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Enslaved: Odyssey to the West - It's Uncharted but with a stick - DLC out now!

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Posts

  • ElitistbElitistb Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    And here's my point. They've gotten so far off from source material it's fucking insulting and disingenuous to say Enslaved's storyline is "based off Journey to the West"

    You got in a similar tizzy about "I, Robot" the movie, didn't you?

    Elitistb on
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  • UnbreakableVowUnbreakableVow Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    bsjezz wrote: »
    this discussion can only lead to clueless and i won't hear a bad word spoken on that matter

    If someone talks shit about Clueless I will hunt them down

    UnbreakableVow on
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    dude they made Xuánzàng into a girl

    and they made some weird love story between the two

    and it's set in cyberpunk dystopian future

    and unless monkey and trip find Enlightment and attain Buddhahood I doubt it'll follow the story at all UV

    Rent on
  • UnbreakableVowUnbreakableVow Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    and unless monkey and trip find Enlightment and attain Buddhahood I doubt it'll follow the story at all UV

    This sounds boring

    I think I will just play the video game

    UnbreakableVow on
  • bsjezzbsjezz Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    listen, rent. barring the creative appropriation of classic narratives for the use of videogames is not a good stance to take. it's ignorant of how storytelling changes over generations and it's direspectful to games as an artistic medium in general.

    edit: yes, there are going to be deviations for practical reasons. this isn't new. it happened when people started adapting real life to biography and novels, it happened when people started adapting books to films. it'll happen with videogames, too. it's no reason to judge a game poorly. if the narrative works in itself - which reviews seem to indicate - there is no reason to get huffy about it. stories change

    bsjezz on
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  • l337CrappyJackl337CrappyJack Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The book still exists, Rent. Go read the book. I enjoy the book. I read the book.

    I'm also interested to see what they come up with in this game, what the parallels will be, where the stories are similar, how they tie together.

    The game does not invalidate the book anymore than them making Dogma invalidates the entire Christian faith. It's a derivative work. Breathe.

    EDIT: No, bsjezz, one of the main characters is a GIRL now.

    A GIRL.

    I bet Monkey doesn't even put his magic shrinking staff behind his ear in this. I bet it just sits on his waist. Fuck this shit.

    l337CrappyJack on
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    no this is bullshit

    journey to the west's themes are not original, nor are they even really unique; the ideation of seeking spiritual redemption through a series of physical trials is not a rare theme in storytelling

    but taking this plot, this specific plot, and cannibalizing it to suit your needs is fucking insulting to the source work. especially when you blatantly ignore the whole point of the text you're plagiarizing from

    Rent on
  • ChanceChance Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The worst case scenario is that some nerd hears about this game and decides to look into reading it.

    This is actually what's happened here

    My interest is now piqued in a story I didn't even know existed

    Same here. I searched bookstores for a few months before picking up a copy from my local library. Then I said "this book is fucking huge, I have ten other books I need to read and not enough time to play the games in my backlog. Back you go."

    Chance on
    'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    and maybe games will be taken seriously as a storytelling medium when they can actually treat classic literature with the respect it deserves

    Rent on
  • ElitistbElitistb Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    dude they made Xuánzàng into a girl

    and they made some weird love story between the two

    and it's set in cyberpunk dystopian future

    and unless monkey and trip find Enlightment and attain Buddhahood I doubt it'll follow the story at all UV
    I played the Saiyuki: Journey West Japanese tactical rpg, where the main character could be either a boy or a girl and the companions could all transform into a monstrous form for limited periods.

    Or what about the anime and manga Saiyuki, where the main character is a exorcism pistol wielding buddhist monk and they drive around in a dragon that transforms into a jeep.

    On a more western note, maybe you hated O Brother, Where Art Thou for being a less than faithful retelling of the Odyssey?

    Elitistb on
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  • bsjezzbsjezz Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    you haven't even played the game, hombre

    bsjezz on
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  • ChanceChance Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    no this is bullshit

    journey to the west's themes are not original, nor are they even really unique; the ideation of seeking spiritual redemption through a series of physical trials is not a rare theme in storytelling

    but taking this plot, this specific plot, and cannibalizing it to suit your needs is fucking insulting to the source work. especially when you blatantly ignore the whole point of the text you're plagiarizing from

    Honestly, Rent. Seriously.

    This is how it works. You take inspiration from A, run with it, and you end up with B. Let The Right One In took the concept of a child vampire from any number of other sources (let's say Interview With The Vampire) and turned it into an instant literary/horror classic.

