REVIEW: El Shaddai - Ascension of the Metatron (PS3)

This will be quite a short review, because it has actually been quite a long time since I played through this game. Recently I've been thinking about this and numerous other games that I've played and which are criminally under appreciated; perhaps not in terms of review scores from critics but certainly from the game-playing public. There are a number of excellent video games that have not only been overlooked at the time of their release  but haven't been given a new lease of life on budget labels and "best of" collections. The first of these games that I'd like to write a very brief review for is El Shaddai - a unique hybrid of 2D and 3D platforming and Devil May Cry style hack and slash brawling.

Firstly, the premise of El Shaddai is very unique within video games. Based on the 'Book of Enoch' from the apocryphal 'Dead Seas Scrolls' - you play as the eponymous Enoch, who is tasked by God to hunt down and dispatch several fallen angels (not
demons!) who have fallen in love with mankind and have subverted creation into their own design. You also have to stop the Nephilim (angel-human hybrids) from destroying the world, and you are helped along the way by Lucifel (not Lucifer!), an angel who wears jeans and uses a cell phone to talk to God - as if time has no meaning in the realm of Heaven. Now *deep breath after all that*... as someone who is a complete Atheist  I find the majority of Christian mythology to be pretty damn dull. However, this apocryphal tale is absolutely bonkers, and the most awesome basis for such an eccentric video game as El Shaddai.

The gameplay of El Shaddai is split between 3D platforming sections, which also involve a fair amount of hack and slash, and old-school 2D platforming sections. In both 3D and 2D the controls and collision detection are very tight and requires some precise platforming to get through the game; this is backed up with fantastic level design. Combat in the game uses a very unusual single button system, whereby the designers felt that "less-is-more". Rather than coming up with complicated multi-button combos (ala' Bayonetta), instead El Shaddai uses a context sensitive rhythm-based system. You create combos and different types of attacks by pressing the button in different tempos and sequences - it really is fantastic and very intuitive. The only downside is that combat doesn't really change very much throughout the game, only the bad guys that you face and your access to their weapons.

The other outstanding feature of El Shaddai are it's unconventional graphics. There really is no way to accurately describe them (you have to see them in motion) - as while the engine itself is not technically impressive - the art style and design are just extraordinary. Characters are rendered in a sort of faux-cell-shaded effect, whilst the backgrounds of levels are composed of geometric shapes, lines, and amorphous textures, which all shift in colour and tone as you move through them. The effect is unlike anything you will ever have played before and ranges from the bizzare to the downright breathtaking.

El Shaddai is criminally overlooked for many reasons.The characters, setting and story are totally unique - as is the graphical presentation - and diametrically opposed to the grey and brown first/third-person shooters that dominate the market. But really, the most infuriating thing is that El Shaddai is just a damn good game, exquisitely made, and the experience is utterly unforgettable.

REVIEW: Asura's Wrath (PS3)

When Asura's Wrath was unleashed upon the world in 2012, the gaming press were split down the middle, and torn asunder as if they'd been hit by a mantra-charged palm strike (more on that later)! Some reviewers absolutely loved it, and touted it as some sort of brave new experiment in video game design; especially in the current climate of first-person-shooter focused hegemony. Other's were confused with what it was trying to do, called it a "QTE"-fest (more on that later too), and some even wondered whether it was actually a game at all. Often billed as a sort of interactive-anime, or a game/movie hybrid, regardless of it's format Asura's Wrath is an exhilarating experience and an tour-de-force of Japanese animation and storytelling. It is with no hyperbole that I say this is probably some of the best anime series I've watched in the past decade and also one of the best video games released in 2012 - something that I will be amending into my GOTY list - the fact that I can make both those claims about the same piece of interactive entertainment is truly astounding. Obviously, I really liked Asura's Wrath, now... press O to find out why.

