Enslaved (By Heavenly Sword's Dev)

[zebra]

Originally Posted by MushroomSamba

The gameplay could still use a bit of work though. Battles are a bit clunky, and could benefit from a slight lock-on feature or at least pull back the camera during close melee situations (it's hard to tell where the rest of the enemies are). Also the platforming is pretty bland, and almost impossible to screw up. If you don't know where to go, there's literally a blinking light cue to tell you where the next platform is.

That's still true for the retail release. But I still like it lots. I'm in chapter 6 .. I think. Sometimes I do miss a focus function, but I have to say Monkey never misses really, even if the enemy is off screen. Still it should be better ... not like you have the time to adjust the camera when 4 robots try to shake hands with you.
There are also some graphical glitches during cutscenes, but I haven't spotted anything headdesk worthy, specially during gameplay.

I love the look and it's really fun. Trip also doesn't feel like a millstone around the neck and is likeable beyond 'chick that I have to save'. And I don't know I feel so satisfied when I pull a Robot apart in slowmo, only to throw him on one of his buddies .

It's definitely worth looking into if you like action adventures. A must if you liked Uncharted imo. Just God of War fighting instead of (much) shooting. You do shoot with some of the robots after all.

Also: Cloud rules!
A monkey on a'cloud', huh? Where have I seen that before ..?
Could it be Enslaved is inspired by the same folk tale as Dragonball? Heard it was a chinese one.

[MushroomSamba]

Originally Posted by zebra

A monkey on a'cloud', huh? Where have I seen that before ..?
Could it be Enslaved is inspired by the same folk tale as Dragonball? Heard it was a chinese one.

Yeah, both this and Dragonball were inspired by the classic Chinese folk tale, Journey to the West.

It's a shame to hear that my nitpicks from before still persist in the final version, but from the sound of it, it's still worth playing for what it does well. I'll probably give it a go once it drops in price.

[zebra]

Originally Posted by MushroomSamba

It's a shame to hear that my nitpicks from before still persist in the final version, but from the sound of it, it's still worth playing for what it does well. I'll probably give it a go once it drops in price.

It's really worth it. Maybe not a day one pick-up, but a game that should be tried out.

I'm through it once now and I still like it lots. But there are some graphics and sound glitches that really need a patch. Destroys the mood when you see the textures popping up during a cutscene. Or the voices suddenly are way too low. The camera is also very annyoing in some battles.

Enslaved still left a great impression on me. The thing that most stood out was the relationship of Monkey and Trip (which doesn't start too well ... ). You could see the change of their expressions while they slowly learned to trust one another.
I also really love Pigsy who is such a jerk, but so entertaining at the same time.
I also liked the upgrade system that really made a difference after a while and didn't feel like it was just put there to give meaning to the collectable orbs scattered about.

If it weren't for its shortcomings here and there, Enslaved could have become an A league title and an instant classic, but it's not sadly. Still it's a really fun game. Varied, action packed, funny and at times even touching. I recommend it. Specially, once there is a patch ...


Also my favorite quote (don't open before you reached chapter 14 to stay unspoiled):

Spoiler for End of chpater 13:

"Turn it back on"

So simple and yet so much impact *sniffs*

[MushroomSamba]

The more you talk about it, the more I want to play it. =)

If I was ever on the fence before, I think I've been thoroughly nudged in favor of it by now. I've heard a lot about the character development between Monkey and Trip, some people even likening it to the back-and-forths between Prince and Elika from that 2008 Prince of Persia reboot. I really appreciate games that nail character interactions (like PoP and Uncharted), so I'm pretty intrigued now about that aspect of Enslaved, too.

I'm sorta biding my time until one of those holiday "buy 2, get 1 free" deals spring up around here. There's certainly no shortage of games on my to-play list at the moment.