    For fuck's sake, man - Romeo & Juliet is directly ripped from an ancient Roman myth. The story of Moses almost precisely reproduces the origin story of an an ancient Egyptian god whose name escapes me.

    Everything comes from something else.

    This is how it works. To quote Cleveland Brown,
    Cleveland wrote:
    Look, this is happening, so just come to peace with it.

    Chance on
    'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Elitistb wrote: »

    Or what about the anime and manga Saiyuki, where the main character is a exorcism pistol wielding buddhist monk and they drive around in a dragon that transforms into a jeep.

    This is easily the most awesome sentence i have ever read

    Rent on
  • LeumasWhiteLeumasWhite New ZealandRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    Elitistb wrote: »

    Or what about the anime and manga Saiyuki, where the main character is a exorcism pistol wielding buddhist monk and they drive around in a dragon that transforms into a jeep.

    This is easily the most awesome sentence i have ever read

    But... it's not okay when Enslaved does it? o_O

    LeumasWhite on
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  • TurkeyTurkey So, Usoop. TampaRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    Elitistb wrote: »

    Or what about the anime and manga Saiyuki, where the main character is a exorcism pistol wielding buddhist monk and they drive around in a dragon that transforms into a jeep.

    This is easily the most awesome sentence i have ever read

    But... it's not okay when Enslaved does it? o_O

    Well, no.

    That's made by foreign scum.

    Turkey on
  • KyouguKyougu Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Let's not forget that Dragonball is based on the book too.

    And I like Dragonball and all..but the worst has already been done to that book.

    Kyougu on
  • KitsunaKitsuna Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    Elitistb wrote: »

    Or what about the anime and manga Saiyuki, where the main character is a exorcism pistol wielding buddhist monk and they drive around in a dragon that transforms into a jeep.

    This is easily the most awesome sentence i have ever read

    This is also a reminder that the Saiyuki Reload anime isn't sitting on my shelf when it should be. A quick trip to Play.com is in order, methinks.

    Kitsuna on
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  • DrunkMcDrunkMc Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Aside from the fact that this game will not do the book it is based on justice (like pretty much every book to movie adaptation made), how's this game looking? It has had my interest piqued these past few months but I haven't had a chance to play the demo.

    Thoughts on the game itself?

    DrunkMc on
  • Orochi_RockmanOrochi_Rockman __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2010
    Man, this is Dante's Inferno all over again. Except Enslaved actually looks to be pretty good already. I said it in that thread and I'll say it again here. When I want to take things seriously, my Xbox 360/PS3... is not where I go.

    Orochi_Rockman on
  • DragkoniasDragkonias That Guy Who Does Stuff You Know, There. Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Ahh...I thought the jump in pages meant the 360 demo was out...

    Dragkonias on
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    Elitistb wrote: »

    Or what about the anime and manga Saiyuki, where the main character is a exorcism pistol wielding buddhist monk and they drive around in a dragon that transforms into a jeep.

    This is easily the most awesome sentence i have ever read

    But... it's not okay when Enslaved does it? o_O

    No one's trying to claim the Saiyuki anime is a high water mark for storytelling in anime

    plus it's so ridiculous as to be ignorable, it isn't trying to take itself seriously when it's so utterly ridiculous

    Rent on
  • Orochi_RockmanOrochi_Rockman __BANNED USERS regular
    edited September 2010
    So what you're saying is that if Enslaved was more ridiculous or if it had a disclaimer before the title screen you'd be fine with it?

    Orochi_Rockman on
  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Given his frothing rage at Enslaved, I want to hear Rent's views on Dragonball.

    No wait. I really don't.

    Jam Warrior on
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  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yep that is exactly what I'm saying

    Also I like dragonball

    Dbz can go suck a dick tho

    Rent on
  • KyouguKyougu Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent, you like Dragonball and Valkyria Chronicles, so you're okay in my book.

    But you're coming off as a frothing japanophile.

    Kyougu on
  • RentRent I'm always right Fuckin' deal with itRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Fuck no I hate the animes

    I'm no otaku motherfucker

    Rent on
  • NuzakNuzak Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rent wrote: »
    Fuck no I hate the animes

    I'm no otaku motherfucker

    otaku, no. fussy, yes

    the word of the day is querulous. that is now your new name, rent

    Nuzak on
  • DragkoniasDragkonias That Guy Who Does Stuff You Know, There. Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I don't know honestly, I can't say I care where the plot comes from as long as it is entertaining.

