E3 2010: Enslaved Hands On Impressions

Ninja Theory is the team responsible for PS3's Heavenly Sword and with that project, they not only demonstrated competent game design but they set the bar for story telling and character presentation in gaming. Today, I kicked off my E3 experience with some hands on time with "Enslaved: Odyssey to the West", a multi-platform game from the same team. It seems the team has stuck to what they do best and adapted it to an entirely new experience with fantastic characters and an intriguing take on the post apocalypse. While the game has some serious flaws that require discussion, the concept and execution are good enough to warrant my approval.

The demo today began at a segment at some point near the beginning of the game (I assume) in which both of the main characters are already acquainted. The details of their union are left unanswered and instead the demo focused on introducing their personalities, the dynamic of their relationship, and of course, the game-play mechanics. For those not in-the-know, the story takes place far in the future in a post-apocalyptic world where most human life has been extinguished and the remaining survivors live together in tightly knit communities. What I find to be so interesting about this take on this common setting is that Machines, who I assume are responsible for this human fallout, have become so intricately woven into this world that the wildlife has actually become machinery as well. At one point in the demo, Monkey, the main character, is tasked with chasing down and capturing a dragonfly which is actually a robot that can be reprogrammed to scan for invisible land mines throughout the world. Cool right?

Where the game truly stands out for me is in the interactions between the two main characters, Monkey and Trip. The game will tell the story of a young girl (Trip) who uses a special head band to enslave this powerful brute (Monkey) in order to gain his help in surviving the journey back to her home village. Both characters are extremely well presented and it is already easy to see how the tension between these two characters will eventually evolve into unwavering trust and loyalty. These kinds of stories are common, maybe even a bit cliche, but they are engrossing as hell and I can't imagine another developer besides Ninja Theory helming this project. Both characters were rendered beautifully, with fully rendered expressions, and silky smooth animations (in most instances).

The game-play itself is a combination of Prince of Persia (2008) style platforming, Ico style partner based game-play, and third-person action. The game centers around these two characters and the primary goal is obviously to transport this girl to safety while protecting her at all costs. This is where it gets a little iffy. While the actual combat (w/ the machines) is rather simple to execute and actually rather satisfying, the lack of a cover mechanic and the wonky camera controls make it more difficult than necessary. I often found myself wanting to take cover behind various objects but couldn't. This obviously led me to try and and compensate with the camera to no avail. While it never became so bad that I failed the mission, it was distracting from an otherwise brilliant experience.

The next sequence demonstrated the ability to give various commands to Trip using the left bumper. I used the right bumper to create an audio distraction while I used the left bumper to command Trip to maker her move into position. After a few competent platforming sequences, I was tasked with capturing the elusive dragonfly that I mentioned earlier. Using the mechanical dragonfly, Trip uploaded the mine scanner data into my head set which made them visible only to me. I loaded Trip on my back and navigated the mine field where we treated to a final cut-scene that set the stage for what is sure to be an epic story.

The game has some issues that need to be addressed prior to release but it is shaping up to be another quality story telling experience with some fun platforming and melee combat to boot. Ninja Theory has impressed me yet again and I hope that they get the feedback they need from E3 to make this a really quality title when it releases later this year.

(Show Floor footage forthcoming, check back)

-Nick