Enslaved

The cream of the European games press gathered in London to take a look at Ninja Theory's next game {Enslaved}. Their latest release, {Heavenly Sword}, a launch title on Playstation 3, was a respectable first attempt on the current generation of platforms, but it never really took off and Sony did not opt for a sequel. This time Ninja Theory aims to separate themselves from the pack.

The story takes its inspiration from a 400-year old Chinese fairy tale about a monkey, who went west in pursuit of renewed spirituality. But in order to avoid creating a drama of epic proportions, and distancing it a bit for its Asian origins, Ninja Theory has reinterpreted and modernised the story.

The level presented is set in New York, but it is not the city we know with its towering skyscrapers and busy crowds. The game takes place 150 years into the future, where robots have taken power and are oppressing their creators - mankind. No one knows why there was a war and how it started, but robots patrol the deserted streets and alleys, while the people who are still alive, are abducted by slave ships and taken westward.

The protagonist Monkey has been caught and has ended up on one of the slave ships, and in his flight he meets a girl called Trip who installs a belt around his head while he is unconscious. The fate of Monkey is now in the hands of Trip, she controls him like a puppet, and if Trip dies, Monkey dies too. It is this dynamic that will take us through the devastated United States towards Trip's home to her family, unravel the mystery behind the slave ships and earn your freedom. Fortunately, {Enslaved} does not adapt the depressive approach to the end of the world that we have seen in {Fallout 3} and many other games, where the world mainly consists of brown and gray rubble and demolished buildings.

Ninja Theory's vision involves an Earth reclaimed by the plant kingdom, overgrowing buildings and skyscrapers, and the game's version of New York is more reminiscent of a jungle than the Big Apple we are used to. The graphical style makes us think of Final Fantasy mixed with the original Jak & Daxter, and although there are traces of inspiration to be found {Enslaved} has its own graphical style that truly invites the player to come explore.

This also means that there isn't a sinister atmosphere or sense of urgent danger as you traverse the beautiful landscape. And even if it was not the finished version we got to see, it was hard to feel the despair of an oppressed mankind with the chosen colour palette.

A deliberate choice, according to design director Tameem Antoniades. They wanted to create an environment where the player will feel comfortable and at ease, and then surprise the player. Unfortunately we did not get to see any of these scenes, but it will be interesting to see if Ninja Theory can shake things up with a few surprises.

With New York as a backdrop, it may seem natural to make a classic sandbox games in the vein of the GTA series or {Infamous}, but Ninja Theory have opted for a more controlled experienced as they hold our hand throughout the adventure.

The gameplay mixes platform elements with robot combat, and comes across looking a lot like the recent {Prince of Persia} games. Monkey usually runs around with Trip on his back, while at other times she must negotiate a specific part of the level in parallel to Monkey. It seems to work well, but Trip still feels a bit disconnected, and although promises were made of how the relationship between the two will develop, the one-sided relationship seems to have little or no immediate impact on the gameplay. Thus the slave dynamics are reduced to a mere narrative catalyst, and hopefully this will be implemented better in order for {Enslaved} to live up to its name.

Ninja Theory have been assisted in the development by some rather famous film industry individuals. Andy Serkis, who lent his movements to Gollum in Lord of the Rings movies, plays Monkey, while script writer Alex Garland, who penned 28 Days Later and Sunshine, is helping out deepening the characters and the emotional bond between Monkey and Trip.

I asked Tameem Antoniades if there was any risk that the cinematics would overshadow the interactive elements of the game. He wasn't worried and told me that Alex Garland serves as consultant on the team and has given good advice about camera angles and how to give scenes a more dramatic flavour in order to make the story and the characters appear more lifelike.

It will be interesting to see if Garland and Serkis could sprinkle {Enslaved} with a bit of Hollywood magic or whether it ends up feeling like a soggy and cliché-filled story that we have been told many times before.

Something the developers did show us was the battle system, and combat is naturally an essential part of the {Enslaved} experience. The animations are nicely done and the selection of robots we encountered came across as believable and somehow very much alive, in large thanks to some excellent artistic work. The combat system itself is very nice arcade-inspired, and has taken one or two elements from titles like {God of War} and {Batman: Arkham Asylum}.

Monkey is equipped with a folding stick that doubles as a shield, a weapon that is upgraded continuously throughout the game. Despite a bit of jumping and dancing around by the camera in this early version, the battle system already seems polished. A scene in which Monkey jumps up on the head of a robot tearing off its gun and shooting the remaining enemies with it, appeared especially inspired. Trip does not take part in the big fights herself, but instead she creates distractions for the enemies and heals Monkey, if need be.

It is with great interest that I will continue to monitor this title until its release, as it is already showcasing stunning production values. But competition is fierce in this genre, and Ninja Theory has a lot to prove the second time around.