Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Review

The headband firmly placed around my head, I have to follow orders. My other option, a rather painful and gruesome death, which quite frankly would put a real downer on my day. Having to protect the girl that gave me the order through most of the city was no easy task. With the mechs all over the ruins, a series of short scuffles was inevitable. However utilizing stealth and the strangely useful technology of my captor, most obstacles were overcome with ease. However right now my staff is of little use and crossing the open stretch of water ahead is going to be difficult with her in tow. My best course would be to scout ahead alone and as my cloud is now active, it seems like a perfect time to use it. I’ll have to leave Trip here for the moment and show her why they call me Monkey. This is Journey to the West, but like you have never seen it before.

Enslaved for both the 360 and PS3 is an inspired retelling of a story that has been a huge influence on many others over the years. If you have watched any fantasy anime over the last 40 years the chances are that you have seen some influence from the tale. Ninja Theory the team behind Heavenly Sword, bring players a whole new take on the Journey to the West with Enslaved. Set in an undisclosed era of the future, Monkey and Trip must once again work together to survive their adventure. Expect to see hundreds of tiny hints towards the original story scattered through-out the game, but only those with a keen eye will be able to relate them all to the original fable (and I don’t mean the Xbox title).

Built quite obviously on the Unreal 3 engine, Enslaved is quite honestly one of the best looking titles out there. Every section of every level has been carefully crafted, while each character and enemy has been coated in detail and textures. While the game starts off looking rather average, your first expose to the outside world reveals the true beauty of the game. Outside environments are capable of taking your breath away. The sun rays are skillfully mastered to effect scenes and change the disposition of the atmosphere, however there is such as thing as to much lighting and the game does sometimes become a bit too clever for its own good.

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