Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, is a third person acton adventure game developed by Ninja Theory. The game takes place in a savage jungle like version of New York city which sees main character Monkey tasked with getting a young girl by the name of Trip 300 miles back to her home.

In an article in which I find myself playing a game rather late after its release, I picked up Enslaved for £10 on the cheap. I decided I would write down my thoughts having played through chapters 1 - 3 thus far. It may continue - or it may fall to the way side (It's not like my blog entries ever really get read anyway :P). My previous exposure to the game had been a few articles, a video or two and my way back when encounter with the demo which let you play through chapter 1 of the game.

The first thing that stuck me about the game was the lack of audio options regarding the character dialouge. After the first scene I found myself putting the subtitles on as I was having a hard time hearing what anyone was saying. Although well voice actted the sound design seems rather poor with both dialouge and sound effects all dumped into one universal slider on the options and with the sound effects high and the vocals seemingly low there is very little to avoid this issue beyond doing as I did and putting on the subs. Had this been tweaked a little I believe I would have had a much more enjoyable experience as I am playing this game primarily for its story.

As for the story itself - it is very enjoyable. Ninja Theory have always been good at creating unique and vibrant worlds and telling good stories. Enslaved offers strong chemistry between the two main characters Trip and Monkey - even in the early chapters of the game. It's a character chemistry that I look forward to seeing develop and evolve throughout the advancement of the plot.

The world and the characters are very unique. I like the abandoned jungle style New York that gives you something beautiful to look at in cold, hard contrast to the various rusted and violent robots that inhabit it. Another calling card of Ninja Theory is the true talent that lies in their art department to bring such robotic creatures to life from intricate robotic dragon flies to vicious mechanical dogs.

The gameplay is, okay. Sadly I believe the actual gameplay to be one of the weakest links in chain. It's not that its terrible - it's playable but combat is so far certainly lacking in depth. Monkey has a hard and light attack, a charged attack, a wide attack and block and dodge. He also has the ability to fire plasma from his staff but it's doesn't exactly make for a deep and meaingful combat system. Fighting robots can feel frustrating - especially when a timer counts down over their heads to them 'calling for backup' - they simply seem impossible to stop as they run down to 0 and more of their robotic buddies join the fray. Perhaps as i'm early in the game I've yet to really grasp how to avoid such annoyances. But if anything - my biggest concern is what this means for the future of the Devil May Cry franchise. Now called 'DMC' and left in the hands of Ninja Theory will they ever really be able to deliver a combat system befitting of one of the greatest demonic bad asses the video game world has ever seen? If Enslaved and their other game Heavenly Sword are anything to go by...well let's just say i'm worried.

On top of the combat you have Monkey doing what his name sake would imply - climbing like one. The platforming of this game with jumping from crumbling ledge to toppling metal structures borrows heavily from the mechanics mastered by Naughty Dog for the Uncharted series - even going as far as borrowing the now world renowned cinematic camera views as a set piece crumbles around a climber.

Finally you have perhaps the biggest achievement for Ninja Theory. Creating a companion character I actually care and feel protective over. There's just something about Trip that leads me to want to help her. So far presented as being very innocent she seems like a fish out of water to the violent world around her...although i have my supicions that as the story advances she might not be as innocent as i first believe. The chemistry between the two characters is certainly a staple in this healthy diet of care and protectiveness - even if she has straped a bomb to my characters head to make him do her bidding I want to see it through and get her home.

I like many have found various pieces of news / rumours regarding the possiblity of Hideo Kojima working on Metal Gear Solid 5. Having thought about the idea of an MGS 5 I personally would say 'no thanks' to the idea in some respects.

My main reason for being a negative nelly is due to the fact that Metal Gear Solid 4 was billed as Snake's final mission. It was a chance for a gaming generation to have a last hurrah and to say goodbye to a sneaking / stealth legend and the master of 'the old cardboard box trick' - Solid Snake. The problem with this idea however was that they didn't deliver. Our experience was cut short by a bait and switch, what could of been a truely epic ending for a gaming icon was destroyed by the fear of change. This is a phenomenon that occurs heavily in TV shows. The cop show that tries to change the format and have the main character in jail only to have him out before the hour is up...why not go for something different, have them in for a full series - change the format and keep it fresh? Instead with MGS 4 it was left open for what we are now hearing rumours of - Metal Gear Solid 5.

