Enslaved

[menage]

Freaking WOW!

I just tried the demo and I'm hugely impressed. Not by the somewhat sluggish controls which grow on you and actually aren't that bad, especially during climbing and combat, which is most important. Also not by the first awkward first 5 minutes which seem to spell a little doom and been there done that.

But by the incredible beauty of it. The game looks amazing, and easely belongs alongside ME2 and UC2. The setpieces they throw at you are nothing less than stunning, and it flows like an action movie. The first 10 minutes I thought it would be a solid bargain bin but after that it's a day one purchase.

The characters fall inside this whole feeling I got with the demo. Annoyed at first but all of sudden I liked them, and loved them in the end. Bring on 5 October.

Suddenly I have faith in DmC even.

[Gorvi]

That's good to hear, I'll have to try that tonight.

[KidCactus]

This will have to wait, downloading Move demos tonight. But I'm glad to hear it's good, I've been looking forward to play this! It's being released early October, right? Hm, maybe I'll just wait for the full game instead...

[Gorvi]

Wow. Now that was impressive. Fantastic looking game, the combat felt solid, and the platforming felt like Uncharted. Yeah, this is going to be damn hard to resist in a few weeks, the only deal breaker possibly being a length similar to their last game.

[johnperkins21]

The demo was too short. However, I definitely enjoyed what was there. Some of the platforming seems too easy, but this was the tutorial level, so I'll give them a pass. And I also got the Uncharted-ness feel of the game, which is definitely not a bad thing. If you're going to emulate a game, picking one of my favorites over the past few years is a good way to get me to purchase your product.

I won't be buying it right when it comes out simply because I'm only buying Rock Band 3 before next year, but it's sitting right there near the top of my Amazon wishlist for Christmas.

[ElektroDragon]

I was trying desperately to find this demo, and then I realized it is for Europe only. So I take it you all (well, those of you not in Europe) made European accounts like I made a Japan account a few months ago to download the free Afrika dynamic theme?

Is there anything else good on the EU store not available on the US store??? If not, I might just wait until the US release.

[menage]

Not much more, although we do get some demo's earlier it seems.

EDIT: Just preordered from the UK, saves me 15 bucks although I have to wait a week and Castlevania is already on the plate that week so I can wait another.

[Gorvi]

Originally Posted by ElektroDragon

I was trying desperately to find this demo, and then I realized it is for Europe only. So I take it you all (well, those of you not in Europe) made European accounts like I made a Japan account a few months ago to download the free Afrika dynamic theme?

Is there anything else good on the EU store not available on the US store??? If not, I might just wait until the US release.

Like menage said, there are some early demos sometimes, which is nice. I really need to create a Hong Kong account again, they get a lot of what's released on the JP store, but much of it is actually in English.

[menage]

Originally Posted by Gorvi

Wow. Now that was impressive. Fantastic looking game, the combat felt solid, and the platforming felt like Uncharted. Yeah, this is going to be damn hard to resist in a few weeks, the only deal breaker possibly being a length similar to their last game.

I read somewhere thatb the length of the game was actually a main point of focus this time. Thewy clearly didn't want another 5 hour game.

[ElektroDragon]

Originally Posted by Gorvi

Like menage said, there are some early demos sometimes, which is nice. I really need to create a Hong Kong account again, they get a lot of what's released on the JP store, but much of it is actually in English.

Fantastic tip! I will now never be able to get that Japanese demo (least I think it was a demo?!) off my Trophy list. I don't know how it got on there. I suppose I must have launched the Japanese game with my main account after signing out of my Japanese account.

Do you know if there any PSN game exclusives though? You know, things that Sony thought wouldn't appeal to US audiences (but always seem to appeal to me, probably as I was born in Europe). I guess I should just look for myself.

[Gorvi]

Originally Posted by ElektroDragon

Fantastic tip! I will now never be able to get that Japanese demo (least I think it was a demo?!) off my Trophy list. I don't know how it got on there. I suppose I must have launched the Japanese game with my main account after signing out of my Japanese account.

Do you know if there any PSN game exclusives though? You know, things that Sony thought wouldn't appeal to US audiences (but always seem to appeal to me, probably as I was born in Europe). I guess I should just look for myself.