The core plot of Asura's Wrath is pretty traditional for a video game and for "beefcake" anime like Fist of the North Star - basically, someone has taken your daughter, imprisoned her, framed you for murder, and so it's you-vs-them and you need to kick some ass. What makes this particular version of this story so memorable and different are the setting, characters and the finer details of the story. You see, Asura's Wrath takes place on Gaea (which I'm assuming is Earth - just a long forgotten past like Hyboria, or Middle Earth) and concerns itself with an eternal struggle between primordial demonic creatures called Gohma and a pantheon of all-powerful demigods, which seem to be bio-mechanical. The mise-en-scene is a bizarre fusion of Buddhist/Hindu iconography and science fiction, framed with a faux-anime art style where you can see brush marks in the texture of characters faces and it often turns on filters that flatten the image into start black-and-white. Obviously this makes the game very unique to look at, but it's also absolutely stunning - the art direction is spectacular, the use of the unreal engine is mind blowing - to say that this game has good graphics is a gross understatement. This game not only looks beautiful but is also exquisitely shot with some extremely kinetic and stylish virtual cinematography. Production quality also extends into the sound department, with top quality Japanese voice acting (I haven't checked the English dub) and a soundtrack so evocative that I had to put it onto my iPod immediately.

Press X to learn about the gameplay!!

So, the game is original, looks stunning and sounds great... what were critics confused about!? Well, the gameplay in  Asura's Wrath is where it's going to be like 'marmite' for most people, you see at least half the time you are going to be watching what would normally be described as an "interactive cutscene". I've always been an advocate that not all games like Heavy Rain use what are often referred to as Quick-Time- Events (QTEs for short), instead that particular game uses context sensitive controls that differ depending on the situation - in one moment you're moving the analogue stick in a motion to simulate opening a door, the next you are tapping face buttons to fend off an assailant. Asura's Wrath does use QTEs, in the same sense as Resident Evil 4/5/6, where you are merely asked to hit a face button at a certain time indicated by an icon onscreen. The difference between other games that use QTEs and this game, is that here failure to hit the button properly doesn't get you killed - instead it merely effects your score, which is further used to unlock parts of the game. Also, more like Heavy Rain, the button presses are linked to the animation on screen; so when you're furiously hammering the 'O' button to deflect projectiles, it actually feels like you're doing it in a 'gameplay' sense. Its all very fun and involves you in the story more than simply watching it ever could - I wish there were more anime's like this!! However, as I said, this is only half the gameplay...

To continue press O.

When you're asked to do a bit more than watch and tap along the gameplay takes one of two forms; a Devil May Cry style brawler and a Space Harrier style on-rails shooter. Now, this game is no slouch in the challenge department either (it's Japanese afterall) so expect to get your arse handed to you a few times as you pick up the nuances of staying alive. In both cases your aim is to avoid as much damage as you can whilst chaining combos/shots together to build your "burst" meter, which when full will begin a QTE that ends that section of the game. The brawler sections of the game outweigh the shooter parts, and are actually really well done - they're like an extremely frenzied and kinetic God of War - with a fantastic graphics engine that never drops a beat. Shooter sections aren't quite as good, as it's usually harder to see exactly what is going on, and sometimes the controls are a little unwieldy. However, they're never anything short of exhilarating, and serve the same purpose as the rest of the gameplay - to make you feel like a badass!! The scale of this game is insane, and often makes other games look puny by comparison; there are several boss fights against beings larger than the planet, and you'll be zipping about punching asteroids and smashing through supernovas before the story is through. Press X for the conclusion.

When all is said and done, as grandiose as the spectacle on-screen is, and as exhilarating as the gameplay gets, it's the story that you'll most remember from this game. Asura's Wrath is structured like an anime TV series, with opening and closing credits for each "episode" and even bumpers for a commercial break! Composed of 18 core episodes, an alternative ending, and a 4 episode DLC pack to finish it off - Asura's Wrath is the best 22/23 episode anime series you'll watch in a long time, and considering that you also get a video game thrown in there for good measure, it's an incredible piece of audio-visual entertainment