Enslaved: Deja Vu all over again.

I hit the chapter five mark this weekend. Did it in two sittings; one for chapters three and four, another for chapter five. In retrospect, i'm having a hard time figuring out whether i was a dunce for not taking notes as i was going along or if the game is so monotonous that there's exceptionally little to distinguish one level from another. i have a sneaking suspicion that the latter is the culprit.

The gameplay highlight of the most recent chapters has to be the hoverboard which had an interesting introduction when i used it to glide on the water and then also as a means of defeating a boss some time later. i find myself trying to deploy that little bastard regularly.

"yes, it's fine but can we make it more extreme? like giving Monkey a skateboard and having him say Cowabunga?"

Conversely, the most disappointing part of the game has got to be the watered down feeling that i'm getting on most aspects of the gameplay. Like Wallaby pointed out early on, the parkour is very controlled, there's no real risk or reward or choice either. Occasionally you'll encounter a secret path that brings you to a hidden flashback or a nook full of orbs but that's it. Similarly, the puzzles that are set up for you to figure out are incredibly tame, like a Zelda game made for Pre-K kids whose parents want to get them ready for Ocarina of Time when they finally reach elementary school. I can't give the boss battles a pass here either. You'll fight through a half hour of mediocre mech battles, get excited at the prospect of a boss and then it's five minutes of patient button mashing and you're through. There's no real danger (Trip's ability to store health nullifies any necessity to even be patient because you can just power up with her), there's no real challenge and, before you know it, you're back to killing mechs.

The saving grace of the whole game is the story and the way it's told in cut scenes with terrific graphics. The quest to traverse the city-reclaimed-by-nature is one that i feel oddly compelled to complete. I want Trip to be safe. I want that goddamn tiara off my head (yes, i just identified with Monkey in a first-person sense, big whup, wanna fight about it?) and, most of all, i want to know why a live action Andy Serkis keeps showing up in the flashbacks. Up to now, they haven't been tied to anything legitimate but they have to be there for a reason. Right? Right?!?!

So there it is. Five chapters down, five middling boss battles, tons of dead mechs and never a single pause to scratch my head and figure out how to advance through a level, just blunt force, straight ahead. But the story is there and is keeping me interested so that's something. I just hope it's enough to make 15 chapters not feel like a complete waste of time. Fingers crossed.

-joker