El Shaddai: Ascention of the Metatron – Review (360, PS3)
Originality in gaming sees to be a subjective thing and one that affords a lot of risk. Consumers know what they want and any deviation from that change can be met with a disdain that ultimately seals the title’s fate.
So developers seem to play it safe, under the watchful eye of the Publisher that is normally financially backing them producing the same style, design and genre convention that help sell film in the same way. There are a lot of similarities in film as there are in games and to understand film form in its natural habitat will prepare you, to an extent, for what’s to come in game as it is starting to inevitably speak the same language.
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Likes
- Reinvents game conventions
- Beautiful art design
- Compelling storyline
- Simplistic and effective gameplay
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Dislikes
- odd dodgy camera angle
Hollywood style film, and games, are popular to a massive audience given their knack for offloading huge budgets, big effects and a language that everyone can understand. Japanese and foreign film, and games, however, have their own distinct audience. One that appreciates the finer points of the language spoken, can think outside of the box, appreciates a little originality that will inevitably be copied or remade by the giants of publishing but unfortunately one that may not be appreciated by the mass market.
El Shaddai: Ascention Of The Metatron falls into this particular market but DOES have the ability to appeal to a wider audience. Even though it skillfully mixes original design with basic game mechanics presented at its best, El Shaddai: Ascention OF The Metatron walks tall, widens its shoulders and packs the sort of punch and originality that only a few games like Ico and Beautiful Katamari have done before it.
Based on the Book Of Enoch from the Old Testament, you play Enoch who has been sent to purify and deliver the souls of seven fallen angels who are “hell” bent on bringing a great flood to earth. As I write this you may think that the story has a very basic, if not short premise but the way it is delivered within the game is nothing short of spectacular. The pacing alone drives the game well but the surreal qualities have also been captured in a way that allures the gamer into wanting to play for that “few” minutes more.
El Shaddai: Ascention Of The Metatron plays itself out in a variety of gaming genres that travel through 2 and 3d environments covering combat that fits well within Japanese fighting games like the Devil May Cry series et al. Using one button combat offers a simplicity to the game but has enough combinations covered to also provide some outstanding close up sequences and keeps the fighting fresh. Although the combat mechanics seem basic there is a slight twist. Enoch can use one of three weapons to defeat your enemies but figuring out which one to use is key to progressing faster. Each weapon also needs purifying when you have cleansed enough souls to keep the weapon strong, something that needs some good timing if the strength needs to be addressed mid fight.
The weapons on offer include a short range combat sword called the “Arch” which also allows you to float around the battle, a long range weapon that fires projectiles called the “Gale” which also offers a quick dash ability and last but not least, the “Veil” which area pair of heavy duty gauntlets that double up a shield. As I said before, knowing what weapons deal the most damage is important to combat and as you can only carry one at a time you will need to steal them off of an unconscious enemy after an attack from yourself. Again, simplicity is key to the game’s mechanic here but the extra depth provides a lot of fun.
When you start the game you immediately get into the button mashing effect which will only provide you a respite for the first couple of levels. El Shaddai: Ascention Of The Metatron is all about the little things coming together and once you start to understand the subtlety of combat and string together well timed combos, the game comes alive a little more.
This goes for the rest of the game and the platform genre it also holds dear. Mixing 2D and 3D levels together, juxtaposed by a compulsive storyline and an art pallet that has brushes of Braid mixed with an abstract design, Enoch needs to also find his way through various levels of the Tower in order to find the fallen angels he is meant to return. Swinging platforms, hard to reach areas plus trigger switches, holes etc requires well timed jumps to accomplish your journey. Opening out into wider combat areas allows for a break in the journey but will require good jump timing in order to proceed.
Double jumps need to be perfectly timed on occasion and with the way that the levels are designed can cause a few minor problems in judgement due to some strange camera angles at times and not being able to adjust it for the best view of the obstacle which can cause some frustrating deaths.
Overall though, that slight niggle is the only thing that I found fault with. El Shaddai’s vision, though, is extraordinary and although this may not appeal to everyone it has to be one of the biggest titles to release this decade in terms of artistic merit and originality. Yes, it is tripped out in places and the storyline could come straight from a David Lynch movie on occasion but there is no denying that El Shaddai: Ascention Of The Metatron will turn heads. The artistic design alone, in all of its abstract glory is enough to put this head and shoulders above its peers, but marrying simple genre mechanics and adding a little spice transforms a game that could be perceived as pretentious has in fact redefined gaming as an art form as well as a past time.
If tutors and professors were to teach gaming form and convention as a lesson, in the future, with its own set of rules drawn up like film studies has then El Shaddai: Ascention Of The Metatron will be used as an example of game design being taken to the next level.
