Developer: Ninja Theory
Publisher: Bandai Nanco Games
Rrp: £14.99
Released: 24th October 2014
Available on Steam
Played using; Xbox 360 Controller
Humanity is driven to the brink of extinction with scattered pockets eking out a meager existence all the while living in fear of attacks from mech’s and slavers.
In this bleak world you play as a man named Monkey who, under threat of death, escorts a young woman named Trip home.
Enslaved is loosely based on the story Journey to the West… Very loosely since I’m pretty certain that it wasn’t set in a post apocalyptic future with robots trying to kill you, though I do admit I don’t know much about the original source material.
Here’s the thing about apocalypse’s, no one said that everything dies. And one of the things I love about this game the world is awash with colour! Vivid greens and reds of plants retaking the world, showing that the end of the world doesn’t have to mean the destruction of everything.
Trip and Monkey often have to work in tandem in order to progress such as one acting as decoy to allow the other to pass safely. To that end if you hold [LB] you can issue commands to Trip such as distract. If you’ve lost sight of Trip and just want to locate her tapping [LB] will show you where she is.
This command system also allows you to access the equipment and skill upgrade system for the game. Simply hold down [LB] and select the symbol for a spanner. Once in you get the choice of four classifications of upgrade; shield, staff, combat and health. It is in this menu you that red orbs you’ve been accruing finally become useful, you see those orbs are the currency this upgrade system uses. It’s odd that the game never actually explains that properly though… Unless I missed it (and I don’t think I have).
As you may have guessed from what I’ve said above this game is, for the most part, a very long escort mission, except that Trip is actually helpful and has some personality to her. Hell, she can even defend herself to a limited degree.
Unfortunately the combat in this game is nothing to write home about, in fact I would go as far as to say it was dull and repetitive. It’s done in very much as a brawler with [X] acting as wide attacks, and high being dealt out with [Y] there is a limited number of combos you can perform but they soon loose their charm. Monkey also has a few other abilities such as a stun/shield breaking move and wide arced attack. Neither of these damage the opponent but they do give you some brief moments in which to attack.
Monkeys staff also doubles up as a ranged weapon that can be loaded with two types of ammunition; stun and plasma. Most of the mech’s you’ll meet will die in one shot if your using plasma. Stun, as you can guess, temporarily stuns the enemy but castes no damage, however it doe lower shields making you life a little easier. To stop you from using the ranged attacks willynilly they have a low rate of fire regardless of the ammo you use.
In this game climbing is made simple, simply find an object that is shimmering, hold the directional analogue stick and once close enough press the [A] button. Monkey will then climb and clamber like his namesake. It’s a system that, while it seems dumbed down compared to the likes of Prince of Persia, it allows for very fluid and easy transitions from jump to jump, giving the game a more… Cinematic feel.
While you play through you can glean flashes of what life was like before the apocalypse by finding collectibles that look masks. Some of these are unavoidable as Monkey will acquire them during cutscenes.
I do have one complaint about this game though and that is the amount of invisible walls that fill the game world. They aren’t ‘in your face’ or anything but there are times where it seems completely viable to be able to clamber and climb somewhere only to encounter a invisible wall.
Lastly and by no means least is Pigsy’s Perfect 10. You find this extra game mode In the Extra’s menu and it extends things a little further by changing up pretty much everything. In this mode you play as Pigsy (a character you meet in the main game), Pigsy isn’t as agile as Monkey… Actually he’s nowhere near. He’s fat and it takes him a long time to climb the simplest of ledges. However, Pigsy does have a combination assault and sniper rifle. Of course Pigsy can’t really take many hits and is terrible in melee, he relies on staying hidden and sniping his enemies. Sneaking is problematic when the character you control is a fat old guy. Let’s just say this mode is much harder than the main game.
So the important question, can I recommend this title? Well… Yes I can, but not at the Rrp, since the game doesn’t have much replay value. If you can get the game for say, £7 then I think it’s worth it.
If this interests you then perhaps try;
Beyond Good and Evil
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Remember Me
