areas, combat controls lack responsiveness, and the camera often clips into the environment, hiding cool takedowns or cinematic sequences. With the gameplay being such an unwanted distraction, the story is the only attraction. The plot delivers a cool science fiction twist in its final moments, but ultimately serves as a slave to mediocre gameplay for eight to nine hours.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=524680" width="1" height="1">EnslavedXbox 360ActionReviewAn Odyssey Worth Experiencinghttp://www.gameinformer.com/games/enslaved/b/xbox360/archive/2010/03/29/preview.aspxMon, 29 Mar 2010 16:00:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:270310Ben Reeves10http://www.gameinformer.com/games/enslaved/b/xbox360/rsscomments.aspx?WeblogPostID=270310http://www.gameinformer.com/games/enslaved/b/xbox360/archive/2010/03/29/preview.aspx#comments<p><img src="http://gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/" border="0" alt="" /></p> <p>Why is it that most of our post-apocalyptic fiction looks like it takes place in a giant brown sandbox? Would the world really turn to grayscale if all of humanity passed away? Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory doesn&rsquo;t think so, and for its new game, Enslaved, it&rsquo;s turned to sources like the History channel&rsquo;s special Life After People for inspiration as to what the world might look like if homo sapiens ever became an endangered species. As you can see from these screens, the game&rsquo;s colorful environments are a far cry from your average post-apocalyptic backdrop.</p> <p>We first announced Enslaved in issue 198 of Game Informer. Since then Ninja Theory has been hard at work polishing the title, and they were kind enough to stop by the office and show us how the game is coming along. </p> <p>For those who are not familiar with the title, Enslaved takes place 150 years in the future, after several decades of war, famine, and plague have eaten away the Earth&rsquo;s population. A scant 50,000 people are left in North America, scattered across the continent in small tribes. Some of these groups function like hippy communes; they live out an almost Marxist existence as its members scavenge for food and technology. The remaining humans might be able to repopulate the planet if it weren&rsquo;t for the giant slave ships that troll the East coast, kidnapping people and taking them out west where they are never seen from again. </p> <p style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/" border="0" alt="" /><br /><b>Enslaved&rsquo;s camera jerks each time Monkey delivers a hit, which goes a long way to making the action feel more brutal</b></p> <p>At the beginning of the game, one of these commune members, a girl by the name of Trip, is captured by a slave ship. However, Trip is smart enough to orchestrate an escape, and causes the ship to crash. This is where she meets Enslaved&rsquo;s main protagonist, a loner who goes by the name Monkey. Monkey is a wandering survivalist who is used to fending for himself. Trip sees how resourceful and capable Monkey is, and attaches a headband on his head, which will detonate if he doesn&rsquo;t do exactly what she says. Unwillingly, Monkey&rsquo;s primary task becomes taking Trip back to her commune. </p> <p>The gameplay of Enslaved is a mix of action, platforming, and puzzle solving. Trip is equipped with a robotic dragonfly, which she can use to scout out areas and help Monkey chart his plan of attack. Monkey platforms across crumbling skyscrapers as easily as his namesake might suggest, and there is a rhythmic flow to all of his animations. Monkey can also send Trip into areas he might not otherwise be able to reach. For example, he could toss Trip up to a second-level platform so she can drop a ladder to him. Trip will also be able to initiate a holographic display that will distract enemies. This will give Monkey time to find safe cover or sneak behind enemy lines and turn an encamped turret against its own kind. </p> <p style="text-align:center;"><img src="http://gameinformer.com/resized-image.ashx/__size/610x0/__key/CommunityServer.Blogs.Components.WeblogFiles/" border="0" alt="" /><br /><b>Ninja Theory has already said that it&rsquo;s planning DLC for the game that would give players reason to hang onto their copy well after they&rsquo;ve finished the story</b></p> <p>In the world of Enslaved, old war robots are scattered across the environment like landmines, and Monkey won&rsquo;t be able to avoid them forever. Fortunately, when the action does come to blows, Monkey is equipped with a retractable staff. Players will be able to mix up the combat with a variety of heavy and light combos similar to Heavenly Sword. Unlike Nariko however, Monkey&rsquo;s weapon also performs ranged projectile attacks. After collecting ammo for his staff, Monkey will be able to stun robots with electrical bolts, or disable them altogether with a flurry of plasma blasts. </p> <p>Ninja Theory cares about making a good game, but more than that it&rsquo;s clear the developer also wants to tell a good story. To that end, it has enlisted some of the most talented individuals from the entertainment industry. Scriptwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later and Sunshine) has helped write Enslaved&rsquo;s script. Andy Serkis &ndash; the actor behind digital creations like Gollum from the LOTR trilogy and King Bohan in Heavenly Sword &ndash; will provide the voice and motion capture for Monkey. And Nitin Sawhney, a film composer who also worked on Heavenly Sword, is even on tap for the game&rsquo;s score. With this much talent backing an already skilled development house it&rsquo;s hard to imagine that Enslaved is destined for anything less than success.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=270310" width="1" height="1">Ninja TheoryEnslavedHeavenly SwordNamco BandaiXbox 360PreviewAction206