PS3 Review – Enslaved: Odyssey To The West
When most people hear about a post-apocalyptic setting, images of vast gray wastelands are probably the first of many things that come to mind. These bleak backdrops would have been created due to some world war among humans where nuclear weapons played a role in their extinction, leaving nothing but desolation. In Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, developer Ninja Theory throws out most of those common conventions, and ushers in a much more vibrant take on the world after its destruction, told through a classic and old Chinese tale. This is one story that is sure to captivate you from beginning to end.
Enslaved’s story starts us off in the future, where only a remnant of mankind has survived from what seems to be an atrocious attack by their own design: attack mechs. While the history of this future isn’t exactly told in detail, we do catch clues of what may have happened during some of the exchanged dialogue as the game progresses. Our place in the story begins with Monkey and Trip, who are both captive on board a slave trading vessel. After they make their escape, Trip wires a slave band onto Monkey’s noggin after he was knocked unconscious during their flee. The head band has now “enslaved” Monkey to Trip, who now needs his help to get home. If Monkey disobeys Trip’s commands or lets her die, then Monkey will likewise perish. From here, an unlikely adventure begins.
One of the first things you’ll recognize about Enslaved is that it is very green and lush with vegetation – quite pretty for a post-apocalyptic setting. Nature has reclaimed what man has built, and the level designs really pull off that earthy and semi-organic feel. Each level feels as if it’s been completely abandoned by mankind, only to be ruled by nature and the mechanized life that patrol the territories. Since Monkey and Trip seem to be the only living humans in the dangerous lands, you may quickly feel a sense of dependency on each other to survive, even though they may have started off on the wrong foot from the beginning.
Filling the role of Monkey, you’ll slowly begin to learn how he and Trip work together in a semi-symbiotic relationship. As Trip’s “slave”, you’ll protect her from the mechs and help her access places out of reach when she commands you. Even though Monkey is made of brawn and grit, you’ll frequently call upon Trip’s help too, such as her ability to distract enemies while you maneuver yourself into an advantageous position for take downs. She will also be essential to Monkey for doling out health vials and providing much needed upgrades to his gear.
Thanks to the great script penned by Alex Garland and the voice-overs by Andy Serkis and Lindsay Shaw, the dialogue builds such an incredible dynamic between the two characters that is life-like and believable. Even the facial animations provide such strong emotional feedback during the silent pauses in the cut scenes. Watching the scenes play out has an uncanny realism, closely bridging the gap between big-budget films and motion-captured game sequences. The level of care put towards those scenes makes the adventure all the more captivating, drawing upon your curiosity to push the experience forward, something that isn’t easily achievable by most games.
Another element that will draw you into the game is the music. The orchestral pieces composed by Nitin Sawhney captures the emotion on the screen, whether during a cutscene or during the gameplay. During the particularly intense action sequences, the music picks up a powerful pace, then rolls off into soft ambient tones after the combat is completed, and continues during the platforming elements. The sound effects are also superbly implemented throughout the game, giving each moving object a sense of weight and purpose. However, there were a few rare instances of sound glitches when an action or voice dialogue didn’t register. The glitch wasn’t big enough of a deal to remove me from being immersed in the rich atmosphere.
Though the cutscenes really shine visually, the graphics during gameplay are impressive as well. Many times, you’ll be caught off guard with amazing panoramic views of vast landscapes that are gorgeously adorned with green life and foliage. As you progress through the game, you’ll be visiting many unique locations – from abandoned cities full of nature to desolate landscapes littered with scrap metal. However, as eye-catching the levels may seem to be, there doesn’t seem to be a consistency with the amount of amazing detail. Sometimes, you’ll notice objects that were given sharp textures, and in that same setting there will be another item sporting a muddy coat of paint, as if someone forgot to give it attention. The frame rate will also stutter from time-to-time during some of the larger set-pieces, but the visuals will typically run smooth during most of your journey. Such nuances are small and infrequent, but anyone with critical eye may find it distracting.
Animations are fluid and add to the believability of both the humans and the mechs. Performing actions whether in battle or scaling a wall seem to have a sense of natural movement. There are some instances though, where you’ll need to perform contextual actions with Trip, which involve hoisting her up to an out-of-reach ledge or flinging her across a wide gap. Here, the animations look like they could have used some work, as the action you’ll see is exactly the same every time and doesn’t carry the same fluidity of other animations. It definitely would have been nice to see some more animated variety in that area, but even that small issue isn’t enough to completely break the overall experience.
Enslaved also utilizes platforming elements that are very reminiscent from the likes of Uncharted. However, the difficulty involved to climb and jump from ledge-to-ledge is quite forgiving and simplistic. Rarely (if ever) will Monkey fall to his death from a jumping sequence. Each leap while scaling a wall, or lunging out to a frail beam will connect every time. Even if you were to try to force Monkey off a cliff, it would prove to be impossible. If a jump action isn’t possible in a certain direction, Monkey would simply hesitate or shake his head, indicating that the move isn’t able to be performed. However, as you progress through the game, the challenge involved with the platforming elements is slightly increased. Yes, you still won’t fall, but you will now have to correctly time your jumps to avoid receiving damage or death, depending on the environment that you’re traversing.
