Previews// Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Ninja Theory's first game, Heavenly Sword (reviewed here) was met with a somewhat mixed reception. One camp decried it as being simplistic; style over substance, all production and no bite. Others appreciated it as a glossy, wonderfully-produced button-basher; an exciting -albeit small- slice of fun.

Now Ninja Theory has dived straight back in with another big budget title: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, a futuristic take on the Chinese tale Journey to the West.

Not content with just having Andy Serkis on board as director and lead character Monkey, the developer brought in Alex Garland, of The Beach and 28 Days Later fame, to script the tale. So, for me, it’s starting to sound like a promising one already. Under the aegis of SPOnG, I was invited to Namco Bandai’s HQ to check out the first five chapters of the game.

Set in a post-apocalyptic America, you play as Monkey, a gruff muscle-man who has been abducted and incarcerated in a slave ship. The reason these ships are capturing human slaves is yet unknown. . . and I'm not spoiling it. Thankfully, Monkey manages to bust out of his cage along with Trip, another human abductee.

She doesn’t initially appear to be the most helpful companion, choosing to run away from Monkey rather than aiding him as the ship slowly malfunctions and crashes into New York City. After fitting a slave headband around his head, ensuring he can’t hurt her and must obey her every command, she warms to him. The headband is also programmed to inject a lethal cocktail into Monkey should she die. First impressions, eh?

So begins Monkey and Trip’s journey through machine-infested jungles, overgrown cities and along dilapidated highways; all beautiful representations of what a post-apocalyptic America could be like. It’s refreshing to see some colour and vibrancy in a world riddled with mechanical intruders.

As well as the impressive visuals, a lot has gone into the animation side of things. Rather than settling for Heavenly Sword’s already extensive motion capture work, Enslaved goes one further and motion captures every aspect of character animation. From cut-scenes to in game actions, Monkey is 100% Andy Serkis.

Every action has been lovingly captured and Ninja Theory's talent for characterisation really shows through. There is a danger, however, that it could feel a little too animated. If you didn’t like how bouncy Drake was in Uncharted 2 then Monkey’s constant movements might infuriate you. It looks fantastic but can make getting away from an enemy a chore; and recovering after making a bad jump even more so.

Unlike, for example, Prince of Persia’s passive AI companion, Elika, Trip plays a pretty hands-on supportive role. As you progress through the game she gains new abilities that help to distract enemies; to upgrade Monkey’s weapons and health; to heal him, and to enable Trip to move forward when things are safe.

Combat is split between Monkey’s head-on clashes with the machines, and tactically getting to - or even past - the enemies using teamwork. At one point there were three machines shooting in my direction. The best way I found to overcome them was to have Trip distract them as I ran past, and then distract them myself for Trip to get across. The alternative was to have her constantly distract them so I could make my way around and take out the machines completely.

There's an element of tactical thinking to the combat, with multiple approaches to each scenario. For example, if the machines get too close, Trip will set off an EMP but that only buys you a (very) temporary reprieve before they attack her again.

There are also moments where Monkey has to protect Trip from a machine ambush.

Combat is a combo-based affair, with your usual foray into typical light and heavy attacks to be bashed manically into your controller. You are able to unlock a number of new combinations and power ups for certain moves. There are even grenades and shock attacks to mess with, the latter being a perk of Monkey's enhanced melee abilities.

Direct combat feels fantastic so far; the only major problem I had was with the camera. If you start attacking in smaller, more enclosed areas of the game the camera runs wild; flicking above and behind you frantically. While combat is simple and split into a number of button-bashing combos so you can easily carry on fighting, it’s a real immersion killer. I hope that it’ll be addressed in the final build of the game.

Of course, travelling around the game world means that you have to make sure that Trip can get through as well. You’ll need to carry her through a minefield, throw her across or up to ledges, and even lift up objects that block her path. Sometimes she can lose her grip when jumping across, and you have to quickly lift her up before she falls to her death. It’s actually pretty frightening when it happens as she’ll desperately scream for help.

Enslaved is shaping up nicely. There's a lot of variety present throughout the first five chapters I played, and the mix of great acting, visuals and set-pieces made the whole experience enjoyable - it left me wanting to play more. While the puzzles and general platforming were straightforward in the levels I played, the bosses and scenarios kept it refreshing. I can only hope the final product continues to expand on the already-present formula.

Enslaved releases on October 8th.