I wasn't sure what I was going to think about Enslaved when I started playing it. I hadn't heard much about it, but the cover art had been plastered all over Gamefly and the back of video game magazines...so I was definitely "aware" of it's impending release. Still, all I knew is that it was some sort of action game. I hadn't read any reviews...and I just dove in blind.
This game is actually pretty cool.
You are the hero, a guy named "Monkey" (he says that he has no name and this is just his nickname, and we don't even find that out until the 2nd level or so). You're on a slave ship of some kind that you bust out of, and as you're escaping, you see a hot chick running away ahead of you. She keeps locking the doors as she reaches them, leaving you to find another way off this (slowly) crashing ship. Finally (minor spoiler)...she gets the last escape pod, and you're hanging on for dear life.
You both crash and when you wake up, she's put this slave headband thing on you, and you have to do whatever she says, or pain is inflicted automatically. She tells you that if she dies, the headband will automatically kill you. Nice. You immediately hate this chick and want to kill her, but as it turns out, she's only put you in this situation because she needs your help getting back to her village. Although you're obviously pissed about this, you don't really have a choice as to whether or not to go on this adventure. It's a pretty interesting dynamic that grows as the game progresses.
The game is set in the future, and you crash in the ruins of New York city. I don't want to spoil anymore of the plot, but I will say that there are a lot of twists and turns along the way, and it's a really good story. The gameplay itself consists of a lot of jumping, stealth, and some fairly limited combat against lots of robotic enemies.
The girl (Trip) will scan the environment and warn you of danger, and then you have to run off and clear all the obstacles before she will proceed. She has the ability to create digital decoys to buy you some time, and she can also launch an EMP if she gets into real trouble. For the most part though...it's all on you to get the both of you through the city.
I'm only about 30% of the way through the game so far, but I really...really like it. It's one of the better campaigns I've encountered so far this year, and as simple as the concept sounds, the characters are pretty interesting. It actually feels like an adventure movie that I would totally watch if I stumbled across it on cable or something. I can see the lead character being played by a Marky Mark or maybe someone similar, and the girl being played by whichever one of Hollywood's hottest actresses was available that week. It would probably make a ton of money in a theatrical release.
Overall Score? 8.5/10. It's just a really, really good platformer that I think I'll play once (and probably not a second time after that). I totally want to get to the end and see what happens in the story though. The graphics are nice...and aside from a few little glitches here and there (the camera sucks and I've managed to get stuck and needed to restart a few times)...it's a good experience. Not too hard, not too easy...just...fun.
Achievements? Got a few to start and I know I'm going to keep playing too...
No comments:
Post a Comment