Billy Idol
Legend
sounds really good TBH- maybe I have to put this game right on my list?!
Ninja Theory's new game: Enslaved
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sounds really good TBH- maybe I have to put this game right on my list?!
IGN's isn't quite a "rave review"...
http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1124745p1.html
8/10, 7 for gameplay.
http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1124745p1.html
8/10, 7 for gameplay.
Billy Idol
Legend
Hm, just read what NT thinks of PS3 development:
http://playstationlifestyle.net/201...s-dmc-development-concerns-on-playstation-3/?
I really wish that I could get the internal informations why they decide for a new engine, when they already have a working PS3 engine - would be interesting to learn the reasons.
Did they not say that the content creation tools where "bad" ie hard to work with and kept productivity low?
Also would the engine be NT ip?
Do you mean Capcom's stuff? Or do you mean the proprietary engine in Heavenly Sword that Sony owns?
Billy Idol
Legend
Thanks guys, did not know that HS engine was Sony owned...which is of coarse the explanation I was looking for.
There's other reasons as well to drop one off engines and go with Unreal engine:
1) I never worked with UE, but I've been told that the content creation people (artists, level designers, etc...) like it somewhat more than other engines for it's control and flexibility.
2) Given the ubiquity of UE means that when hiring people you are more likely to find people familiar with it than with other engines.
3) Given the success of UE you can feel more comfortable devoting an entire code base to it as you know it won't be going away tomorrow, it will be around, revised, improved, etc by Epic for years to come.
4) Given the portability of UE, you can feel more comfortable using it knowing that you aren't locked to just one platforms revenue stream.
Billy Idol
Legend
Ah, thanks for the additional explanation - makes sense!
When developing a game. Can you roughly tell how much resources are put in content creation compared to the tech part? I guess that there are way more people creating content, than people creating the tech, right? So it really makes sense to 'optimize' this part of game development...
Capcom should have MT framework available for external use in this case IMO. There would be no need to be skeptical about performance if NT could just follow Capcom's approach in DMC4 to hit 60 frames in the upcoming DMC.
Nevermind Japanese-English translation, documentation, tech support...
Enslaved is a funny beast. Overall I think it's a great game, but you have to be able to get past some (slightly) flimsy mechanics and odd design choices.
The gist of it is you play Monkey--an agile, super strong animal man who's use to living a solitary life--who is forced to work with Trip in order to survive. The ultimate goal is to get to her back to her village so she can return home.
See Trip's hacked a headband to control Monkey--so she can take advantage of his brute strength--giving Monkey jolts of pain when he doesnt listen to orders. Further, if Trip's heart ever stops then the headband will make sure to kill Monkey outright! Along the way the two must work together fighting dormant mechs in NY city. The relationship is, as expected, very strained. It's not as drab as it might sound though as I found it interesting to watch the relationship flex and evolve. Essentially it's Escape From (a lush green) New York, but 150 years in the future--and no Kurt Russell.
Voice Acting
The voice acting is exceptional. Andy Serkis in particular does an amazing job portraying Monkey. The cutescenes tend to consist of close-up conversation that push the story forward. I felt like the mostly payed off and were well paced. It's refreshing to see something of this quality. Particularly the expressive nature of the faces and gestures, I found, are the most intruiging. It's a nice change of pace from the expressionless (face of) chuck in Dead Rising 2 or some of the folks in Halo Reach. That's not to say those games characters dont have emotion or expressivness, they just dont compare to the ones in Enslaved.
Gameplay
The feel of the game is mostly responsive and movement feels good, but I did find the jump mechanic to be surprisingly laggy. When pressing the jump button, Monkeys animation kicks in and he slightly crouches, then pushes himeself into the air. The animation causes a delay that measures out to probably 1/2 a second. It's just enough to make it feel slightly off to me. Also, running and jumping doesnt seem to work like it should. There are these odd hotspots where the jump mechanic cant happen. It's odd.
The mechanics that involve getting around are very similar to that of Uncharted. Jumping from one far-off ledge to another seem to happen automagically once you're standing in the right spot, every ledge or grab-point has a slight glimmer to it to let you know where to go and the game doesnt allow you to fall off ledges from heights. Platforming is essentially very easy to accomplish since you cant fall to your death. It's a little like Prince of Persia but without Elika to save you because there is no falling.
It's also fair to mention that the game leans--more so than Uncharted--on environmental puzzles. They're mostly fun to figure out, make sense avoiding frustration and tend to be easy enough to figure out. There were two instances where I got really stuck--and one of those situations had a completely obvious solution.
Some people call these things the auto-win mechanic, and I think that's probably a fair assessment. It's up to you to determine if this is something that's a turn off. Personally I'm a fan of Uncharted and didnt mind it there or here. However there were times I felt it was holding my hands a little too much and I just wanted to tear loose!
Conclusion
Enslaved is an exciting game! It starts out with a bang so you're drawn in instantly. If that doesnt do it then the excellently paced story probably will. The fighting is fun enough,though it might run a little stale by the end. It has some of the best voice acting and animated segments since Uncharted 2 or Mass Effect 2. Run time should hit around the 7-9 hour mark without much replay value.
If you're in the mood for a exciting action game then pick this game up.
