I've got my eye on you

Only because i used Metal Gear Solid as a benchmark of eye graphics, thought this was a cool demonstration of graphic evolution. Figures, the best example of how far eyes have developed in video games is a guy with a patch.

-joker

Enslaved: Still journeying after all these years.

syn·chro·nic·i·ty

ˌsiNGkrəˈnisitē/

noun

1. 1.

   the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.

   "such synchronicity is quite staggering"

Occasionally, i'll get invited to events that don't really pertain to my beats. This just arrived. 

From Stephen Chow, Director of KUNG-FU HUSTLE

In Theaters, On Demand and On iTunes MARCH 7th

This is a world plagued by demons, who cause its human inhabitants unspeakable suffering. Young demon hunter Xuan Zang, fearlessly guided by his belief in “giving himself for the greater cause”, risks his all and conquers a water demon, a pig demon and the demon of all demons, Sun Wukong. He embraces them as his disciples, and melts them with love. Meanwhile, Xuan Zang discovers the true meaning of Greater Love himself. In order to atone for their own sins and save the common people, the four of them embark on a journey to the West that’s full of challenges…

Oddly enough, i wanted to read the original 16th century novel's translation after we finished Enslaved. I had also just been wondering last week what Stephen Chow has been up to since his IMDB page hasn't been updated in a while (and i was poking around for info on that sequel to Kung Fu Hustle that was rumored so long ago). Seems like a good fit for him and certainly has my interested piqued. Definitely gonna give this one a watch when it's available. 

-joker

Enslaved: Get this man a tshirt!

Monkey's lack of clothes has put me off from the beginning. He escapes the cell in which he's held captive and "gets his gear" and that gear has a holster and a bow and a hoverboard but not a shirt. Monkey and Trip are in NYC. So am i. You know what the temperature has been all week? 9 degrees. Put on a fucking shirt.

Wallaby, to some of your points:

The ship that crashed in the beginning was a prison transport, hence Monkey's cell. I actually thought that was a clever device by the writers to let us know that Monkey was a dangerous man. He's not just a beastly dude, he's a criminal.

Concept art for Monkey's cell in the prison ship

They're not amazed by fish. Trip is amazed by the contained and surviving ecosystem of the fish tank. Again, these finer points are subtle indicators of foreshadowing or devices that hint at details which round out the characters and plot. So many video games bash you over the head with their heavy-handedness, Enslaved approaches it differently and it works. Or, at least it does for me. I believe the shattered ecosystem is as thematic to the game overall as it is literal to that fish tank. But we shall see.

We were supposed to reach the end of Chapter 5 by January 17th so i'll say this; Monkey and Trip reach Trip's settlement by the end of Chapter 5 and find it ominously abandoned. That means the quest they initially set out on only took a third of the game. Obviously there's much further to go.

Going back to the subtlety, the Serkis flashbacks seem to be a huge part of the game but they're only ever shared between Monkey and you, the gamer. Monkey never makes mention of them to Trip. Instead, like Monkey, you're just supposed to sorta file them away. They're obviously important but they don't seem to relate to the task at hand. Regarding creative choices, i think we'd all agree they're waiting too long to begin the explanation why the flashbacks are important. Hopefully that happens sooner than later.

In my searching for images to use in this blog, i came across several pictures that don't just include Monkey and Trip. They also don't include Serkis' character at all. The only logical conclusion to draw from this is that we have yet to meet several other characters of the game. Other characters means dialogue and dialogue means explanations. Sure, this a less than ideal way to discover what's soon to come but the fact remains that it's coming soon.

Other things:

Toddlers and Tiaras would be a lot more interesting with this kind of tiara 

I didn't notice Monkey's red eyeband getting darker. When he has flashes, his whole head seems to glow red but i attributed that to the tiara that Trip is using to control him. Why he has that red band around his eyes makes as little sense to me as the fact that he's shirtless. I'm just gonna chalk that up to the producer's stylistic vision. It seems like a relatively inert creative choice.

the graphics of this game continue to impress me, especially the cut scenes. Wallaby's honing in on the eyes is something i noticed too and, damn, it's hard to believe a middle-of-the-road game in 2010 did it so well while a game like Bioshock Infinite that was so high profile and even pushed back for polish still falls short on this front. I'm trying to think back and i'd have to say the only other game that handles that specific graphic as well as Enslaved was Metal Gear Solid 4. And that's saying something because Kojima's cut scenes are epic.

