Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is the long-awaited next game from Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory. Heavenly Sword was a well-received cinematic action game released exclusively for the PS3 in 2007. Enslaved will be multiplatform for Xbox 360 & PS3.
Enslaved features some beautiful post-apocalyptic graphics as can be seen in some new screenshots that were released for the upcoming game. Which will be published by Namco Bandai but doesn’t yet have a release date (though it’s expected this Fall).
In the game players control Monkey who is helped by a woman named Trip, as they try to survive a world that has been decimated by a robotic war of the past. In present day, the machines are still hunting the humans even though the war has ended. Using Monkey, you’ll be able to explore the game’s environments using his retractible metal staff, acrobatic skills, a small robotic dragonfly camera and an electronic glove that creates a shield to protect you or Trip. Trip will help you by using a handheld EMP device that temporarily stuns enemies.
The game will play similarly to an upgraded Heavenly Sword, but with more focus on tactics using the abilities of Monkey and Trip. For example you can use the dragonfly to scout ahead and learn the location of enemies on patrol. You can even use the enemies own weapons against them, such as by ripping of the guns of robots. You can even avoid combat altogether if you are skilled enough. Or you could use Trip as a distraction.
It looks like the creators are really focusing on diversifying the gameplay by letting players tackle it in whatever style they are most comfortable with.
Significantly upping the game’s pedigree is the fact that Enslaved willl be co-directed by Andy Serkis (The mastermind behind Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films) who will be in charge of the motion capture for the main character and “famed novelist and screenwriter” Alex Garland (28 Days Later and The Beach) is taking care of the script. Tjhe musical score meanwhile is being provided by composer and musician Nitin Sawhney.
Here is an interview with the developers for more information on this promising game.