Is it better than
?
Heavenly Sword? Yes. While the voice acting and character expressions are impressive in both games, Enslaved has that extra emotional touch to the writing, and the relationship between Monkey and Trip has no comparison in Heavenly Sword. Also, Enslaved doesnt have obnoxious quick time events. And even though the combat in Enslaved is technically less complex and certainly less flashy, it feels more like youre performing methodical attacks instead of pressing buttons and watching Nariko fly through the air. The other advantage, of course, is that Enslaved isnt quite as short as Heavenly Sword. Its not super-long either, but it doesnt leave you saying, Is that it?
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow? No. Castlevania is a safer bet for the gamers gamer. Its gameplay is rock-solid and polished until you can see yourself in it. Its massive, giving you far more game for your buck. At the same time, it isnt original Enslaved has that beat by a foliage-strangled country mile. Castlevanias story is also the usual videogame tripe, although the voice acting is still top-notch. For those wanting to see where videogames could be heading, Enslaved is the guiding light. For those wanting to see the culmination of where games have come, Castlevania lumps it all together into a rich, briny soup and lets you drink deep.
ICO? This is going to garner some hate, but in this reviewers eyes, yes. ICO should have been the perfect game for us, seeing as we love some good old lonely climbing of crumbly castles, but when we played ICO long after the hype train had built it up, we were massively disappointed. Were not saying its not a good game, but we had a hard time enjoying it fighting shadows off Yorda over and over got real tired real quick, and many of the puzzles felt unfair in their obscurity. And we have to go with Monkey and Trips relationship over two non-speaking non-characters any day. Were sure plenty of gamers will play both of these games and call us crazy, but we call it like we see it.