Look at those eyes! 

Graphically, the NYC they present is also pretty impressive but the lack of freedom to explore it makes it feel like more of a shortcoming than it should.

Still, i'm continuing to chug along. The game is easy and quick and the mystery has me enraptured. I'll make it to the end of this or i'll die (of boredom) trying!
.
Edit: A Day Later. Wrote this, saved the draft to publish later and then played more before i published. I'm approaching the end of Chapter 7 and holy shit the difficulty has turned a corner. The current sequence has me separated from Trip. I have 150K points and can't spend them. I have four health containers and can't use them. I am running solo and there are turret mechs with laser scanners and i don't have Trip to distract them. This shit just got real.

The sequence shocked me into taking the combat seriously. I'm talking about four drones at once, with shields, with guns and with beacons that immediately start calling for backup. It's a barrage that i haven't seen previously and button mashing through it got me spanked.

Moved on to a new strategy, very deliberate, more like Arkham and started tearing shit up. Monkey fights like a boss when you're forced to use all of his abilities. Lots of rolling and stunning, lots of blocking and countering and the occasional need to back out and use the bazooka thing. I considered complaining about the homogeneity of the mechs but i realized i've encountered six or seven different kinds in this level alone. Not bad.

a leap forward so big, it's great.

The game seems to have taken a big leap forward in the past two chapters (upon arriving at the abandoned outpost especially). About time. i'm reinvigorated. Bring on the second half.

-joker

Enslaved: Some questions

We all keep mentioning the story, so, what do we actually know about the story? 

I tried to explain to a friend that I haven't really enjoyed playing this but that it has a good story. He asked what the story was about, and I struggled to come up with a decent response.

"Er, it's based on the Chinese journey to the west tale, but done in this sci-fi post apocalyptic New York."

My friend then said he didn't know anything about Journey to the West, and asked me more in detail what the story in the game is like.

"It's got mechs and slavers, this girl Tripp gets separated from her village and captured by Slavers. This big dude called Monkey is also, for some reason, on this slaver ship (he doesn't appear to be a slave) and this ship crashes. Tripp puts a weird headband thing on Monkey so she can control him and make him take her back to her village."

My friend asks at what point this all happens in the game. I tell him right at the beginning. He asks what's happened since then. I tell him nothing, just a bunch of journeying. Because seriously, NOTHING happens after that! I guess you get to see Monkey and Tripp bond, but I couldn't come up with any plot points. The characters act as if they're on Earth for the first time ever, they are amazed by fish. Some mechs appear to be modelled after dogs with goofy smiles.

A mech dog

So why do we like the story? I explained that the story is paced well, with just enough intrigue and mystery thrown in to make you want to know what's going on with things like flashbacks.

But is there any goal in mind? Like, do you guys think this game will end when we get to Tripp's village? I don't think any of us think that. I don't even know if that's where we're going.

WTF is that red shit on Monkey's face where his eyes are and why does it intensify and fade out so often?

Seriously, this game does eyes really well (and I know the above image is concept art so look at the one below)

I don't have a comment, except I think this may have happened in Dragon Ball Z as well when they had Goku go through a Monkey King arc.  Also, how did he get his staff? How does his hair seem so straight? Why would anybody climb walls bare chested?

Enslaved: Perseverance

and she's a girl. 

Don't quit, man. There are gonna be games that suck but, just like a book club, we should all power through for the sake of the discussion. Sure, gameplay might not be great overall but we're only a third of the way through the game. What happens when a fantastic sequence in chapter 11 gives it a ton of redeeming value? If there was a cheat code to skip levels, i'd say the youtube route would be a substitute but i don't think that's an option here.

Here's a motivational playlist to help you power through

Obviously do what you wanna do, i'm just thinking ahead to the inevitable moment when i'm going to want to bail out on a game (like if we ever play The Last of Us for this) and i know it'll be too easy to justify it if this is our precedent. We should either unanimously scrap the playthrough or we should all persevere. One for all and yada yada yada.

i did not make this image, therefore i am not alone. 

I'm actually heading into Chapter Six once i post this but i wanted to weigh in. It's about an eight hour campaign, just do it.

