"Pigsy? She can hear every word we say...."

     There are some amazing games that just seem to fly under the radar.  Psychonauts was a great example of this for the Playstation 2.  Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is a more recent example.  One of my inspirations for writing this blog was seeing a game like Enslaved: Odyssey to the West go unnoticed by the general public.

     Released on Oct. 5th, 2010, developed by Ninja Theory and published by Namco, Enslaved hit shelves to rave reviews from reviewers, with an average score of around 8 out of 10.  For whatever reason, marketing did not do well on this game and it was instantly buried beneath an avalanche of other titles released around this time. I picked this game up from Amazon for less than $17 a few weeks ago. I figured with the great reviews and at a price like that I couldn't pass it up.  I expected a decent game, but what I did not expect was the bright and detailed environments, full and deep characters, and a better than average story.

      Enslaved takes place many years after humanity has destroyed itself with advanced technology that got out of control. Sporadic colonies built from the scraps of society are all that remains of a once thriving culture. The remnants of the war lie scattered across the world in the form of mechs that still desire to destroy all life.  The story opens on a slaver ship with our main character, Monkey, captive. Through events leading to a crash of the ship in the ruins of New York City, Monkey is enslaved with a slaver headband by another captive, Trip. She simply wants to use the strong and agile Monkey to help her get back home to the west. 

Monkey in front of a ruined New York.

     Monkey is motion-captured and voice acted by Andy Serkis.  Serkis has a lot of excellent experience with motion capture, being the actor who played Smeagol/Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.  It took me a little bit to get used to his voice for Monkey, but by the end of the game, I felt there was no one else who could have pulled it off.  The witty banter that goes back and forth between Trip and Monkey really helps to make the game and develop the story and characters.  There are some genuinely funny moments as well as some tear jerkers, and the story manages to stay interesting for the duration with very few slow points. The finale' concisely wraps up with a satisfying conclusion for the time spent playing the game. 

     The game is filled with beautiful visuals as well as a great soundtrack that nicely accents the environments.  The environments and soundtrack also change often enough to remain varied so that you won't get bored, while keeping the post-apocalyptic "earth has taken back" feel.  Game play consists of platforming elements as well as Monkey kicking mech ass with little more than his fists and a futuristic stick. Trip acts as the "brains" in each situation while Monkey provides the "brawn".  You get the ability to upgrade your attacks as well as health and shields throughout the game, as well as purchasing some new attacks. The boss battles make you really feel like you have accomplished something upon completing each one and once again provide a nice variety to the gameplay that keeps each level fresh and interesting.

      Enslaved may have gotten a bad rap as far as the sales numbers were concerned, but all in all I think that this is a game that shouldn't be missed especially for the current price that you can pick a copy of it up for.  With no multiplayer elements, it is the perfect game to help get through the PSN downtime that we have been having lately.  Click here to see this product on Amazon and do yourself a favor.  This is $15 well spent for any Playstation 3 Gamer.