    I mean, compared to some of the other examples given they seem to be somewhat respectful of the material their using...so I can't see where the great travesty comes from.

    Dragkonias on
  • Zerozaki IshikiZerozaki Ishiki Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    DrunkMc wrote: »
    Aside from the fact that this game will not do the book it is based on justice (like pretty much every book to movie adaptation made), how's this game looking? It has had my interest piqued these past few months but I haven't had a chance to play the demo.

    Thoughts on the game itself?

    The platforming is like Uncharted, in that scripted crazy shit happens all the time. It's unlike Uncharted in that it seems to consistent entirely of pointing the left stick at the next shining thing and pressing the jump button.
    Combat didn't do anything to discourage me, but didn't do anything particularly fun either.
    Depends on how consistently crazy the scripted shit is, I guess.

    Zerozaki Ishiki on
  • TanolenTanolen Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Journey to the west has already had alot of adaptions to it, Enslaved won't hurt it.

    It survived dragonball and Forbidden Kingdoms it will survive this.

    Tanolen on
  • DrunkMcDrunkMc Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    DrunkMc wrote: »
    Aside from the fact that this game will not do the book it is based on justice (like pretty much every book to movie adaptation made), how's this game looking? It has had my interest piqued these past few months but I haven't had a chance to play the demo.

    Thoughts on the game itself?

    The platforming is like Uncharted, in that scripted crazy shit happens all the time. It's unlike Uncharted in that it seems to consistent entirely of pointing the left stick at the next shining thing and pressing the jump button.
    Combat didn't do anything to discourage me, but didn't do anything particularly fun either.
    Depends on how consistently crazy the scripted shit is, I guess.

    Ah thanks! I'll def. wait for reviews then. And hopefully I'll find time soon to give the demo a whirl myself!

    DrunkMc on
  • ChanceChance Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Ninja Theory's twitter says
    Enslaved gets a 9.5/10 in GameFan’s (US) next issue and 4/5 in 360 magazine (UK) this month.

    It's still early, yet. Very early. But I still like that it's promising.

    Chance on
    'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
  • DeMoNDeMoN twitch.tv/toxic_cizzle Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I hope it's good! And I hope it does well!

    There is literally no hype around the game, which is a shame as everything I've seen makes it look extremely promising.

    DeMoN on
    Steam id : Toxic Cizzle
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  • bsjezzbsjezz Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    the demo is okay. it definitely takes a lot of cues from uncharted, particularly in its platforming and the cinematics, but it doesn't quite pull it off. platforming is unnaturally speedy and sticky, and it feels very gamey

    the story and environments are what might get me to buy it. there's a lot of drive there - it's handled well. but the gameplay itself i could take or leave

    bsjezz on
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  • DragkoniasDragkonias That Guy Who Does Stuff You Know, There. Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Yeah. So I just played the 360 demo and I will say that it does take a lot of cues from Uncharted. Can't say I agree with the game being unnaturally speedy. Monkey is obvious meant to be more...well more monkey-like than Nathan so I can't say it bothered me.

    The combat is your basic action adventure fare. Nothing too complex, but enough to entertain you as you go through the game. As long as they switch it up as you progress it should be able to accomplish that.

    Another thing is I wish they would have started you a little later in the game. The demo is during the first chapter before you get Trip so I didn't get to see any of the teamwork in action and see how that would affect gameplay.

    Basically I will say the biggest hurdle for the game will simply be keeping things interesting. The story looks like it might be somewhat entertaining(but again...first chapter so it was basically a tutorial level, the cinematics were pretty good(I even had an "oh shit" moment), and as long as the platform environments are fun to move around in(with some puzzles here and there) and their is a natural progression in the combat it should be fun.

    But like bsjezz said, the game will probably live or die by it's presentation and cinematics.

    Dragkonias on
  • Delta AssaultDelta Assault Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Just played through the demo. I gotta say, it's surprisingly good! Really had no idea what to expect from this game, but it engaged me in a satisfying manner.

    Of course, Enslaved is based upon the ancient Chinese novel/fable/epic "Journey to the West." Which was about some sort of Monkey King and his companions on a... journey to the West. Now, the player plays a guy who has giant hands and some sort of banner on his waist, which kinda looks like a tail. That's about as much of a Monkey King as you get. Oh, and there's this hot girl. I don't remember there being a hot redheaded girl in the Chinese tale. But uh, she's here and she is really nice to look at, so whatever. I liked the inclusion. Having an attractive female companion actually does make me more likely to buy a game. Maybe that's kinda sad, I dunno...