-joker

Enslaved: I can't

Sorry dudes, I can't bring myself to play this one anymore. I got to the end of Chapter 4 this weekend and realised I was dragging myself through this on-rails game for its story. I was gonna just trudge along, but having seen your posts, I see no reason to be motivated.

Also, I only just figured out how the jump break thing works - we should use this more!

Edit: I just watched Chapter 5, and it was an interesting experience. Several parts of it made me wish I was actually playing it (like when Monkey shows Tripp his cloud), and certain parts just looked quite beautiful. Then it got to that car/vehicle segment, and the boss afterwards, and I instantly felt better about not playing the chapter. I might continue watching rather than playing, and for personal reference, Chapter 5 starts at 1:05. Anyway I'm interested in hearing what you guys think of this approach. Is it a cop out or can you guys appreciate it, given the particular game and a lack of time generally.

Re: Enslaved: Deja Vu all over again.

I just finished Chapter 5 last night, and I have to agree 10503285% (that's possible right?) 

The only thing keeping me playing is the story, which is building enough mystery for me to be intrigued. The rest of the crap that I have to do to get to that point is exactly that: crap. 

The hoverboard was really cool seeing it at first, but then you see all the glitchiness and lack of proper implementation that goes with it. The boss bottle right after that (with the dog) was one of the most boring and least creative boss battle's I have ever seen. 

As my girlfriend said when she watched me play (albeit very briefly), "Are you just going to keep fighting mechs." 

I just nodded my head in silent agreement. 

On Tue, Jan 21, 2014 at 4:31 PM, J <icandigthat@gmail.com> wrote:

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

--
Posted By J to We Blew in Cartridges at 1/21/2014 04:31:00 PM

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

Off-Topic: Shell Casing and a Video Game Tourney

Seen on reddit:

i simply can't think of a game's case of late that's nearly as badass as this. Halo 4 comes closest but still nowhere near as cool. And am i the only one who'd like to see more crossover games like this? i think it's based on a comic book (not one that i ever read) but i don't need source material as a reason for making a game crossover this epic. The Capcom/Marvel mashups are the closest we get anymore and i feel like they're really tired. 

I vaguely remember playing Robocop vs Terminator. Partly because it was a forgettable experience of a game that was created almost solely to cash in on the uber-popularity of both franchises but mainly because i only had it for a week since it was 100% a rental from Blockbuster.

Thinking back, my parents would only buy me games for good report cards, birthdays or Christmas but my parents also maintained a steady Saturday night "date night" throughout my childhood where they'd go out to dinner or a movie most saturdays and get a babysitter for my sister and me and they'd let me rent a game for the weekend. That babysitter must have had the easiest job ever. My sister and i were really well behaved and i could zone into a game for hours. Hell, i still can. While it makes me sad that i never owned wonderfully obscure games like Clayfighter or Road Runner's Death Valley Rally, i got to play so many games like that thanks to Blockbuster, i'm genuinely sad to see it fade into just a memory.

remember this shit?

editor note: i'm emulating this as soon as i get home

Continuing on my Blockbuster tangent, i remember our local BB participated in a national video game tournament one summer, i think right before fifth grade (internet says it was 1994). My friends and i really dug the idea, got jazzed about it like only little kids could. It was a three week tourney and each week you'd play a snippet of a different game. Two quarters of NBA Jam for week one, first level of Sonic 3 week two and one race in Virtua Racing (the one with a bridge if memory serves) in week three.

I was only ok at NBA Jam. Charlotte Hornets for Alonso Mourning and LJ were my team and i'd drain threes from the bottom corner like clockwork but only wound up posting a middling score in the first round of the tourney, fifth or sixth place on the scoreboard.

Look at LJ! Best 16-bit likeness ever. 

Sonic was next and i knew that level inside out, including the special stage hidden in it. I rocked a HUGE score, felt like fucking Jimmy Woods in The Wizard when he finds the warp in Super Mario Bros 3. Apparently i was the only one who used that special stage trick (they asked my mom if i cheated after my session) and that jumped me up to second place on the scoreboard after week 2.

Cheating! Ha! It's called having SKILLS. 

