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Enslaved: Odyssey to the West sales fail to break 500K worldwide

wouwie

Member
I'm still planning to buy this but i'm waiting until the price drops as low as possible. Poor performance on PS3, completely automated platforming and the demo have made me decide not to buy at full price.

Which is a shame, as this is very much my type of game: platform and combat, story and character driven, great locations and atmosphere. With proper performance on PS3, solid platforming and combat, Ninja Theory would have received my money on day one without hesitation.

If the game failed, then i think Ninja Theory are the ones "to blame" because of the poor execution of what seems to be a new game franchise with lots of potential (looking at Uncharted here). And i should add that i have no bias whatsoever towards Ninja Theory. I'm just trying to explain the reasons why i haven't bought the game yet.
 

SapientWolf

Trucker Sexologist
Dyno said:
Ninja Theory shouldn't make games. They would be better supporting the industry with CGI, mo-cap, and other ancilliary aspects of games development. They don't do gameplay mechanics very well at all.

DMC is an antiquated brand with nothing going for it that makes it relevant today.
DMC4 moved over 2 mil. lern2troll
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
ghst said:
it only took the fifteen minutes i spent with it to earn my coveted WGOTY status.

a dark day for the autoplay for tards genre.
Yes!!!! It's catching on!
 

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
Zabka said:
I think you have that backwards. The vitriol over DmC is due to the quality (or lack thereof) of Enslaved and Heavenly Sword.
Ding. There really isn't any nice way to put it, but they gave a gameplay heavy franchise to a bunch of hacks, who survived on Andy Serkis name. The quality in their past titles have shown nothing outside of having a large budget to make pretty. And even then, their titles are still technical messes. Don't even have to get to gameplay(I'd think I prefer shitty C budget titles like Cy Girls or another buggy Tenchu mess) to the most insulting examples yet of One Button Hero combat.

Now, unlike some of the complaints in here. I have no quarrels with short titles either nor do I have no problem with paying full price for them either. Bayonetta takes about the same amount of time to beat, Vanquish is even shorter. Yet both of those also have amazingly well thought out gameplay. Which creates replay value, compared to Enslaved where it barely has enough depth to fill a single level. We can also add on eye bleeding, framerate problems.

Y2Kev said:
Yes!!!! It's catching on!
What does WGOTY stand for then?
 
yeah I'm part of those sales, got it at 40 and trusted the developers because I loved heavenly sword so much...played it and got to chapter 2 I think and traded it in within 2 days. Terrible terrible game, still love the developers though, I guess this is their dmc2.
 

Effect

Member
The general premise behind the gameplay bothered me when I read up on this game. Granted that was limited as well. Switch the genders and see how likely that crap is to be accepted.
 

dream

Member
xKilltheMx said:
yeah I'm part of those sales, got it at 40 and trusted the developers because I loved heavenly sword so much...played it and got to chapter 2 I think and traded it in within 2 days. Terrible terrible game, still love the developers though, I guess this there dmc2.

Wow, you're like bizarro-me. I hate Heavenly Sword more than just about any other game but, against my better judgement, I picked up Enslaved and ended up loving it to death.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
I should've been warned when someone here compared this game to PoP'08, but I tried it anyway. Ugh. Game indeed has a lot in common with it. Nuff said.
 

FireFly

Member
Just starting playing this and I'm a bit disappointed. I'm not a platformer guy so I expected the lack of depth in that regard would be something I could overlook, but there really is no skill whatsoever involved, so far.

Even in something like Arkham Asylum, you still had to actually make your jumps, so you felt some satisfaction in leaping from ledge to ledge. In this game it feels like I'm watching an interactive cutscene, where I just have to keep hitting the A button.

The combat also feels incredibly clunky so far, and the lack of camera control is rather irritating as well. Hopefully things will get better. The story lives up to expectations at least.
 
I can't stand Ninja theory's art styles used in Heavenly sword and Enslaved. Can't stand the sight of Tameem Antoniades. They have a talented team, But he has got to go. That has nothing to do with DmC.
 

YagizY

Member
People that think this game is terrible have not been blessed enough to play Ninjabread Man.

LONG LIVE THE B-TIER GAME!
 
