Damn, I miss doing these. Feels like I have been playing this game for a year; well it was last October anyways. The year of 2015 is the time to seriously "try" to kill the the 360 backlog, "try" is the operative word.
I have been wanting to play this game since it came out, as it was very intriguing and the reviews were good. Many reviewers gave this good marks and so I finally tracked it down after missing those inevitable buy this for ten dollars sale. Got it cheaper ;).
Earth has gone to sh*t; humans make war, humans make Mechs, Mechs destroy humans. Mechs are now the overlords to the world, hunting down the last remnants of humanity and enslaving them. You play as Monkey, a loner and a handsome hunk o'beef, a strange New England accent with some of those human superpowers that makes him climb and fight like a monkey on roids. (Who is mo-capped by Andy Serkis, and actually makes a personal appearance, I was not expecting.) Monkey eventually gets caught by the slavers and gets taken away on a ship. Aboard the ship a mysterious girl has gotten free and sets Monkey free only to escape the ship without him. The ship crashes with Monkey barely escaping. Waking up he finds the girl, Trip, next to him and a headband on his head. She now has control over the overgrown lug. If he tries to escape, harm her or if she dies, he dies. She orders him to take her home, and thus starts the journey. The story is loosely based after the Chinese story of the Journey to the West,
The game play is very reminisce of Uncharted series insomuch as the mechanics set up pretty much the same. Monkey climb, monkey climb, maybe solve a puzzle, beat some baddies, monkey climb and level done. Lots of money swinging, that thankfully is very fluid and natural, point and jump. Once is awhile you have to distract the Mechs as Trip unlocks a door or hacks something. Other levels you have the Cloud, a hover disc that Monkey rides like a skateboard/surfboard to travel the level. Monkey is armed with a quarter-staff that can be charged with energy to stun Mechs and it doubles as a "gun" that shoots plasma or stun bolts. The combat is overwhelming at first, as Mechs will swarm you and give no quarter. You collect 'tech orbs' to increase your skills, through a lite skill tree, and this is a must! The split the herd and single out one Mech at a time is the only way to succeed. Monkey does have some pretty bad-ass kill screens; Psycho, Mech-blood rage, die f*cker look in his eyes.
I love the post-apocalyptic genre, and this game hits the nail on the head. Ruins of cities overgrown with nature and the remnants of mankind's existence slowly fading away. The cross town objectives are given a fly-by and the environments are beautiful. This game is filled with color and uses the whole color palette. While the path there is a winding linear path, you visit some great crumbling structures of the past. You visit an opera house, a rusting Mech factory and the overall destruction of humanity's everyday lives halted in time. I played half this game on 480 and the last half on 1080p, the visuals were amazing before and mind boggling after. (I have been playing all of my games on 480 for the last 7 years and I am still getting used to playing with all this high definition stuff.) The environment becomes your strategic playground, Trip has a mech dragonfly that gives you a lay of the land and the threats you will face. Guns blazing or go for the strategic point and make the fight easier with more risk just getting to that point.
The story is a light-hearted, I see where this is ending up predictability but, it still hits the mark. You meet another survivor, alas, comic relief further in the story, who becomes a companion to your endgame story. Comes with a pretty good twist and kind of a flat ending, but wraps the story up mostly. The game-play is a little rough off the start, as you are weak and the learning curve is pretty steep. I got my ass kicked many times before getting off the ropes and laying the smack down. Upgrades are the key as much as strategic enemy take downs. Good thing this guy is called Monkey, because most of the game you are swinging like one. The enemies are varied enough you will see several different types, though there is a repetition and after defeating one you will be able to take it down another time. Overall, a GOOD INU; good story, challenging combat and a beautiful environment.
On to the next, the dreaded backlog needs a serious dent this year...before GTA 5 Heists, The Division, and the (fingers crossed) Fallout 4 arrives to take my time...when am I going to find the time??
SWS out.
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