To the West We Go

I have just played the demo for Enslaved: Odyssey to the West by Ninja Theory on both the PlayStation 3 and  the X-Box 360 and I must say that I am very impressed with this game. This is quite surprising because their last game, the PS3 exclusive Heavenly Sword failed miserably gameplay-wise. Enslaved is a comeback for the developer, who has once again able to showcase unbelievable graphics unlike anything you have ever seen before like those found in Heavenly Sword but this time around, with a heavy dose of platforming goodness and a simplified yet satisfying combat. Enslaved is a brilliant re-imagining of the classic Chinese literature, Journey to the West, but without the mythological creatures, Buddhism, nor talking animals. Instead, we have a tale of a female slave who is forcing another male captive to help her get back to her home in a modern, futuristic world ravished by robotic creatures. The bottom line is that if she dies, he dies and that leaves him with not much of a choice.

A truly epic stage... (X-Box 360 Screenshot)

Based on the gameplay footage included in the demo, this particular journey only focused on the two characters - a departure from the original literary work - so the game seems to have been heavily influenced by UbiSoft's Prince of Persia but without the "princess" following you at every turn and jump. The demo doesn't provide a lot of content but it is enough to convince me that this have the potential to be one of the best games released this year. The demo takes us to the very beginning of the game where you have to escape a huge - yes, in that Shadow of the Colossus kind of scale - slave ship and it is here that the game quickly introduces its smooth platforming mechanics as well as the fun combat. As solid as the gameplay may be, the one thing that makes such an impact here is the game's gorgeous graphics. The cut-scenes are done in real time, using the in-game character models and those expressive, detailed facial close-ups look better than what Square Enix could conjure up in Final Fantasy XIII. I don't know why this game ended up going multi-platform but Sony could have had a system-seller here if Ninja Theory still practices monogamy - what a big loss.

She could have just asked nicely... (PS3 screenshot)

Now the only question is this: which version will I get when the game comes out? Graphically speaking, at first glance, there are hardly any differences between the two demos - which should make Microsoft very happy because this game is definitely the best looking title on the 360 as well as the PS3, easily topping Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in its wake. If you observe closely however, it is apparent that the 360 version looks a bit sharper while the PS3 version suffers from frame rate drops, clipping shadows, and prominent screen-tearings. I will have to get this game on the 360 and Sony should seriously start thinking about adopting talented developers with potentials into their parent company in the future. The game will be released next month on October 5th.

Winner! The PS3 should have been the superior version but it isn't.

FIRST IMPRESSION: 5 out of 5