The combat sequences are extremely fun and brutal. The control layout for fighting against the mechs are similar (if not the same) to Ninja Theory’s debut title, Heavenly Sword. Your main combat buttons rely solely on the ‘square’ and ‘triangle’ buttons, and then ‘circle’ for a counterattack while in a guard using ‘R2.’ With Monkey’s staff, you’ll also be able to perform ranged attacks on the mechs. At first, the mechanics for fighting are simple, requiring not much skill to reduce your adversaries into a metal paper weight. Further down the campaign, you’ll encounter a few more variety of mechs where your beginner tactics won’t aide your survival. You’ll be required to employ newer strategies when defending against a group of 3 or more if you intend to keep Monkey and Trip alive.
In some areas, you’ll have to find cover from gunfire behind small stacks of brick that will collapse one piece at a time if it absorbs too much heat. Situations like that will require you to constantly think on your feet while you devise a strategy before losing all of your means for cover. Once you’ve figured out the timing of each different melee attack of the mechs, it will become much easier to dispatch them and move on to the next group.
Occasionally, during a brawl you’ll be prompted with an option to perform a take down with the push of a button. Performing these ruthless actions can be quite satisfying to watch, but strangely doesn’t require a button mini-game after enacting the sequence. Rather, you just watch Monkey tear apart the mech in glorious fashion, which isn’t a bad thing either. I just think it would’ve been more immersive to include a sequence of button prompts to make the player feel like they are in control while ripping the mech into oblivion. Regardless of that missing element, the take down sequences feel great to execute, especially when unleashing the deadly moves during some of the memorable boss battles.
With Enslaved, you will find it really easy to lose track of time, since the pacing of the story has been choreographed extremely well. The game seldom keeps you yawning as you’ll always find yourself wanting to progress the story to unlock its mysteries. New surprises seem to be waiting around each corner, which help keep the game fresh during the entire twelve-hour experience.
In spite of the few glitches and minor graphic issues, Enslaved is one of those games that is hard to put down once you get captivated by its compelling story and memorable characters. The depth of gameplay is satisfying for any level of gamer – it’s not too deep nor is it overly complicated to chase away the curiosity of those new to the genre. The story, although not new, is definitely unique and is fresh to the industry. Even with its flaws, anyone brave enough to take on this journey will not find this adventure disappointing.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
+ Captivating Story and Top-notch voice acting + Solid pacing and Immersive experience – Few sound glitches and visual inconsistencies |  |
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34 Responses to “PS3 Review – Enslaved: Odyssey To The West”
Great review, Ray. Thanks.
Picking this badboy up today.
I wish I could pick this game up, its great to see such originality.
You think this game is original? LOL
The gameplay elements may not be that original, but in the action/adventure genre that we see these days this is about as original as it gets.
“but in the action/adventure genre that we see these days this is about as original as it gets”
Can you elaborate.
I don’t have the game just yet (waiting for my shipment) but at the moment I can say that it’s an original IP. The Journey to the West story while not technically original, hasn’t been done this way in gaming. I guess I’ll have more points once I have the game itself.
I loved both GOW3 and Uncharted 2 but they are not my fucking benchmarks to decide whether or not I should at least give any game a try.
@ TheHater
Sorry man just note that this sentence wasn’t meant to you >_<
"I loved both GOW3 and Uncharted 2 but they are not my f***ing benchmarks to decide whether or not I should at least give any game a try."
I know you didn't say anything like that, just sounds like other people have that mentality though.
@weapon178
no problem dude.
I hope you enjoy playing this game when you get it. I just send mine back to gamefly
Hey at least you tried the game so you have a fair point. Even though I seem to be constantly defending this game I know for a fact it’s not worth the $60 they are charging you. I expect the same entertainment I got from Heavenly Sword where it’s a great cinematic like experience and story but still not worth the full price. If anything I think $45-$50 might be a fair price. I’ll also likely trade the game once I’m completely done with it since I expected there to be little to no re-play value to it.
Still…I can’t help but feel like this game is still something different from most games that are out there right now even if it does have similarities in game play from other games.
Have mixed emotions on this one due to the way ninja theory has been behaving about the ps3 but if they fix the ps3 bugs i will probably pick it up
Renting this at least, might pick it up sometime down the line…I don’t have enough time to play games that I want to these days!
A good problem to have, I suppose.
I agree with the 8/10 rating. I would personally have a hard time rating this a 7 or 8, not sure. There are definite glitches which ruined 2 or 3 parts of the game for me. I have heard this game is running on the Unreal Engine? If this is correct, yes, it is awful on the PS3. The graphics get choppy at points, the controls are clumsy. You want great controls, look at Uncharted 2. I have a feeling if they release a sequel they will improve on all of this. It just depreciates the excellent visuals, voiceover, and story. I really hope this Unreal Engine can be improved. If you get your hands on this game you will see what I am talking about. I would recommend renting this game and playing it through. I have 4 chapters left of the game and so far I would highly recommend this game as a rental, not a purchase. Will my mind change in the last 4 chapters? Don’t think so. It hasn’t completely captured me like an Uncharted game has. Anyway, excellent rental.