The gist of it is you play Monkey--an agile, super strong animal man who's use to living a solitary life--who is forced to work with Trip in order to survive. The ultimate goal is to get to her back to her village so she can return home.
See Trip's hacked a headband to control Monkey--so she can take advantage of his brute strength--giving Monkey jolts of pain when he doesnt listen to orders. Further, if Trip's heart ever stops then the headband will make sure to kill Monkey outright! Along the way the two must work together fighting dormant mechs in NY city. The relationship is, as expected, very strained. It's not as drab as it might sound though as I found it interesting to watch the relationship flex and evolve. Essentially it's Escape From (a lush green) New York, but 150 years in the future--and no Kurt Russell.
Voice Acting
The voice acting is exceptional. Andy Serkis in particular does an amazing job portraying Monkey. The cutescenes tend to consist of close-up conversation that push the story forward. I felt like the mostly payed off and were well paced. It's refreshing to see something of this quality. Particularly the expressive nature of the faces and gestures, I found, are the most intruiging. It's a nice change of pace from the expressionless (face of) chuck in Dead Rising 2 or some of the folks in Halo Reach. That's not to say those games characters dont have emotion or expressivness, they just dont compare to the ones in Enslaved.
Gameplay
The feel of the game is mostly responsive and movement feels good, but I did find the jump mechanic to be surprisingly laggy. When pressing the jump button, Monkeys animation kicks in and he slightly crouches, then pushes himeself into the air. The animation causes a delay that measures out to probably 1/2 a second. It's just enough to make it feel slightly off to me. Also, running and jumping doesnt seem to work like it should. There are these odd hotspots where the jump mechanic cant happen. It's odd.
The mechanics that involve getting around are very similar to that of Uncharted. Jumping from one far-off ledge to another seem to happen automagically once you're standing in the right spot, every ledge or grab-point has a slight glimmer to it to let you know where to go and the game doesnt allow you to fall off ledges from heights. Platforming is essentially very easy to accomplish since you cant fall to your death. It's a little like Prince of Persia but without Elika to save you because there is no falling.
It's also fair to mention that the game leans--more so than Uncharted--on environmental puzzles. They're mostly fun to figure out, make sense avoiding frustration and tend to be easy enough to figure out. There were two instances where I got really stuck--and one of those situations had a completely obvious solution.
Some people call these things the auto-win mechanic, and I think that's probably a fair assessment. It's up to you to determine if this is something that's a turn off. Personally I'm a fan of Uncharted and didnt mind it there or here. However there were times I felt it was holding my hands a little too much and I just wanted to tear loose!
Conclusion
Enslaved is an exciting game! It starts out with a bang so you're drawn in instantly. If that doesnt do it then the excellently paced story probably will. The fighting is fun enough,though it might run a little stale by the end. It has some of the best voice acting and animated segments since Uncharted 2 or Mass Effect 2. Run time should hit around the 7-9 hour mark without much replay value.
If you're in the mood for a exciting action game then pick this game up.
Capcom should be well into the process of getting efficiency and ease of use up to speed for their international partners. Studios were asking about engine availability before NT and Capcom could have made contact on this project. In any case, this would be a good starting point for Capcom to get into outsourcing if they stopped being so stubborn.
Started Enslaved. Into Chapter 3 now.
Pretty engaging so far because Trip and Monkey can co-op. The mechanics evolve as the story unfolds. The characters also have good, believable facial expressions. Too early to tell whether I'll love the game, but one can see the potential and possibilities.
I prefer Heavenly Sword's landscape but Enslaved is clearly a deeper and more varied game. People who like graphics may complain though (I can see some screen tearings when the camera pans the environment for a level overview).
Pretty engaging so far because Trip and Monkey can co-op. The mechanics evolve as the story unfolds. The characters also have good, believable facial expressions. Too early to tell whether I'll love the game, but one can see the potential and possibilities.
I prefer Heavenly Sword's landscape but Enslaved is clearly a deeper and more varied game. People who like graphics may complain though (I can see some screen tearings when the camera pans the environment for a level overview).
Chapter 5. It's not a bad game at all. Varied and captivating. This is what a story + puzzle + melee game should be like. The difficulty is alright. The way it's structured, you can complete it in short stages.
Yes, screen tearing galore when panning environment (to give you a sense of the level). Doesn't affect gameplay so far. Sony should have picked it up and help them polish the game.
Now continuing my journey. Controlling the monkey can be a little dodgy but if you can survive LBP, you can survive Enslaved. Let's see if it goes downhill. ^_^
Yes, screen tearing galore when panning environment (to give you a sense of the level). Doesn't affect gameplay so far. Sony should have picked it up and help them polish the game.
Now continuing my journey. Controlling the monkey can be a little dodgy but if you can survive LBP, you can survive Enslaved. Let's see if it goes downhill. ^_^
I won't say Ninja Theory are crappy developers (because they aren't), but I do feel they should stick to making their own original games. DMC is something that I'd rather stay in the hands of Capcom's internal development team. The only improvement I could see NT bringing to the franchise is a better story and dialogue, but every other aspect (whether it's Dante's look and gameplay) should stay relatively the same.
I don't like the idea of a reboot, and was hoping that the if NT rumors were true they working with the existing elements from the series to make something interesting.
I don't like the idea of a reboot, and was hoping that the if NT rumors were true they working with the existing elements from the series to make something interesting.
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