Enslaved: Odyssey To The West or A Contrived Excuse To Show The World Your Vacation Photos

I had such high hopes for this game.  The people who gave us Enslaved had previously given us the Sacred Volume known as Heavenly Sword.  Now they see fit to give us photos from Andy Serkis' private life with a game wrapped awkwardly around it.  Oh and Spoilers by the way.  Should have mentioned that sooner maybe.



Now it's not that the bulk of the game is real life photos of the man who played Gollum it's actually just a small part.  A small bizarre part that is crucial to a terrible Matrix themed ending.  And the real life photos along with the live action video at the end; jar with the rest of the games computer rendered visuals like sand paper on glass.  They have committed the Sin of Wall-e.

(For all who don't know what this sin is I'll explain.  Pixar's Wall-e contains clips of live action footage.  They show film of Hello Dolly as well as Fred Ward.  Most of the movie is computer animated but not all.  When Wall-e was nominated for the Academy award of best animated movie some in the animation industry were upset, and rightly so in my opinion.  The objectors said that since live action clips were used in the movie the film is not technically animated.  They have a point.  Animation is a laborious process.  Another movie that were 100% animated could rightly feel cheated by Pixar's nomination, even if Wall-e is 99% animated it doesn't matter.)

Now on to the mishandling of Pigsy.  Pigsy could have been a great character.  He could have been a funny foil for Monkey.  Instead he was made into cliche comic relief.  He could have been used to encourage Monkey and Trip in their relationship but instead he tried to come between them.  How many times have we seen that before.

The whole games is an exercise in missed opportunities and undeveloped potential.  Monkey and Trip are engaging characters but are never fully realized.  Neither is their relationship which started out as interesting, compelling, and complex.  But it quickly and quietly moves to the background and then seems to disappear altogether.  When Trip offers to let Monkey go and he insists on staying enslaved to her it rings hollow.  The proper time that needed to be invested for that potentially beautiful moment never happened.

Likewise the story held promise but nothing was ever delivered on that promise.  The combat camera was a pain but forgivable.  Simplistic combat not so much.  And there were several Trip command events that failed to trigger for no reason an then start working inexplicably.  Over all the game felt short and rushed.  The environment of the game rubbed me the wrong way.  The end felt like a cop out.  Like the design team was like "We got to finish this before our lunch break.  Lets just rip off the Matrix and call it good."  For shame Team Ninja, for shame.  I expect better from you.

Hidden Gems: Demon Stone

This is a game that you might have missed. It has a lot of things going for it, as well as few drawbacks. But all in all it was a game that I really enjoyed and made a lasting impression on me. I will be the first to admit that I am a sucker for a good story. I am willing to forgive a lot of technical issues provided the story is good. Demon Stone illustrates this better than any game I can think of. The failings it has are not crippling but they are noticeable, but a moving plot and compelling characters are enough for me to overlook it's flaws.

The main strength this game has is it's story. It focuses on three unlikely hero's, all of them have a past that haunts them and makes them outcasts. This isolation pits them together in a battle to protect people who once shunned them. The bond of friendship the three develop is touching, and together they resolve to fight a evil that they themselves unwittingly unleashed upon their world.

(From left to right: Illius the sorcerer, Zhai a half-drow half-wood-elf assassin, and Rannek a human warrior.)

The game's story was written by R. A. Salvatore, (author of the books featuring Drizzt Do' Urden), whether you like his writing or not he is none the less an experienced storyteller and it shows in this game. Many video games I've played give little thought to story and what is produced is something like a pale shadow of various movies the creators have watched. It also features voice acting by Patrick Stewart, who does a good job as usual.

The game allows you to play as all three of the characters. But as you progress you really only need to play as two. Rannek the warrior for the standard combat situations and alternating him with Zhai for stealth attacks. Zhai has the ability to go invisible when she's in the shadows. This allows her to sneak up on enemies and then pounce on them to deliver a lethal one strike blow. This technique is great, as long as there are shadows. Sometimes there's not which is when you return to Rannek to do the fighting. Illius is somewhat sadly under used. Aside from the introduction combat scenario in the first level and a level later on where you'll need his unlimited ranged magic attacks, you'll never need him again in the game. Normally this would create a character that people would dislike as a useless tag along. But the story cut scenes give him, and all the charters something to do. Illius adds depth to the adventure despite not being much help in combat. Or at least I didn't play as him. You have the option to switch characters on the fly. This is a nice touch and the computer takes over whomever you haven't selected.

So, whats wrong with it? Well the most annoying thing for me was the lack of impact sensation. When ever I swung my weapon at a monster it was like the hit didn't even register. The creature I was fighting didn't reel from the blow, there was no sound effect, nothing. It was like slicing through thin air. This can be very frustrating. To illustrate further, in God of War Kratos will attack his enemies and when he strikes them the act like they've been hit. Their motion is disrupted, their attacks can even be interrupted. God of War is a good example of how this should work. In Demon Stone I had to guess as to whether my hits where landing and doing damage.

Then there are a few other minor points. The casting of Michael Clarke Duncan as Ygorl is off. His voice just doesn't seem to fit right. The same thing happened when he was cast as Atlas in God of War II. Visually Michael Clarke Duncan is a huge presence and he is very intimidating. Vocally not so much. There isn't anything inherent in his voice that makes you think "big scary tough guy." It seems like in both these games the powers that be were counting on your awareness of who Michael Clarke Duncan is to translate into the character. But that just isn't the case. (Although the delivery of his first line "Give me that sword!" sent goose bumps down my spine. After that though his voice just doesnt have the same effect.)

And finally my last complaint is that the game is relatively short. It's not to short, and saying that I am wanting more is perhaps more of a complement than a complaint. But I would have appreciated a bit longer of a game, or a sequel. But Demon Stone is worth a look, provided you like hack and slash beat 'em ups. I personally give it a very strong Seven out of Ten. For all gamers who like a good story well Demon Stone is right up there with the best of them.