Thats is correct. Another crappy Xbox Unreal port to the PS3. For this reason alone i will not support this game. NT should know better. This was a cash grab, nothing more. Other wise they would have focused on making the game identical. Look at Lords of Shadow. Largely identical, PS3 has slightly better frame rate.
agree. looking at CAstlevania LOS. put those developers blaming their lazy ports on ps3 technical difficulty to shame!
I just finished the game… not that great. I would give it a 7/10 rating. If it was developed solely for the PS3 it could have been a 9/10. The Unreal Engine is awful and ruins everything. Gameplay was forgettable, but I enjoyed the voice acting and the visuals. Definitely do not buy this game. It is a decent rental though (that is what I did). They are totally overhyping this game because there isn’t an Uncharted adventure game being release this Fall like last year. It doesn’t stand out though after you start playing it. It’s clear they did a chop job to release on both consoles. The story wasn’t even that good anyway. It’s more of a chore to get Trip (the female character) to her homeland then on another journey. It’s not really “fun” or exciting. The combat gets old, even with the upgraded weapons and such. They’re really hyping this as a cinematic experience… it kinda is… but not nearly as much as they are hyping it to be.
this game is indeed awesome. l will definitely buy later down the line
That main character Monkey the worst character design i have ever seen.
Can’t say I agree, how do you mean?
He looks like some creepy WCW or WWF character.
Look at him. He looks ridiculous. Stupid hair, stupid clothes, stupid face, he looks like he has down syndrome or something.
I will give this game a 7/10 base on several factors
Positive:
#1 – Story was excellent and was the only thing keeping me interesting in finishing the game
#2 – Music was also excellent. At times, I would just stop playing and listen to the music. I hope the release the soundtrack to this game.
Negatives:
#1 – Lack of replay value. Spending $60 for this 8 hour experience is worth it my any means.
#2 – Combat is very simplistic and have no depth to it. There is no combos you can perform and there isn’t much strategy to to fight any given enemies. See a robot with a blue shield and you know you have to stun it first. Everything is just so simple
#3 – Lack of boss battles. You fight a mech dog, rhino, and scorpion. That’s it. The final “boss” was just a let down and was expecting something much more than shooting weak points on a giant mech scorpion.
#4 – The platforming. They are impossible to fail and are way too easy
#5 – Audio and visual problems. I had to turn on subtitles because at times, the characters would be talking, but no sound. After every loading screen, I had to wait several seconds for visual to load.
#6 – too many invisible walls in this game. Every game has invisible walls, but this game just have too many.
How do you get a 7 out of that? i’ve only played the demo but going on the ratio of negatives to positives there it should get no more than a 5.
@JohnnyTruant5
This game is average. Nothing more nor nothing less. 7/10 to be is average and it’s what this game is.
not to argue or anything but I would consider 5 average whatever this game is, 3 away from perfect is too high to be average imo.
Thanks for chiming in with the full point lower score. You should start your own site with PS reviews. This is nothing short of amazing. I thank you.
I really can’t tell if you are being sarcastic
I already have the best action/shooter/platformer Uncharted 2 and after playing the demo I can pass up on Enslaved.
I only play the best games on my PS3.
Ps3 is the best so it only deserves the best.
Uncharted 2, LBP etc.
Great to know it’s an 8 out of 10. Can’t wait for my copy to get here!
I’ll wait for the goku and bulma skins to buy the game ‘cuz I don’t like the characters look…
lol.
This is actually really funny for some reason.
couldnt have wrote a review any better. i really enjoyed this game, i finally beat it today on Hard. might i say those fights you mentioned about fighting a few groups of mechs is a royal pain in the ass on Hard. even with me dying a ton i couldnt keep from picking the controller back up and playing more and more.
I’m really liking it so far. I am about halfway through and the voice acting and story really keep you interested.
Sounds like I made the correct choice in getting LOS instead (just arrived in the mail today, can’t wait for work to end).
Something not mentioned in the review – hows the upgrade system? Plentiful with choices that add to the gameplay, or shallow and limited? This is what would make the deciding factor for me – the demo made it seem like the game has potential, but if the battle doesn’t advance well through upgrades, I could get bored pretty quick with the fighting.
I don’t care what you think of me for it, but if Monkey doesn’t get some kind of payback for having that collar slapped on, I’m gonna feel hella cheated.
YES, I know they’re obviously going to quickly make you sympathize with her, but d***… she could have helped him during the escape… but NOOOO… and then she has the nerve to FORCE the guy she was too busy to help into helping her!
Beautiful game, S*** circumstances… and Andy Serkis… I guess the good outweighs the bad.