Zero Punctuation: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

[Jake the Snake]

This made me laugh hard. Also mechanical dick slapping sounds like fun.

....


That sounded a lot less gay in my head.

 

[Fusioncode9]

I was expecting New Vegas but this one was okay.

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Poop, I'm betting now that after watching the new ZP, at least half the people on the fence about Enslaved suddenly fell off onto the "dun want to play it" side. I love Yahtzee's videos, but I watch them solely for entertainment value. People need to take his "reviews" with more than a grain of salt.

ENSLAVED WAS GOOD GUYSS. I really, really liked it. Just thought I'd get my opinion out there.

 

[Tokokizora]

I think I can safely say that when they "base" a game on any old material they're just gonna use only as few of the things from it as possible

 

[PureIrony]

While, that was disappointing. I was actually looking forward to Enslaved.

"Getting sucked off in a wind tunnel" is probably the funniest dick joke Yahtzee has ever made.

 

[Vault Citizen]

I played the level available in the demo version and after seeing Trip screw Monkey over two or three times and then force him to work for her just made me think "wow, what a *****", does she get any better as the game progresses or is it just more of the same?

 

[Arkley]

I played the level available in the demo version and after seeing Trip screw Monkey over two or three times and then force him to work for her just made me think "wow, what a *****", does she get any better as the game progresses or is it just more of the same?

Trip gets a lot better as the game goes on, as does Monkey. Yahtzee pointed out many gameplay flaws in his video, and while he may have exaggerated the simplicity of combat a little (simply putting the game on hard mode solves most of his complaints and the various purchasable extra attacks add more strategy, though you still shouldn't expect Bayonetta/DMC/GoW's level of depth), he was largely right about most of them - particularly the funnelled, risk-free platforming.

However, it's the characters, their interactions, their incredible facial expression animation, the stellar writing and acting that make this game worth playing. The relationship between Monkey and Trip is constantly evolving, and is extremely believable. They're both highly likeable characters and they drive the game and their plot subtly and effectively. Unfortunately, you can't really get a feel for this in the demo, which only really demonstrates that the game is very pretty and the platforming is very guided.

If you're genuinely interested, I'd recommend you read a few other reviews which go into more detail about the characters. I realise Yahtzee's criticisms about the way their personalities switch around may have put you off, but I never saw anything that could be described that way in the game. The characters react appropriately and believably to their constantly changing surroundings and situations, and to eachother. In this respect, the game really is something very special. In fact, if I ever wanted to convince someone that video games are a legitimate medium for storytelling, this would be top of the list of games I would show them.

 

[gphjr14]

From my understanding this game hasn't sold well at all. I was initially thrilled about this game when I heard it was inspired by Journey to the West but I played the demo twice and aside from the animations in the cut scenes it just wasn't any fun.

 

[z3rostr1fe]

So this was the game "Critical Miss" was referring to...

The Collectable Doodad Commandments [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/8230-The-Collectable-Doodad-Commandments]

 

[Adzma]

Gah fix your microphone Yahtzee. This current one's awful.

 

[SturmDolch]

So this was the game "Critical Miss" was referring to...

The Collectable Doodad Commandments [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/8230-The-Collectable-Doodad-Commandments]

Oh... Yes it was. Geez I've never heard of this game before these things popped up.

 

[Grygor]

I starting to have an issue with Yahtzee and his criticism. He recommends nothing. I am all for him verbally dressing down the excesses of this industry but a critic tends to recommend something now and then. Now, I am not asking for him to go easy, but for Christ sake, he needs to find something he likes. The last game I remember him recommending was Bioshock and that came out years ago. Even in that case, he said something along the lines that, it didn't suck too bad so it must be GAME OF THE YEAR. Without any positives recommendation, his reviews tend to be less criticism and more observational humor. There is no purpose beyond his humor if he can't, once in a while, stake his rep on a game that he thinks is actually good. No flames please, or personal attacks. I am just looking for other thoughts on this issue.

You know, every time I see some say something like this,it makes me wonder if they're actually paying attention, because there have been several favorable ZPs - the Amnesia: Dark Descent ZP was somewhat favorable, as were the ZPs for Just Cause 2, Infamous, Prototype, Saint's Row 2, Fallout 3, Portal, Call of Duty 4, and No more Heroes, just off the top of my head, to say nothing of the ZPs for Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2, Painkiller, Psychonauts, and the PS2 Prince of Persias. Obviously there are more, but I'm too lazy to wade through the archives to spot the rest, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% to 20% of all ZPs are ultimately positive.

 

[ward0630]

That sucked off in a wind tunnel line ought to go in the best of 2010 which I PRAY will come out before Feburary since all Ytzee needs to do is copy and past half his videos and call it a day.

 

[lulec]

The funniest part about the review is the part about the giant lazer death scorpions. It makes sense if you play it.

 

[Dance Commander]

these reviews are getting shitty and your jokes are getting stale

 

[samaugsch]

I starting to have an issue with Yahtzee and his criticism. He recommends nothing. I am all for him verbally dressing down the excesses of this industry but a critic tends to recommend something now and then. Now, I am not asking for him to go easy, but for Christ sake, he needs to find something he likes. The last game I remember him recommending was Bioshock and that came out years ago. Even in that case, he said something along the lines that, it didn't suck too bad so it must be GAME OF THE YEAR. Without any positives recommendation, his reviews tend to be less criticism and more observational humor. There is no purpose beyond his humor if he can't, once in a while, stake his rep on a game that he thinks is actually good. No flames please, or personal attacks. I am just looking for other thoughts on this issue.

You know, every time I see some say something like this,it makes me wonder if they're actually paying attention, because there have been several favorable ZPs - the Amnesia: Dark Descent ZP was somewhat favorable, as were the ZPs for Just Cause 2, Infamous, Prototype, Saint's Row 2, Fallout 3, Portal, Call of Duty 4, and No more Heroes, just off the top of my head, to say nothing of the ZPs for Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2, Painkiller, Psychonauts, and the PS2 Prince of Persias. Obviously there are more, but I'm too lazy to wade through the archives to spot the rest, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 10% to 20% of all ZPs are ultimately positive.

Two other ones I can think of are Dead Rising 2 and Halo Reach (at least I think he liked that last one).

 

[internetzealot1]

When I played the demo, I immediately realized that this would be a no-buy for me. The setting was fresh. The characters were interesting. The plot was compelling. I even enjoyed the combat. But the platforming. Oh, the platforming. Everytihg Yahtzee said was true. Spinning my controller around wildly tapping A....sucked.

 

[CopperBoom]

I like it...

...by which I mean, the idea of a game involving a spunk gun.
Enslaved, sounded like shite before I heard it was shite.

 

[Misho-]

It's actually a great game But still this video is fun with all its hyperboles.

 

[justnotcricket]

SO true about 'platforming' by waggling the thumbstick around and mashing jump. Made the platforming pretty 'autopilot', really, adding in that you can't really fall off anything. Also, what was with the repetitive boss fights?

Having said that, I agree with Susan Arendt's comments that it's nice to see a lush, beautiful post-apocalyptic non-wasteland for once, and that the voice acting is pretty good (even if Trip does grate on the nerves, it's well-spoken grating). =)

The game was nice to play once, but didn't have much replay value for me, I'm afraid. Hilariously apt critique as always from Yahtzee.