Contradictions? Your help would be appreciated.

[Iwata]

I am going to buy myself an early birthday present tomorrow, and I was debating between Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and Enslaved: Journey to the West. I decided to go online and look for a few reviews, and I came across an interesting phenomenon.

In regard to Enslaved, I read a review that mentioned that the game suffered from frame-rate issues, which were particularly noticeable on the X-Box 360 version. Fine, I thought, since I'm getting the game for the PS3.

Then the very next review mentioned the same frame-rate issues, only this one said that those issues were more noticeable in the PS3 version.

So I'm faced with an inconsistency. Has anyone encountered these issues? Or should I just skip Enslaved altogether and buy Castlevania?

Edit: By the way, the title should obviously read "Contradictions"...

 

[twistedheat15]

Castlevania looks like an all around better game, and considering the ppl who made enslaved i'd go for the better/series between the 2 choices.

 

[smeghead25]

Buy Enslaved.

Unless you're a Castlevania fan, that one doesn't look at all interesting and different to any other fantasy game. At least Enslaved looks and feels different and is unique in more ways than one.

Plus, it's not brown.

Two reasons for the review inconsistency:

1. The reviewers are slightly biassed towards a console and that's where that comes from. Indeed the fact that they mentioned that onewas better than the other certainly seems to suggest it.

2. The most likely scenario is that the game does occasionally get too much for either console and as a result the framerate may drop. No version is better than the other, just one happened to do it more often.

For my money I'd get it on PS3 as the dev's have had more experience on it and it might be a little bit smoother though. But either way I'd say buy Enslaved.

 

[Worgen]

Id go with enslaved, castlevania is ment to be 2d, none of the 3d games have been really mind blowing and most have been bad

 

[nintendoeats]

Ok, my entire experience with both games has been the giantbomb.com quick looks. Castlevania looks like a GIANT mistake. Enslaved looks like what I would expect from a Beyond Good and Evil Sequel (and I mean that in a good way). Even if there are frame rate issues, Enslaved just seems to be a more interesting game.

 

[Iron Lightning]

Unless the frame rate issues make the game unplayable, I wouldn't worry about them.

 

[Vampire cat]

I think it's possible to edit your head line.

Also, maybe it varies from any particular console to the next? Like two PS3's might run the game differently good? =3 If the one game seems to have a bit of problems and you want them equally much, I'd go for the other one tho.

 

[Iwata]

I think it's possible to edit your head line.

Indeed it is, and so it has. Thank you.

 

[StriderShinryu]

If you're going to buy one, buy Castlevania. Whether it will be the better game or not is something few will agree on, but even those who love Enslaved say it's a short (6 hourish), easy and linear experience. Basically, it works much better as a rental or something you pick up once the price has dropped significantly.

 

[ultrachicken]

Skip enslaved. Platforming without falling is not a good platforming game.

 

[Anah'ya]

ENSLAVED(tm)

I've bought them both and played them both. Well, alright. I didn't play Castlevania myself, but I sat by and watched a good portion of it being played. Pretty much the same length as my own time spent with Monkey and Trip.

Both feature about the same game play, with Enslaved leaning a bit more towards platforming, but that is where the comparisons end.

If you like a good narration (thus: well done story telling), quality voice acting and a pace that you can follow then go for Enslaved.
If you care none for that and only want to kill things in a somewhat colorful manner than go for Castlevania. Or better yet: Dante's Inferno or Darksiders.

Enslaved might not be the most challenging game out there (someone noted you can't fall.. that is true.. and I love it, since I hate platformers), but it's beautiful to look at, listen to and follow.

... then again maybe I just have the completely wrong taste when it comes to games. I prefer it when it ticks the "Love the characters, love the story" box. Castlevania doesn't do that for me.

 

[Iwata]

If you like a good narration (thus: well done story telling), quality voice acting and a pace that you can follow then go for Enslaved.
If you care none for that and only want to kill things in a somewhat colorful manner than go for Castlevania. Or better yet: Dante's Inferno or Darksiders.

I have both Darksiders and Dante's Inferno, and enjoyed them both very much.

You did surprise me, however, because one of the reasons I've been leaning towards Castlevania is precisely the superb voice cast, with Robert Carlyle, Patrick Stewart and Jason Isaacs, all actors that I consider to be some of the best out there. Enslaved has Andy Serkis, and I think that's it.

It seems to me that Enslaved is a game that focuses more on platforming, whereas Castlevania is more combat oriented. And from what I've seen, both games feature contrastingly beautiful environments. Hmm... tough one, this.

 

[Anah'ya]

I have both Darksiders and Dante's Inferno, and enjoyed them both very much.

You did surprise me, however, because one of the reasons I've been leaning towards Castlevania is precisely the superb voice cast, with Robert Carlyle, Patrick Stewart and Jason Isaacs, all actors that I consider to be some of the best out there. Enslaved has Andy Serkis, and I think that's it.

It seems to me that Enslaved is a game that focuses more on platforming, whereas Castlevania is more combat oriented. And from what I've seen, both games feature contrastingly beautiful environments. Hmm... tough one, this.

Good voices don't mean they are being put to good use. If the script they read fails, so does the voice. I honestly couldn't sit through even just one of the chapter narrations done by Patrick Steward without thinking: I feel sorry for any kid having to be read a bed time story like that. The lack of a good flow in it made me cringe. It was as though he put on his "dramatic voice", leveled it somewhere and stuck at that tone until he got through with it. And the actual in-game voice acting was sub-par at best, lacking all the right nuances you would think a good voice actor would put into his/her presentation. Maybe the Pan fellow stuck out a bit, thought that might of just been my love for Pan's Labyrinth clouding my judgement.

Enslaved on the other hand has a superb script in comparison. It might not be a blockbuster, but compared to Castlevania it shines.

And yeh. You are right. Enslaved does focus on the platforming, but it doesn't shove it into my face, and I appreciate that. It's fun to watch and fun to do without any of the frustration of repetitive exercises that never end (the ones that made me stop playing the latest Prince of Persia).

...

I don't know what I am trying to get at here. Both games are good, I'm sure. I'd say Castlevania for combat, Enslaved for the enjoyment of watching Monkey and Trip get acquainted.

EDIT: I saw no frame rate issues with Enslaved (360). However I was told Castlevania showed many of them and that it was not well optimized for that system. I hardly noticed myself though, even though I was sitting right next to it and watching (and listening) intently.

 

[Iwata]

Well, as it turns out, this discussion would always turn out the same. After a day going around stores looking for the games, I found that Enslaved is sold out pretty much everywhere, and Castlevania is close to it. So I got Castlevania.

Thank you all for your helpful comments.

 

[Drakenian]

Not sure, man. Depends, I suppose, on you.

From what I've read, Enslaved seems to have a killer story and character development, but I would buy Castlevania simply because I like the setting and feel of it. Also, the story just seems more grim and foreboding, wheres Enslaved comes off as more about "discovery" if you catch my drift.