I do not want to see Solid Snake return. I do not want to see him even older, even more chewed out and a shadow of his former self. If we had to continue this franchise - stop with Snake and give me a new protagonist. Advance the MGS universe 20-30 years and have the main protagonist be Meryl and Johnny's son. You could still have some familiar faces show up if necessary. But put in some new mechanics, some fresh ideas and go easy on the cutscenes. Don't get me wrong - I liked MGS 4 just fine and the cutscenes were amazingly produced, but maybe consider adopting a bit more player participation.

Alpha Protocol was at its core very flawed, but it had a fantastic conversation system that you needed to stay involved with cutscenes to use. This could offer the chance to have a bit more say in how your character would react to situations in a new MGS - perhaps even branch the storyline off to offer greater replay value.

All in all I just don't want to see Kojima say something along the lines of 'I'm stepping down - I won't be part of this." only to push those who take the reigns away cause they're not doing quite what he'd like with the franchise. If you have to do this again Hideo - go big or go home. Make something unique and original and just mix it up a little. Don't be afraid to change the format like everyone else.

How does everyone else feel about a potential MGS 5? Do you have any ideas on how to keep it fresh? Or would you like nothing more then to see the world of MGS left well and truely alone.

Tekken is my favourite fighting game franchise. In my opinion it offers the greatest fighting experience. It rewards skill and technique – not to say that other fighting franchises don’t, I’ve just never found myself able to connect with Street Fighter the same way as I have The King of Iron Fist.

Having watched the recently posted quick look of Tekken Hybrid. Which offered some insight into Tekken Tag tournament 2. I decided to write down a few of my thoughts.

Overall – before we get down to the nitty gritty – I’ll be buying Tag 2, day one. It looks sharp, fast and responsive and even if at first I was a little sceptical about the ‘wah wah wah wah’ dubstep that seems to be the stage music for one of the stages, it actually grew on me when the violins kicked in.

One thing that slightly concerns me – sure its aesthetic – but what’s going on with the super demon men formally known as Kazuya and Jin? Further more the worry continues when I see the devil Kazuya is simply called ‘Kazuya’ to suggest this is his base character and we won’t get a human form? Obviously this is just speculation on my part as I’m just going on what was seen in the quick look, but I do hope we get Kazuya in human form. In contrast – notice how the big ol’ devil Jin is actually called ‘Devil Jin’ to suggest – as has happened in previous games – that we’ll be getting a regular ‘Jin’ also.

Game play wise – I’m happy, the game looks as quick as it was in Tekken 6. I’m hopefully for the return of some of my favourite characters such as Bruce and Lee and it’s probably a safe bet this will happen – the previous tag had all if not nearly all the characters up to that point. Would anyone be excited for the potential return of kunimitsu?

I see that back problems still plague the fighters of Tekken as they fall. And I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the “Uuurgh” slow motion KO noises of the final blow in the quick replies at the end of a round. It sounds almost comical – but again – just a small gripe.

All in all – I might pick up hybrid, as I’d like to see the movie. The demo along with the original Tekken tag HD would both just be a bonus. I’m excited for Tekken tag 2 in the future. It looks set to be another great addition to the series.

How were others finding the quick look? Any observations good or bad that you want to share?

Oh Nightwing, you illusive bastard...

...all the work long day I was excited to get home and spend some quality time with you. Getting home I scowered the PSN only to find disappointment as I was unable to find you :/ such is life. I'm based in the UK so i'm not sure when to expect Nightwing to pop on the PSN. Having had copious amounts of time to consider the game as a whole it got me thinking on the potential future DLC for Arkham City.

Obviously a popular choice would be to have story driven content - perhaps a small story mode for Nightwing where he battles one of the member's of the rogue gallery of Gotham City. I think this would be a good idea, as it would offer something other then the main capade crusader himself - now don't get me wrong. I like Batman as much as the next fan. It'd just offer a fresh insight to have a story based around say Nightwing or Robin. And when I say a story I don't mean like what we got with Catwoman. Sure the catwoman levels were fun enough...they didn't exactly set my world on fire by any means, but they offered a change of pace and a new character to play with.

But i'd like to think that if we were to receive a new story element via DLC, that it would be a much meatier story which doesn't just feel like challenge rooms with cutscenes.

Another idea (Which might have to be reserved for a future title - if one gets made) would be to offer multiplayer story. Imagine if you will a Batman / Robin or Batman / Nightwing team up that would see either pair join forces and take to the streets of Gotham. Predator mode with two people would offer some interesting scenarios. One man hiding in the shadows, the other cordinating distractions. Both scaring the hell out of thugs all over the map. Perhaps even two entry points with inter-connecting locations that would then branch off again. I certainly like the sound of such a possibility and i'm sure i'm not the only one...and yes of course you could always have a Robin / Nightwing team up if that takes your fancy.

