Imagine the following scenario: you’re captured on a slave ship heading for some place known as Pyramid. You see a girl messing about with some computer, and then the whole ship starts to self destruct. You have mere minutes to get yourself out of the ship alive before it crashes. By the time you reach the escape pods, there’s only one left. As you frantically climb up to it, you see the girl from earlier, already in the seat. You beg her not to push the eject button, but she ignores your pleas. You find yourself launched into the air, swerving haphazardly around cliffs and broken buildings. Upon landing, you fall and get knocked unconscious. When you wake up, you find yourself sporting some wicked headgear. It turns out the girl has placed a slaver’s headband on you, and you have to do what she says. She tells you that you have to work together.

If she dies, you die.

So begins “Enslaved: Odyssey to the West,” a rousing adventure from “Heavenly Sword” developer Ninja Theory. Players play as the character Monkey, a brutish loner who looks something like a “Gears of War” reject, who finds himself enslaved by Trip, a girl whose design is reminiscent of Nariko from “Heavenly Sword.” Together, the two must trek through the post-apocalyptic wasteland of New York to get Trip home. If anything happens to Trip, Monkey will die. Monkey doesn’t take kindly to this predicament but has no choice in the matter. Much like can be witnessed in a romantic comedy, the two leads don’t take kindly towards each other; it’s apparent in their tone and body language. But with a script penned by screenwriter Alex Garland (“28 Days Later”), the dialogue and story are far from a generic romantic comedy. The voice acting is well done, with Andy Serkis (of “Lord of the Rings” fame) being a real standout as Monkey. The growing relationship between Monkey and Trip is what will keep players interested until the chilling and bitter end. 

The post-apocalyptic universe of Enslaved is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Instead of the drab browns and grays that have permeated games like “Fallout 3” and “Gears of War,” Enslaved has lush, bold colors. That’s because the world has been taken over by nature rather than nuclear explosions. Buildings have trees and vines twisted around their skeleton. Character models and facial animations are eye-popping. Characters become so expressive that you can clearly see how they’re feeling without them explicitly telling you. In one scene in which a character starts crying, you can feel the character’s pain, just by looking up at his/her tormented face.

While there’s much beauty in the game’s world, there’s also danger. Monkey must face a variety of foes known as “mechs.” In the beginning, combat feels like a breeze because the game only throws one or two enemies at players. Towards the end, combat truly shines. As players progress, red orbs are collected that are used to unlock new abilities, health regeneration, etc. There are a few boss battles and none of them are much of a challenge.

In fact, the game’s biggest flaw is that it is too easy, sometimes insultingly so. While there is some strategy to combat, you’re never going to break a sweat. Platforming sections are a no-brainer because the game highlights the sections Monkey can climb. Monkey will not jump unless he can, so there is no worry of jumping to the characters death. There was one section that Trip insisted Monkey follow her dragonfly, even though the path was pretty much highlighted. Players will never have to worry about Trip getting in the way or dying. Trip will mostly keep out of the way, only appearing to give players objectives and help bypass locked doors. If by chance she does get caught by a mech, she will use her stun ability that renders all nearby mechs motionless for a pretty long period of time. It’s the equivalent of a “get out of jail free” card. There are some light puzzles, but they feel half done.

Though “Enslaved” suffers from a few problems, they never hindered my enjoyment of the game. Platforming and combat are easy, but it’s a nice change of pace from having to run around all the time. The game is a simple, linear experience filled with moments of stunning poignancy and magnificent set pieces. If players are looking for a fantastic adventure with a good story to boot, then Enslaved is worth the time and money.