Individual shortcomings rescued by fantastic presentation. An action/adventure for adventure enthusiasts.
+ compelling narrative with engaging characters
+ great visual style with superb animation
+ top-notch voice acting
+ thought-provoking conclusion
Negatives:
- camera is always too close during combat
- starts slow, takes a little too long to get going
- rigid platforming makes a big world feel small
- a tad short with little replay value
Take one part Uncharted platforming, a dash of Ico puzzle-solving, sprinkle in some Heavenly Sword combat, and stir together in a big bowl of post-apocalyptic mech-dominated wasteland. Add lots of bright colors and an accomplished novelist/screenwriter, and you may have something resembling the newest release from developer Ninja Theory. You may also have a hit.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is a solid addition to the modern action/adventure genre. It is also a welcome one, as it ultimately steers towards what makes a game like this memorable: the adventure. The action is not necessarily lacking, but what this game does best is tell a story. This is thanks in large part to writer Alex Garland, best known for his role as writer for the movie 28 Days Later, which earned him nominations for a Saturn Award and a Chlotrudis Award in 2004. Of equal importance to the game's draw is the involvement of Andy Serkis, who earned a Saturn Award himself for his portrayal of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies. He serves as the director of Enslaved and the motion capture actor behind its main protagonist, Monkey, whom you will play the role of in the game.
The story begins with the hulking, athletic Monkey and a techno-savvy young woman named Trip in their common predicament of being transported by a slave ship as prisoners. Action ensues in short order as both clamor to escape while the damaged ship descends at deadly speed. They do not yet know each other, only aware that they are both trying to get out alive. This opening sequence ends with Monkey knocked unconscious, waking up to find that Trip has placed a headband on him that places him under her control as her slave. She wants to go home and is smart enough to realize that she stands no chance on her own. She also understands that it is very unlikely that a stranger like Monkey will embark on such a dangerous journey if he does not have to, so Trip takes the freedom of choice away from him. Thus, the initial dynamic between the two characters is tense, as Monkey's intent on protecting Trip is driven only by the fact that if her heart stops, the headband will kill him as well.
While it is predictable that the dynamic between these two characters will change and develop over time, the method is not so predictable, and is a joy to observe. The presentation here is top-notch, and simply the body language and facial expressions of the characters exude plenty of emotion and mood, supported superbly by fantastic voice acting. The character presentation may be second only to those found in the standard-setting Uncharted series, and that is quite an achievement. It may then be not so surprising to find that Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was originally pitched to be a feature-length film powered by the game's Unreal Engine 3. Hollywood shot it down because they did not want to do it cheaply, not because they did not appreciate the concept.
While the presentation is paramount, the gameplay in this title is no afterthought. Throughout the adventure, Monkey and Trip will find themselves confronted by mechs that will do whatever is in their power to stop them in their tracks, and it is Monkey's job to clear the path. He is equipped with a staff that serves as a long-range weapon that fires plasma from its end, but also as a bludgeoning tool in close-quarters melee combat, which is the most common battle situation. While this beat-em-up style of fighting can be fairly easily accomplished through button mashing in the early goings, eventually the mechs will serve as more formidable foes, surrounding Monkey to try to take away his movement while becoming more adept at defending blows. This is when the melee combat strategy deepens and becomes much more interesting, but by this point, you've likely played more than half of the game by simply pressing "X" over and over again until the mechs are gone. This results in a bit of a "too little, too late" feeling when the final chapters of the game arrive and combat is finally feeling satisfying.
What helps the slightly shallow hand-to-hand combat is the varying situations that Monkey is placed in. There are several ranged combat situations that will require finding cover and taking some well-placed shots to get rid of enemies in the distance that might be preventing any forward progress. Ranged ammo is very limited so there is no relying on this mechanic, but it does serve as a refreshing dynamic. The cover system can be problematic, though. There is not much of a "stick" feeling to the cover, making it very easy to walk right out in the open when trying to stop at the edge of a wall. It can be buggy as well, as on one occasion during my play-through in a boss fight, Monkey simply stopped going in to cover when approaching any walls, which left him wide open to be lit up by gun fire. I could not replicate the problem when returning to the same area, so hopefully these issues are few and far between.
The biggest problem with the combat is the position of the camera. At virtually all times during a fight, the camera is entirely too close, cutting off a large portion of the field of view. This is particularly crippling when Monkey is in the midst of fighting with several mechs who are working to surround him. The camera is close enough that there is no way of knowing what is behind him, or even to the sides in many cases. Equally as frustrating is the fact that the camera always snaps to directly behind Monkey, making it extremely difficult to move one direction while trying to keep an enemy in view, such as during a boss fight. It creates the feeling of having no neck, requiring you to turn your whole body to look to the left or right instead of simply turning your head. The frustration subsides as you adjust to this throughout the game, but it is very noticeable early on.
When not surrounded by deadly mechs, the rest of the game is played as an Uncharted-esque 3D platformer. The camera will zoom out, creating a beautiful panoramic view, showing off the wonderful and colorful visuals the game has to offer. Monkey will effortlessly jump and swing from place to place with great fluidity. But while the view is great and particularly impressive at the onset of the game, these sequences can often feel like a time-waster between cut-scenes and combat. The world may appear to be huge and expansive but the platforming mechanic has a way of making it feel claustrophobic. The path you must travel is designated by platforms, pipes, and various hand-holds that have a shimmer to them, and stopping to look for the shimmer can help in situations where you may not be entirely sure how to proceed. Unfortunately, the only things that can be grabbed are the shimmering pieces. For example, if two pipes are positioned near each other and they are identical save for the fact that one is shimmering, Monkey can only jump to the shimmering one. This makes the path rigid and limiting. There are some platforming puzzles that will require a bit of thought to solve, and while they do serve to provide the occasional change of pace, none of them are particularly difficult, and you are not likely to get stuck. In the vein of Ico, the goal of many of these situations is just to find a way to get the less-athletic Trip from point A to point B.
While the combat is fun but shallow, and the platforming is beautiful yet rigid, neither will wear out their welcome enough to invoke boredom or apathy. Peppered throughout these sequences are some unique chase situations and boss fights which go a long way to establish a satisfying pace from start to finish. Just when things are feeling a bit monotonous, Enslaved has a way of introducing something new to pique your interest once again. This, along with the cut-scenes and character interactions, are what will keep you coming back. Unfortunately, while you might find it difficult to put the controller down, it will not take you very long to finish the game. If you avoid getting stuck, the adventure could be completed in 10-12 hours, possibly less for more hardcore gamers. On top of that, the enigmatic and thought-provoking ending could very well leave you wanting. There is also very little reason to play through the game again after finishing unless you are an achievement/trophy junkie.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is an action/adventure game for those that lean to the "adventure" side of the genre. The combat could have been deeper, the platforming could have been bigger, and the game could have been longer. But it is difficult to say that the presentation could have been much better. Driven by a compelling script, terrific acting, believable characters, and a great score, the individual downfalls are often circumvented by the sum of its parts. Developers should take note to see how a well-crafted story can see a game through what could otherwise be crippling issues and keep it out of the bargain bin. Here's to hoping that we have not seen the last of Monkey and Trip.