GuitarAtomik said:
I enjoyed Enslaved a lot mostly for the characters. That said, I'm glad I didn't pay $60 for it. I really hope someone is able to find a way to make games like this (highly polished, yet tight, short experiences) while being able to make a profit at a more budget price like $40 or something.
I came in the thread specifically to post this. It sucks but I think that in todays retail store enviroment you can't sell a single player new IP for $60 unless you are willing to put your all into it (meaning mad marketing dollars.)
 
I guess I can post this here:

467a5c29-d449-459b-94c2-0025f848a3b4.jpg
 

rhino4evr

Member
I rented this last month and I enjoyed the story and the characters, but the gameplay was totally dull.

The Prince of Persia 2008 comparisons were spot on.
 

Erasus

Member
The Praiseworthy said:
so... what's stopping you? don't tell me because the game didn't sell well? because so many great games were amazing and yet they sold poorly .

Oh no, I was just sad it didnt sell well because it seems like a great game, and now I feel guilty :p
 
I loved Heavenly Sword so I was expecting much better from this. I only paid $5 for my copy but still haven't managed to finish it. The combat is just so damn bad, the framerate is all over the place, movement and platforming elements are inconsistent as hell (why can I jump over this rock, but not this other one?. Why can I walk off this ledge but not this other one?), and the puzzle based scenarios remove any sense of urgency.

This is probably the only game I've ever wished had a "resolve combat automatically" button, so I could just watch the game being played and enjoy the story and characters. So I can't say I'm surprised by the weak sales.
 

Cataferal

Digital Foundry
Dresden said:
Ninja Theory needs to make RPGs, not action games. Something with a greater focus on storytelling where their inadequacies, for whatever reason, regarding actual gameplay is less of a concern.

I don't like them making DMC, but I'd like them to try a Final Fantasy game if u kno wut i meen.
Fair reasoning. As an RPG fan I agree, but I think they have a chance to put things right in this genre. Enslaved wasn't necessarily bad as an action game, but NT were obviously having difficulties getting the Unreal 3 engine to deliver a cinematic experience with heavy platforming elements. If they recognise the game's shortcomings, and take note of the feedback, they could drastically improve the sequel just like Ubisoft did for Assassin's Creed II. Maybe it'd simply be better for them to stick with the devil they know?
 
Not a surprise. I really, really wanted to like Enslaved but it plays like complete and utter dogshit (worst fighting system I've experienced in a long time - good luck with DmC) and I couldnt get far before giving up.
 
Dresden said:
Ninja Theory needs to make RPGs, not action games. Something with a greater focus on storytelling where their inadequacies, for whatever reason, regarding actual gameplay is less of a concern.

It would be extremely expensive to develop RPG's with the tech that they use. Bioware doesn't even use it and they have very successful franchises.
 
Revolutionary said:
Not a surprise. I really, really wanted to like Enslaved but it plays like complete and utter dogshit (worst fighting system I've experienced in a long time - good luck with DmC) and I couldnt get far before giving up.
Same here. I just got to a certain section involving a number of bridges and controls for raising and lowering them when the game just turned into wave after wave after wave after wave of enemies. That one area tapped the entire supply of patience I had left. Haven't put the disk in since.
 

rhino4evr

Member
I really came away from this game thinking it had been rushed. Here are these great characters, a cool story, and a great concept and almost none of it translated to the gameplay.
Those dogs looked awesome..but did you know you could basically just stun them attack and stun them again when they got up? There was absolutely no challenge in this game.
You could collect all the power orbs, but you didn't even need too as you were already over powered.
You climb these giant structures but it's all automatic that you could almost do it blindfolded.

It's interesting that this game came out the same day as Castlevania..as I think they both had these huge presentation, but rather lackluster gameplay to back it up. Although I think Castlevania was the much better game in that comparison
 

[Nintex]

Member
Trick_GSF said:
At the developers. And want to see them fail. For some reason..
I think a developer who worked on this game took an iconic character and redesigned it to resemble him.

Let's say I dunno, Jun Takeuchi took Master Chief and redesigned him to his likeness. Do you think people would like that?
 
[Nintex] said:
I think a developer who worked on this game took an iconic character and redesigned it to resemble him.

Let's say I dunno, Jun Takeuchi took Master Chief and redesigned him to his likeness. Do you think people would like that?

Blame Capcom for it. They're told NT to redesign Dante in a way that would piss fans off. The original NT designs for him apparently resembled the Dante that people loved and Capcom rejected those.
 