Any other ideas for potential DLC that you'd like to see in the future. What ideas rock your bat boats?

Let me know while I continue to wait for Richard Grayson to show his face on the PSN.

Remember the time when gaming was easy? The time when you bought a game, took it home, turned on your console, put the game in and just played it?

These days the trend seems to be that you should set aside atleast half an hour before playing the game simply to wade through the DLC swamp. Games stuffed to the brim with DLC codes. Bonus content, usually already on the disc but kept under the lock and key of a maniacle code.

Insert code, wait as it downloads, install - rinse and repeat.

Character skins, bonus characters, challenge maps, upgrades, soundtracks - all of these must be installed simply to enjoy a game (well - maybe not the last one, but while the others install its something to kill time). In the case of Batman Arkham City it's even shoved into your face everytime you go to start the game until you download the extra character - Catwoman.

Having spent a good half hour installing catwoman, a character skin and a challenge map, plus an update for the game and the necessary install files on the ps3 i was treated to 'corrupted data' and had to uninstall and reinstall all the items over again. Thankfully if worked afterwards but it certainly doesn't make me a fan of the ever so popular trend of DLC.

You all know and are well familiar with what i'm talking about. And I don't see DLC codes going anywhere, nor online passes. This is simply a rant. And with everything now installed I can happily say that Batman Arkham City does rock...fantastic game.

With the beta demo for the multiplayer portion of Battlefield 3 now available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 - I decided i'd get a few thoughts written down on how I'm finding the experience in something I like to call 'thinking out loud'. ((Okay okay so i'm not loud at all - but hey it beats 'thinking on keyboard', right?))

I was lucky enough earlier in the year to get the chance to try out Battlefield 3 during the Alpha testing. This brief look at the game was on the PC after I got an invite from the cool kids at EA and DICE.

My beta experience has been xbox 360 based. When I got into my first match, I was taken a back by the difference in graphics between the PC and 360. The PC certainly has the upper hand if you are fortunate enough to have a decent gaming rig. Being a primarily console based gamer - I'm not disappointed with the graphical differences, the game still looks good - PC just offers that bit more to the 'wow factor'.

The only map on the beta is 'Operation Metro' in Rush mode. For those that don't know, in this mode you have an attacking force and a defending force. If you are an attacker, your objective is to plant explosives on MCOM stations at both points A and B on your map. It is the other teams job to defend the stations for a set period of time. Once the first set of MCOM stations are down - two more are set up further down the map and the same struggle of attack and defend continues. There are a set number of times this happens on a map as the attackers push further down the map.

Battlefield maps have always had a larger scale then those found on call of duty. Operation Metro offers an expansive park setting which then leads down into a metro station which then sprawls out into the city streets. It's big. There are ofcourse the multiplayer shooter staples of 'choke points' and 'no mans lands' that help to offer the usual fair of carnage. Each time the map changes locals and the next part is opened up - it helps to keep the location fresh and interesting.

One thing I really like in the game is the fluid free running system. Clicking in the left stick as you run causes you to sprint and with a simple tap of the A button your character leaps over a majority of obstacles like he thinks he's faith from Mirrors Edge. It's satisfying and makes you feel pretty bad ass - least until you get shot...that's quite the mood breaker.

One thing I find myself disliking however is the 'Tactical flash light'. On your primary weapon you can have a flash light which sounds fair enough, but if you find yourself being aimed at by someone with a flash light - you are dam near blinded, great for the other guy, but considering you can be blinded by your own team's flash lights, it offers a kind of mild panic attack as you try to figure out if the flash light belongs to friend or foe...usually its a foe, and usually half a second after being blinded you are on the floor and waiting to 'redeploy'

Overall, the game is solid. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but it's a fantastic FPS, and in my opinion ((Yes, I get to have one)) it is the better choice out of this and modern warfare 3. I just wish EA would stop the childish insults they keep throwing at call of duty...it's not good for business.

How is everyone else finding the beta? What are the good, the bad and the ugly points in your opinions?

2011 has been the year of a fair amount of big name betas and i've been fortunate enough to find myself being able to enjoy triple A titles months ahead of releases and get a taste of these glorious games.

Gears 3, Uncharted 3, Battlefield 3, Assassin's Creed Revelations.

Hand's down I'd say my favourite experience has been Uncharted 3. The game that i'm 99% sure will be my game of the year didn't fail to impress me with a super multiplayer suite that only helps to compliment the undoubted glorious single player campagine that i'm trying SO hard not to watch too many previews of.

2011 really has been the year of the beta.

Anyone else been privy to a beta or two? What's been the stand out game for all of y'all?