On the Japanese PSN? I can't think of any actual PSN games off the top of my head, but there's plenty of PS1 and PC Engine games on there that we'll probably never see. You can buy them and play them easily enough, you just need to buy a Japanese points card off of Play Asia (or any other site that sells them). Play Asia is easiest, though, since they'll just email you the code you input in the PSN store instead of mailing you the physical card.

[ElektroDragon]

Originally Posted by Gorvi

On the Japanese PSN?

Sorry, I meant on the Euro PSN... like maybe some additional soccer games, or umm.... that horse and hammer game, or maybe some special version of Lemmings, etc.

EDIT: Polo. Duh.

[Gorvi]

Originally Posted by ElektroDragon

Sorry, I meant on the Euro PSN... like maybe some additional soccer games, or umm.... that horse and hammer game, or maybe some special version of Lemmings, etc.

EDIT: Polo. Duh.

There's a game called Dark Mist that never made it's way here, but I don't remember if it was actually worth bothering with or not.

[KidCactus]

Originally Posted by Gorvi

There's a game called Dark Mist that never made it's way here, but I don't remember if it was actually worth bothering with or not.

It's not.

More characters.

[ElektroDragon]

So I've tried the Enslaved demo on both 360 and PS3 now. Looks like a great game, and visually there is little difference between the two. BUT, I noticed something in an area almost no one compares. SOUND. The PS3 sounds much fuller and richer, with much more bass. You can hear the roar of the ship on the PS3 as it is falling through the sky, and you can you can hear the oomph of the robot machine guns. Not so much on the 360. The difference is striking. Both are connected to my receiver via HDMI Audio with the same settings, so I'm at a loss to explain this, besides a bad sound mix on the 360. Can anyone also do a comparison to see if they notice this? It is such a difference, this may be the first multiplatform I actually buy on the PS3.

[ElektroDragon]

I think I figured out my audio issue. The PS3 is outputting the game in Linear PCM to my Sony receiver. The 360 is outputting in Dolby Digital 5.1 to my receiver. There's no option on the 360 to switch to Linear PCM audio. So my PS3 is decoding the audio for the PS3 version, but my receiver is decoding it for the 360 version. Still not really sure what it means, except that the PS3 version will likely sound better for everyone with this kind of setup. I think it means the PS3 is treating me to uncompressed HD audio vs a compressed 5.1 for the 360, but I'm no audio expert.

[menage]

I preordered it for the PS3 already. Mainly because I played the demo on that system and it was a satisfactory quality. And I beleive it was the lead system. I didn't even know there was a 360 demo, I don't think we got that over here yet.

[Joshkdmw]

I had the same reaction to the demo. Instant buy.

The camera angles are done so well, you actually have trouble telling where the cinematic ends and game begins - seamless transition. It keeps the action tight and focussed.

Loving the main character, too. He actually says words out loud that a normal person would say.

For instance:

The scene: running on the outside of a flying vehicle which is currently crashing into New York City, trying to get to an escape pod.

COMPUTER VOICE: "One escape pod remaining."

MAIN CHARACTER: "One pod... SHIT!"

Instead of some bullshit "Guess I better hurry if I want to stay safe" business that treats a gamer like a retard.

Everyone, try the demo. You will not be disappointed.

[Lekon]

Tried it based on Josh's recommendation. Not disappointed at all. character is much niftier than I hoped, the animation and graphics are amazing, the combat's fun, and damn if he's not as acrobatic as the monkey king he's based off of.

Now, right before this, I played "Quantum Theory" My god, I've never seen a more derivative rip off of a game (Gears of War) before. Playing that crap first... I think it made me enjoy Enslaved much more.

[Grifter]

Originally Posted by Lekon

Tried it based on Josh's recommendation. Not disappointed at all. character is much niftier than I hoped, the animation and graphics are amazing, the combat's fun, and damn if he's not as acrobatic as the monkey king he's based off of.

Now, right before this, I played "Quantum Theory" My god, I've never seen a more derivative rip off of a game (Gears of War) before. Playing that crap first... I think it made me enjoy Enslaved much more.

Quantum Theory was complete shit... how do you manage to copy something so fun so completely and still manage to completely fuck it up?

Anyway, loved Enslaved and thought they did well by following in Uncharted's footsteps in regards to the platforming. I don't think the animations are quite as smooth or detailed (especially the facial) but it's better than most and the combat is great. This went from a mild curiosity to a day one purchase.