You can only make one first impression– and it’s here where the opening of Enslaved falls down. The cut scene is good enough, showing one of the main characters – Monkey – chained up in a pod. The arrival of Trip takes him by surprise; even more so when she sets off an explosion and runs off, leaving him to die.
The demo starts as the explosion knocks down Monkeys cell, and sets him free – and this is where the concern starts. What follows is a generic walk through identikit corridors with the ever increasing sense of “oh Christ, they’ve really screwed this up.”
Little by little though, things improve. There is some rudimentary climbing, followed by the discovery of a suitable weapon – a retractable staff with limited shield powers. The melee combat feels ok, but God of War it isn’t – it’s slow and sometimes the camera goes a bit wayward.
Then something amazing happens. You step through a door to realise this isn’t a building at all, it’s a huge airship – and it’s disintegrating fast. What follows next is a tense dash hundreds of feet in the air across burning wings and spinning engines as you rush to make the last escape pod.
The acrobatics feel very much like Uncharted 2 as you shimmy up poles, and jump from ledge to ledge. Although built like a brick out house, Monkey moves with the grace and speed of a dancer, and the system is already feeling accomplished. The game also helps you out by making climbable objects shimmer slightly – and whilst some might balk at the idea, it’s a Godsend when you have ten seconds to scale the side of an airship before the part you’re on gets smashed to bits by a high rise building.
Graphically it’s a mixed bag. The indoor sections didn’t look very good at all, but the outside was vibrant, lush and well detailed. Character models are absolutely fantastic, and the animation is top drawer. The way you know how the characters are feeling just by their body language, or the look in their eyes, is very impressive.
I can’t wait to play more of this game – I just hope it’s more like the latter half of the demo, and less like the boring trudge at the beginning.
monkeyspoon
Which version did you play? Which is the lead version?
Dan Lee
Which version did I play…that’s a good question, I’ve completely forgotten!
bunimomike
Are you allowed to review/preview whilst drunk? :-)
iAvernus
Forgotten? Here I was thinking I had bad memory =)
Dan Lee
I played about 20 games in 6hrs – I’m lucky I remember what my name is :op
Serebii.Net
You have had a lot of “Hands-on” experiences recently..
xD
Dan Lee
My hands are very tired :op
BryOnRye
Does Monkey ever get to fly on a cloud?
BryOnRye
For the youngsters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0nfdk3qCNQ
seedaripper1973
Tripitaka!!!
*pulls hair from chest and blows on it*
rht992
never mind that! what happens to Buddha’s fingers?
Shakugan
Sounds good and Lee that’s a nice Hands-on
rht992
i was very worried when i started reading this but by the end felt reassured it was worth keeping an eye on. its still on the to get list
Dan Lee
Yeah it makes an awful first impression but by the end I was loving it!