I knew i was close and really wanted to win. I also LOVED racing games (still do, have i told you about Forza 5?) and really thought i could take it down. I practiced my little balls off. I drove laps on that track like i was competing for the Winston Cup. Tweaked my strategy, cut seconds off my time, even realized that the timer on the HUD of the game was a distraction that was hurting my score so i brought a little piece of tape to Blockbuster to cover that part of the screen when it was my turn. Sure enough, i got to the store that Saturday and rocked Virtua Racing. I had the top score in two out of the three weeks, that had to guarantee me a victory.

You knew the graphics were good because it was an oversized cartridge

Alas, it was not meant to be. Final results put me in second place overall. Billy M, some fucking 16 year old kid who's only high score came from NBA Jam in the first week, took the spot that belonged to me at Great Adventure (where the semi finals took place). My little 11 year old self was outraged.

Fuck you Billy M and fuck you Blockbuster. I retired my polygonal racing stripes and never played Virtua Racing again after that.

-joker

Enslaved Thoughts so Far

I like Enslaved. It's a fun game to control and it's very easy. Disclaimer: I paid about $10 for it new. If I paid $60, I would want something that is MUCH more polished. Based on certain criteria though, such as graphics, voice acting, motion capture, it IS very polished! But areas such as combat, and (as Wallaby aptly pointed out) platforming are seriously suspect. I mean, there are NO repurcussions for messing up a jump.Such a conundrum!

So this was the first boss you fight. It tells you exactly how to beat him within 2 seconds of facing him (CC: Wallaby)

A couple points: 

• Monkey sounds like he is from the Bronx or Jersey. Also, does he HAVE to be shirtless the whole time? 
• Each scene seems to be - enter area, kill mechs, move around to weirdly located door. 
• The girl is kinda cute, but if you're stuck on a journey, I demand more information and banter between the two. Give me more information about WHY I'm doing this other than "If you don't do this, this headband will kill you."
• The "glitches" flashback to possibly the nerdiest, fuddy duddiest (sp?) guy I've ever seen. It's like that anonymous IT guy became Monkey. 
• It always bugs me when movies / video games show a destroyed Grand Central, as I live a 5-minute walk away from it, which means my apartment will probably be gone. 

Nitpicking aside, I really like playing this game. I like the characters and it does make me want to find out what is the deal. I want to see more variety from a decayed New York. There is nothing to distinguish the game's version of NYC yet (though I just got to Chapter 5, and it looks more like it). Also, I am really sick of fighting mechs. 

I was pressured into this post, so it feels rushed. 

Natalya

Joker's post reminded me of this video and why we all hated Natalya.

Enslaved: They Call Me Monkey

After my first post about the pedigree of the game and why i was surprised about its less than excellent reception, having put in the first two chapters, i think it's becoming clear why Enslaved wasn't even in the discussion for GOTY, let alone having a proper follow through with the planned DLC; Enslaved is a game of high highs and low lows without much in between.

First, the setting. The overrun greenhouse of the game's NYC setting is a breath of fresh air compared to the typical "post apocalyptic" setting. Even Crysis 2, which did handle NYC in a similar manner, didn't do it to this extent. However, where Crysis 2 let nature overrun Manhattan and still kept some of the city's signature sights (the fight in Grand Central remains in my memory), Enslaved seems to have forsaken the city's identifying features during gameplay (you get plenty of NYC eyefulls during cut-scenes, it seems). I don't know if that will remain the case (like Wallaby, i'm also just beginning the third chapter) but, as much as i like the uber-green setting, eschewing a proper Manhattan backdrop will just seem like a major missed opportunity.

Enslaved

Crysis 2

(Saturation makes a big difference)

The setting and the style of a game tend to go hand in hand and Enslaved is certainly no different on that front. The reclamation of nature is front and center because the game's style of heavily saturated colors inevitably draws your eye to the natural elements among the concrete. Case in point; every time you see Cherry Blossoms in their bright, vibrant red, it's like mother nature slapping you in the back of the head.