[Nintex]

Member
SolidSnakex said:
Blame Capcom for it. They're told NT to redesign Dante in a way that would piss fans off. The original NT designs for him apparently resembled the Dante that people loved and Capcom rejected those.
I think that the upcoming destruction of the Devil May Cry franchise was Inafune's 'Fuck you' to Capcom. Maybe they'll reverse the process or maybe this is why Kamiya and Takeuchi got drunk together.
 

TripOpt55

Member
I enjoyed Enslaved. The characters were really great I thought. It definitely had some gameplay issues. I think it would have been nice to see them get to make a sequel to one of their new IP's because maybe if they iterated on their gameplay they could make them better as opposed to moving to something new and kind of creating new issues with the new gameplay. I love the presentation and all that stuff in HS and Enslaved though.
 

[Nintex]

Member
TripOpt55 said:
I enjoyed Enslaved. The characters were really great I thought. It definitely had some gameplay issues. I think it would have been nice to see them get to make a sequel to one of their new IP's because maybe if they iterated on their gameplay they could make them better as opposed to moving to something new and kind of creating new issues with the new gameplay. I love the presentation and all that stuff in HS and Enslaved though.
In a way they're like modern Sonic Team.
 

Hari Seldon

Member
SonOfABeep said:
The argument about game length is one I will never understand.

9/10 GAF users probably have enough of a backlog to have enough games to play for 6 months.

Why does how long a game is matter at all anymore? Any adult with a reasonable amount of disposable income and other responsibilities has far more money available for this hobby than time.

Why does it matter how long a game is? If it isn't fun you won't play it to the end anyway.


I will answer this. As I get older I do have significantly more money than time. Therefore I no longer have time to piss with B tier games. I will take a chance with a B tier game, but not for $60, and only if there is nothing else I am into at the moment (most of my B-tier game buying is Steam sales). I have broken my habit of collecting backlogs, therefore it does not make sense to buy every new release for full price. This game had "skip it until it is cheaper and I have time" written all over it.
 
Hari Seldon said:
I will answer this. As I get older I do have significantly more money than time. Therefore I no longer have time to piss with B tier games. I will take a chance with a B tier game, but not for $60, and only if there is nothing else I am into at the moment (most of my B-tier game buying is Steam sales). I have broken my habit of collecting backlogs, therefore it does not make sense to buy every new release for full price. This game had "skip it until it is cheaper and I have time" written all over it.

totally reasonable answer. Anyone who waited until it was $20 or $40 or rented to find out it wasn't their thing did the totally sensible thing.

Anyone who called it "horrible" and hoped people would lose their jobs because it was a "B-Tier" game should be ashamed of themselves.
 

Axiom

Member
I ended up pre-ordering Enslaved and was a pretty big fan of the game as a whole. Shame it seems so polarising and its flaws overblown in a vendetta against Ninja Theory because they don't want to get annoyed at fan-favourite Capcom.

I love me some Capcom too, but it's been stated that the redesign is as radical a change because of them, so if you're angry direct it there - not at a pretty decent video game developer.

It's really a shame more people didn't play it. Reminds me of Mirror's Edge, obvious potential that doesn't quite come together as you'd like, but overall an experience worth having....which nobody did.
 

Grecco

Member
If the Cel Shaded Prince of Persia didnt sell

and Too Human didnt sell.

Why did Ninja Theory think mixing them up would make a game that would sell?
 

LiK

Member
Axiom said:
I ended up pre-ordering Enslaved and was a pretty big fan of the game as a whole. Shame it seems so polarising and its flaws overblown in a vendetta against Ninja Theory because they don't want to get annoyed at fan-favourite Capcom.

I love me some Capcom too, but it's been stated that the redesign is as radical a change because of them, so if you're angry direct it there - not at a pretty decent video game developer.

It's really a shame more people didn't play it. Reminds me of Mirror's Edge, obvious potential that doesn't quite come together as you'd like, but overall an experience worth having....which nobody did.
Mirrored my thoughts exactly. Great game with some interesting characters.
 
Personally, Ninja Theory have always struck me as what happens when you make a games company and you put the art team in charge of everything; game mechanics, level design, budget, project planning, the works.

You end up with aeshetically pleasing shallow experiences.

I for one aren't going to be crying any tears over there being less games in future that entirely rely on style over substance.
 
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