Ninja Theory's 'Enslaved' promises a mix of brains and brawn
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It's been a while since we last heard about Enslaved, the brand new IP coming from Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory and partner Namco Bandai, but IGN has broken the silence with a preview. The game sounds intriguing: Players control an Andy Serkis-modeled brawler named Monkey, who's neurologically tied to a techno-chick named Trip as they roam from a New York 150 years from now and out into a post-apocalyptic America.
The game is actually based on an old Chinese tale named Journey to the West, in which a sage and a powerful monkey go on a quest to find Buddhist wisdom, with the sage getting in all sorts of dangerous traps that the monkey (controlled via headband, just like the game) has to help him out with.
Likewise, the game offers up a set of challenges that will require Monkey to work with and defend Trip, who offers tools and advice all along. The third-person combat (against various robots and post-human bad guys) is supposed to be tough at first, but much easier with a little strategy and help from Trip. We'll keep an eye out for it at E3 -- the saga of Monkey and Trip could turn out to be one of 2010's more original endeavors.
The game is actually based on an old Chinese tale named Journey to the West, in which a sage and a powerful monkey go on a quest to find Buddhist wisdom, with the sage getting in all sorts of dangerous traps that the monkey (controlled via headband, just like the game) has to help him out with.
Likewise, the game offers up a set of challenges that will require Monkey to work with and defend Trip, who offers tools and advice all along. The third-person combat (against various robots and post-human bad guys) is supposed to be tough at first, but much easier with a little strategy and help from Trip. We'll keep an eye out for it at E3 -- the saga of Monkey and Trip could turn out to be one of 2010's more original endeavors.
Reader Comments (26)
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 9:42PM AriesWarlock said
I hope it turns out well.
Btw, could you ask Sony where is Heavenly Sword 2? Nariko's story must continue.
Btw, could you ask Sony where is Heavenly Sword 2? Nariko's story must continue.
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 9:48PM (Unverified) said
Sadly I'm pretty sure I've read comments from Ninja Theory saying that a Heavenly Sword 2 probably won't happen.
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Posted: Mar 26th 2010 9:51PM Evin said
I read about this game in Game Informer and I must say I came away impressed with some of the things they're trying to do. Hope it turns out well.
And about Heavenly Sword's story continuing, I think it'd be really great if they continued it through those short films they produced before the release of the original game. Probably wouldn't yield much money-wise.
That or REALLY improve upon the first (That seems to be the trend these days. I'm looking at you Uncharted, etc.)
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And about Heavenly Sword's story continuing, I think it'd be really great if they continued it through those short films they produced before the release of the original game. Probably wouldn't yield much money-wise.
That or REALLY improve upon the first (That seems to be the trend these days. I'm looking at you Uncharted, etc.)
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 10:54PM PN04 said
I think HS as a property is co-owned by Sony so it's possible that they could continue it without Ninjatheory doing the actual work on it but it's more likely they'd just pass on doing another in general. Since NT is a small developer they'll probably stick to multiplatform development now unless sony were to step in and help them in their time of need financially like they dint with HS, but I doubt they're hurting all that much now.
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Posted: Mar 26th 2010 11:06PM AriesWarlock said
@BlackBeltJones: Sony owns the IP, they could give it to another developer.
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Posted: Mar 27th 2010 5:29PM kentuckyfried said
It's good to know that although the hope is small, there's still a minute chance that Heavenly Sword will come back.
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Posted: Mar 26th 2010 9:44PM Kodros said
Me thinks someone at Ninja Theory has a redhead fetish.
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 10:18PM Kelph1 said
If you ask me, it looks like the movie "9" from that picture...
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 10:31PM Cafecito said
Ninja Theory should make a game about... ninjas.
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 10:48PM Xiegfried said
This story gets a lot of weird treatment. Between this and Dragon Ball, they take a lot of liberties with the story.
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 10:55PM darkfocus said
Don't know why but I immediately thought of torchlight upon seeing that image
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 11:08PM HardBoiled2009 said
The female in the Photo looks like Nariko's Sister. Is their anyone else here think that too ?
Posted: Mar 26th 2010 11:44PM commonperson said
Wow! This looks awesome, I have to say though this is possibly one of the most returned to sources I've seen like EVER! You've got the Rock Opera that's touring right now, the Damon Albarn semi-traditional chinese opera (yes the Gorillaz/Blur guy did an opera in Chinese using traditional Chinese opera format,) and at least three cartoon series I've seen all based on the same source material. Hell DRAGONBALL even draws some character inspiration from the characters in this story! I mean it just goes to prove that some stories are timeless but man, this one is getting a lot of traction lately!
Posted: Mar 27th 2010 12:36AM (Unverified) said
looks like they are being chased by Mr Zurkon
Posted: Mar 27th 2010 6:05AM Korova Pamplona said
That sounds awesome. The Pilgrimage to the West was one of my favorite childhood books. There are other characters on the journey though. Anyway, will keep track of this one.
Posted: Mar 27th 2010 10:03AM Drdre74 said
I'll give it a thumbs up just because I loved Heavenly Sword so much but so far I'm not liking the art too much for it.
Posted: Mar 27th 2010 10:57AM Courtney said
I like Ninja Theory a ton. HS was much better than I expected, and their Xbox game Kung Fu Chaos was an overlooked gem.
Posted: Mar 27th 2010 11:48AM cylet said
the monkey king and the monk named tripitaka... genius. that is the monkey king legend
Posted: Mar 29th 2010 4:33AM Misterlee said
I'm really ready for Post-Post-Apocalypse now please. Every other game has the same setting these days, it's getting a bit tired.
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