Enslaved (those may not actually be cherry blossoms after all but the sentiment remains)

Backdrop from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Backdrop from 2002's Hero (ok, so maybe they're Maple trees? I'm a gamer,  not a fucking botanist, sue me)

I honed in on the cherry blossoms because they aren't just a reminder of the setting but also a reminder that the story is lifted off of ancient chinese culture. For me, the cherry blossoms are a very pleasant, very clever device and i think it has worked really well so far. This is a good story, one that's being fleshed out with relatively high-quality cut scenes, terrific voice acting and it's genuinely enjoyable as a result. The plot is simple but engaging, the dialogue isn't bloated but the metaphors that lend it deeper meaning are undoubtedly present (the fish tank was a great one, i think). Most importantly, it doesn't feel forced (heavy handed, maybe, but not forced) and the dynamic between Tripp and Monkey is one that doesn't frustrate or annoy me and that's a coup when you realize (and preemptively, wrongfully groan) that the game is, essentially, one big escort mission.

Surprisingly, of all my criticisms of the gameplay yet to come, escorting Tripp is not one of them. On a scale of damsels in distress ranging from the completely helpless and hugely frustrating Natalya from Goldeneye to the coin-tossing, ammo-under-her-skirt Elizabeth of Bioshock Infinite, Tripp seems much closer to the latter than the former. She may not be giving you ammo but her distractions are immensely useful (or utterly necessary, i suppose), her dialogue has a positive effect on the story and she's not wandering off, getting herself killed or spending your lives.

Remember this bitch? She's locked up because the moment she'd start following you she'd spontaneously fucking combust

Wallaby said he felt the connection between Enslaved and Uncharted in their gameplay. For me, it was much more of an Assassin's Creed feel but i see where Wallaby's analogy works too. One thing is for sure, Enslaved's "parkour" elements are sub-par compared to both of those games. That said, i don't mind the lack of control that comes with Enslaved's approach (ie, why press a button if you're gonna clear the gap automatically?) because what i have found is that it's not whether or not you'll make it but how well-timed your button presses are that really matter, especially when traversing a wall of 3+ hang points. It's still dumbed down beyond what i would like but it's not wholly as bad as it could be. 

What does irk me is the combat and the camera. For some reason, the camera is a really low-slung, over-the-shoulder deal instead of defaulting to a view directly behind Monkey. My kneejerk reaction is to constantly be thumbing the camera to center it up. The end result of that is my thumbs fighting against each other, right to center the camera, left to move Monkey in relation to it. It's an unnecessary frustration. Using LB to center on Tripp, on the other hand, is actually quite well done but the use of that is few and far between comparatively.

Combat isn't bad as much as it's boring. Blocking, evading and countering are all fine but feels entirely too simplistic and doesn't seem to promise any extra complexity down the line, at least from what i've seen in the upgrades of the skill trees...which also seem too simple.

So far, the game is mostly enjoyable but with some major disappointments that seem inexplicable and amateurish compared to the excellence of the other components of the game.

-joker

PS - killed the boss in the second chapter in one shot but only because i got lucky by having him accidentally run into the statue and trigger the reaction that clued me in. Could definitely see that being a frustration if you didn't realize there was an environmental element involved.

Enslaved: the little things I love and hate so far

I just got to the end of Chapter 2 of Enslaved, and there's already a lot I can say about this game. It's definitely enjoyable, despite the moments where it feels like an uncharted game (climbing, using signs as cover from gunfire). 

Here's what I love and hate so far:

Love:

- Monkey's facial expressions. I know we've come to expect this from Ninja Theory, but they're really awesome.

- Tripp's voice acting and general demeanour - she feels more lifelike than even Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite

- Sci Fi setting, story involving mechs, slavers and a green NYC; generally wanting to find out more

- A game about two characters bonding after the apocalypse

(Hrmm... almost all of these relate to the story and not to the gameplay, and yet I'm struggling to add more)

Hate (and I use that term loosely):

- Monkey's weird amorphous accent. He's generally gruff which is fine but sometimes he sounds like an old mobster and sometimes he doesn't.  It's not very consistent.

- Combat is...repetitive (so far), and usually Ninja Theory games have decent combat, so I'll wait for this to improve.

- Fake platforming. If you're gonna make me press A to jump at the edge of a ledge, and not really allow me to fuck it up, then don't make me press A at all, just auto-jump it. Jumping always takes you exactly as far as you need to go, you can't over or under jump, so there's no tension in doing it. Sometimes I'd just mash the direction stick and A until Monkey would go where I'd want him to. I appreciate the game would've been too hard if you could fall off ledges, but the platforming kind feels a bit meh sometimes. It is a nice opportunity to check out the scenery though.

