enslaved

With the holiday gaming season just beginning to turn its gears, we've already been greeted by an early contender for a spot on wish lists. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is one of the best games you probably haven't heard about this year, so allow us to introduce you.

For those who'd rather watch than read, please enjoy our exclusive trailer for the game.

Jeff: The story told in Enslaved pairs an unlikely duo: a monstrous and agile man named Monkey and a sweet but helpless tech-savvy accomplice who goes by Trip. Together they must navigate through a decaying New York City of 150 years into the future, absent of any life save for an antihuman race of robotic creatures. Bound together by a mysterious slave headband, Monkey and Trip must help one another survive the decomposing landscape and its flesh-hungry automaton inhabitants.

With the ever-capable developer Ninja Theory at the reigns (see Heavenly Sword), Enslaved features an exciting combat system and a refreshing take on the action-strategy genre. Fans of the Uncharted and Prince of Persia series will be happy to hear that Enslaved occasionally resembles some of the acrobatic gameplay from these two classic franchises, all while keeping itself unique enough--not to mention the game's opening 30 minutes are among the best we've played all year.

There's a solid amount of variety to keep things moving along, including an upgrade system that rewards the player to explore all of the nooks and crannies of the game space. Enslaved is as linear as games come, but don't assume there is only one route to take.

The game isn't without its fair share of faults, however. Camera and environmental glitches are aplenty, though we never found ourselves completely stuck. There are a few moments where the next move isn't abundantly clear, but it's a welcome change of pace compared with a guide arrow or breadcrumb trail.… Read more

Today on preGame, we'll demo two unique titles. In our first demo we'll try and escape an enormous skyship as it plummets toward an abandoned New York City of the future. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West takes place 150 years into the future where humans are all but extinct, and a robot race is determined to exterminate the remaining few.

Then, we'll dive into Lost and Shadow, a beautifully designed new title that has players make their way through intricate puzzles only using the shadows cast by objects in the real world. It sounds confusing, but our … Read more

This week on preGAME, we shine a light through the creepy forest to bring you a live demo of Alan Wake a week before it hits stores. The game tells the story of an author who travels to a small mountain town on vacation only to be confronted by a terrifying dark force.

But before we venture into the depths with Alan Wake, we'll bring you three brand-new trailers for a trio of games we're really excited for. Tune in and watch as we screen new videos for Enslaved, Singularity, and LittleBigPlanet 2.

Then, it's onto this … Read more