    Looking at the presentation and overall universe for the game, it really gives off a mythological futuristic techno vibe, very much like Too Human. This is a big warning sign to anyone who has played Too Human, which turned out to be a horrible mess of a game. I couldn't finish it. But Enslaved feels better, has actual camera control most of the time, and a bit more colorful art direction. There aren't gonna be any complaints about gray-brown environments here, this is an Unreal Engine game that actually features really lush and colorful levels, even if they do have a lot of mechanical technology as their foundation.

    Does anyone else feel like Monkey's voice actor was trying for a bit of a Bruce Willis tone in his delivery? I really got that and it helped overcome the fact that he's generally a huge brute of a character who grunts and talks about killing a bunch, kinda like a platforming Marcus Fenix.

    Platforming felt just like Prince of Persia, where you really won't ever fall to your death from mistiming a button press. It feels very automatic and smooth. Now, I've never played any God of War game, so action game combat isn't something I'm well qualified to judge, but it seemed to work really well here. There's an AOE attack to sweep multiple assailants away, light and heavy attacks per usual, and a nice charged stun that looks really cool. Monkey's main weapon appears to be a double bladed lightsaber. I usually blocked with the shield until the enemy robot attacked twice, then did a light-heavy-heavy combo to kill them. Even when put up against three robots at once, it never ever felt like you were overwhelmed. They give you all the tools you need to succeed here, namely the AOE sweep. It does no damage, but creates a lot of breathing room.

    Perhaps I'm easily impressed, but the platforming sections on the outside of the prison ship, where you hopping from wing to wing, those parts just seemed very inspired and creative. You're running on these wings while the wind whips around you and you can really grasp the size of the ship and it all feels like a real place.

    One question that came up was when you found the girl inside the escape pod. Did anyone else catch that her hair's actually black in there? Cause in the rest of the game, her hair is mindblowingly red. It is so red it almost burns itself into your retina. But for some reason, her hair looked completely black inside the pod.

    The actual story for the game did not seem to reveal itself at all in the demo, from what I could grasp. I mean, there's little bits about prisoners having helmets plants on their heads that'll fry their brains if they disobey. And later, you get one placed on yourself, which sucks. You crash through the Statue of Liberty, which of course means this takes place in the future. So this is obviously going to be a very very loose interpretation of Journey to the West. I'm very interested in seeing how they flesh this world out and tie it into the ancient epic. They're really gonna have to explain just what the hell all of this is about. Why are Monkey's hands so big? Why is that girl's hair so red? Why are her boobs so big? Well actually, I think I know why her boobs are so big...

    Anyone else impressed by the length of this demo? I was really not expecting to see so much content. Just think back to Arkham Asylum's demo, which consisted of one room. That was pathetic, right? Here, we traverse the entire length of this huge prison ship, inside and out. It's a good sign that they're confident enough to show off so much.

    So yea... I guess I'll be buying this game. I dunno, they worked their magic on me. It could still turn out to be another Too Human, but if so they've done a terrific job of tricking people.

    Delta Assault on
  • DeMoNDeMoN twitch.tv/toxic_cizzle Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    His hands aren't that big. They just look big because he puts those punching-gloves on and they are all big and round.

    And Trip's boobs aren't all that big either.

    DeMoN on
    Steam id : Toxic Cizzle
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  • Delta AssaultDelta Assault Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    DeMoN wrote: »
    And Trip's boobs aren't all that big either.

    They're not big compared to the usual uh... pantheon of video game women. But I think they're pretty big compared to, ya know... average women in Real Life.

    Delta Assault on
  • DeMoNDeMoN twitch.tv/toxic_cizzle Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    DeMoN wrote: »
    And Trip's boobs aren't all that big either.

    They're not big compared to the usual uh... pantheon of video game women. But I think they're pretty big compared to, ya know... average women in Real Life.

    Nah, I disagree.

    DeMoN on
    Steam id : Toxic Cizzle
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  • Delta AssaultDelta Assault Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    DeMoN wrote: »
    DeMoN wrote: »
    And Trip's boobs aren't all that big either.

    They're not big compared to the usual uh... pantheon of video game women. But I think they're pretty big compared to, ya know... average women in Real Life.

    Nah, I disagree.

    Oh, okay.

    I'm gonna go off and do some research now.

    Delta Assault on
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