- That first boss. How many times did you guys fight him before realising you were supposed to get him to charge the statue? Maybe 10-12 deaths here. Did I miss some prompt immediately before the battle or was I supposed to just figure it out?! I did laugh when those fish died after Tripp literally just said they'd been alive for hundreds of years

Ok so maybe I shouldn't have written this up so soon after that first boss.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West - At the outset

Let me preface by saying that Enslaved was a game that should have been much bigger than it was. There's an unusual pedigree here for a game that wound up in the bargain bin ($5.99 used at Gamestop and cheaper if you go online or to a local store that doesn't suck like Gamestop). Enslaved is a reimagining of a 16th century Chinese story called, you guessed it, Odyssey to the West. According to Wikipedia it is one of the four "Great Classic Novels of Chinese Literature."

Furthering that pedigree is the fact that the game's story was written by Alex Garland who wrote the novel The Beach (later turned into the DiCaprio movie) and penned the script for 28 Days Later. Basically, this was a story that Namco Bandai tackled with an established writer and not some no-name group of tinkerers.

Finally, and i remember this being one of the most intriguing aspects of Enslaved when i first learned about it in 2010, Andy Serkis (Gollum from LoTR) voices and lent vidcap to Monkey, the main character. Serkis is a talented guy and Monkey's movements during gameplay definitely feel like there's a Serkis signature on them.

Despite all of this, the game simply never got spotlighted like i expected and plans for DLC fizzled. It does lack multiplayer and replayability so that may explain the bin price.

Also, i believe there was a rather large lot of DLC planned for it, only one of which ever saw the light of day. Whether we choose to include that in our play through might be worth discussing further down the line.

i'm anticipating finding art for these posts might be significantly harder than it was for our playthrough of Bioshock. Tough to have fan art when you don't have that many fans. Oh wait, here's some.

So, yeah, there's that. 

Chapter 5 by the 17th sounds good. Let's do this. Game on, fellas. 

-joker

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Ok... so moving from Bioshock, we've determined that Enslaved: Odyssey to the West will be the next game on the list. Now this game came out in 2010, so it's about 3+ years old. It was a critical hit, but not sure how popular it was with the average gaming fan. I got this game cheap about two years ago, played about 30 minutes, and never picked it up again.

Seems a perfect game for us to discuss, as it based on my favorite genre, post-apocalypse. It's apparently a re-telling of some older story that I have no idea about. So there are 14 Chapters, let's plan to have Chapters 1-5 finished by next week, so 1/17/2014. Sound good everyone? If we can somehow finish this early (I played some this week in one sitting and was able to get to Chapter 3), I say we bust through it.

BioShock: Just some cool DIY Plasmid Jars

Saw this while killing time at the end of the work day. No idea if i could swing building one myself but it'd be killer to have in a game room in your house.

BioShock: Would you kindly put this to rest?

I had anticipated giving more time and effort to the wrap up but it sorta feels like Irrational didn't, at least not with the gameplay, so why should i? More than that, i think we discussed some of the most interesting aspects of the game on our journey to the end, specifically the nuts and bolts of the gameplay, our own particular gaming styles and approaches to the levels. The wrap up of the gameplay seems like an anticlimax. I dunno if that's just BioShock as a game or the nature of this type of blogging, where so much of the game gets discussed along the way.

Here's the thing, i really enjoyed everything about this game up until the end when the gameplay became tedious, when putting the game down meant struggling through some of the hardest parts and being fully aware of the arsenal i would like to use but not being able to use them because ammo was so fucking scarce. It just seemed like a cheap gimmick that downgraded an otherwise great experience.

Overall, i'm a HUGE fan of the style, setting (location and era) and the story but, after all was said and done, the gameplay fell short for me. i'm guessing it's because the game is now a decade old but there it is.

Oddly, playing BioShock has created a sense of really wanting a studio to create a game that's more philosophically slanted. In fact, if someone adopted Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged in a way that was more like Beyond: Two Souls (but with better action gameplay in the scenes that called for it) i feel like it would be quite satisfying. Won't ever happen but a gamer can dream. Or maybe i'm just a such a big fan of the art deco style of Rapture that i'd like more time in a similar place, maybe without all the blood smears and Splicers.

Anyway, best put this one to bed now. I'm feeling like an Odyssey to the West could be good for me since i have my head above water again.

-joker