El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

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The basic storyline for El Shaddai is you play as Enoch, a priest sent by heaven to seek out seven fallen angels who have abandoned God and fled to Earth to capture them before God floods the Earth. The story can be very confusing throughout the game and I wasn't sure what was going on for a lot of the game but it's the music and the visuals that make this game shine.

El Shaddai is visually stunning and different than any other game I have played before which caught my attention. Each level's design changes drastically and never left me bored with what I had to look at. The music is very good as well.

Combat is hack and slash in the same vein as God of War, Dante's Inferno, and Devil May Cry but more simple. You start the game off barehanded and gradually get three different weapons to steal from enemies. Attacking is about as simple as it comes since you just have one button to press and then can do two different moves with each weapons which just involve a press of two buttons. To become effective at combat you have to time your button presses and make sure you are using the correct weapon since each weapon has a weakness to a different one. You can of course go through the entire game and try sticking to your favorite but combat will take longer that way.

Overall I would say the game was worth the purchase and would recommend it to people who are interested in something different to play. The visuals and music are both stunning, game play is fun and can be challenging as well but if you are looking for an amazing story than this might not be your first choice since it can be confusing.

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This game is inspired by the Biblical character Enoch, and in the game he is sent to Earth to bring back the souls of 7 fallen angels to remove their influence so that there is not another great flood. Despite its inspiration, the game merely uses the Bible (and other ancient religious texts) as source material for the fictional (and often psychedelic) world; it's definitely not preachy, and some very religious/conservative folk may even find some of the references/jokes/suggestions offensive. (Lucifel talks on a cell phone to God, jokes about being mistaken for God, etc.)

On the surface, El Shaddai is an action/platform game offering a mix of 3D combat (i.e. God of War, Soul Reaver, etc.) with 2D platform elements (Mega Man, Super Mario Bros, etc.) and offering a variance of art styles between each stage. Controls are simple: there's jump, attack, block, and "purify," the latter of which will be detailed later. (The controls are also programmable, which is really a feature all games should have.) Gameplay in the 3D world largely consists of traversing (mostly) linear areas (there are a few branching paths, and some side/hidden areas), and being locked into combat arenas where the player will have to defeat a variety of enemies before continuing to the obligatory boss. (There is also another style of gameplay featured in one level, but I won't spoil the surprise.) Be prepared for a few instances where gameplay is minimized for cinematic effect or for transition between areas, as seen in games like the Metal Gear Solid series. (Slow walking areas, etc.)

Combat is based off a concept which is popular amongst many Japanese games: Roshambo, or Rock, Paper, Scissors. There are three weapon types, and each weapon is respectively weak to one and strong against another. Wielding a different weapon not only changes your attack patterns and available combos, but it also changes the way in which your character traverses the world; the "heavy" weapon makes the wielder run slower, yet offers mobile defense; the "light" weapon causes the wielder to be more quick, and also offers additional, expanded movement options, etc. However (unlike God of War) the player does not select weapons on-the-fly from their inventory; weapons are only available directly from enemies, where the player has to steal them during key moments of weakness. These weapons become corrupted after a period of use, thus reducing their efficacy in battle; to combat this, Enoch is able to "purify" his weapons, but it takes time, and leaves the character vulnerable to attack for a moment. The other solution to weapon corruption is stealing another weapon, which results in automatic weapon purification and immunity from attack.

Despite the simple controls, combat can become highly tactical, especially on difficulty levels "Normal" and above; "Easy" lends itself to wanton, mindless, button-mashing throughout the entirety of the game. The game leaves attack combinations to be discovered by the player, and there are quite a few to be had just by varying the rhythm of button-pressing. Nearly every enemy has (with the exception of a few incidental, unarmed foes like Sprites) a weakness according to the Roshambo-style rules, yet that becomes less obvious when presented with enemies (such as bosses) which are not specifically wielding one of the three weapons.

One of the highlights of this game is that each area has its own art style; level and character art may appear as a surreal watercolor painting in one level, cell-shaded 3D (i.e. Katamari Damacy) in another level, and realistic-looking, futuristic cityscapes in another. The music varies quite a bit, too, as skirmishes are sometimes punctuated with the token intense (orchestral) video game music, while other encounters may feature a jazzier soundtrack; some areas have ambient music, while one area in particular has African choral music. Every new section in El Shaddai is a new visual and aural experience. Truly, this game is almost worth the (now very low) price just to see the variance of artistic style between levels. I was especially impressed by seeing the outside of the tower for the first time; it was in such stark contrast to anything I had seen before in the game, and the neon fireworks in the background with the African chorus singing below the Tron-like walkways really let me know that I should leave my expectations behind.

Unfortunately, the visual style of the game -coupled with the inability of the player to control the camera -can result in pitfalls during the 3D platforming sequences; sometimes it's a little hard to tell where a platform is, and whether or not Enoch is positioned correctly to land upon it. Not being able to control the camera at all makes this a deadly combination, as it would have been nice to be able to make fine adjustments with the right analog stick. In fact, El Shaddai makes absolutely no use of the right analog stick; if there is one thing game designers working in this genre should take away from a fixed-perspective action game (like God of War), it is the ability to use the right analog stick for evasion. Fortunately, pitfalls are of little consequence in this game, as the player usually starts off pretty close to where they fell, with no discernable penalty unless the falls become numerous.

El Shaddai is pretty light on penalty overall, actually; death in combat does not result in an immediate "Game Over," as Enoch can be revived with button-mashing during a limited period after death. This button mashing becomes progressively more demanding with each additional area death, until it eventually seems impossible to mash the buttons fast enough before having to reload. (For me that threshold was around the 6th revival.) Even so, the game auto-saves frequently, so most deaths are just not that debilitating. Even items collected before death are retained, making haphazard, suicide-style play a viable strategy to obtain some of these collectibles.

Collectibles are hidden well throughout the game, and if anything the automatic camera and sometimes painterly art-style make finding some of these items (and areas) a real challenge; branching paths are not always obvious, and sometimes the camera does not refocus on the new path until the player is practically on top of it. Only truly adventurous and imaginative players will find all the collectibles on their first play-through.

There is plenty of re-play value beyond the initial 10-15 hour story as well; a certain group of collectibles unlock a superior suit of armor for Enoch, and just beating the game for the first time unlocks new options and armor sets as well. The higher difficulty levels definitely demand mastery of the combat controls, as making it through those elevated difficulty levels without mastering blocking and counter-attacking is futile. I would have preferred that all difficulty levels be available at the start of the game, but the highest two are only unlocked after beating the game on "Easy" or "Normal" difficulty.

Overall I enjoyed El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron as a unique action game; the combat controls were simple to learn (yet difficult to master), game-play was generally tight and responsive, some battles were genuinely challenging, and the audio/visual aspect of the game is positively unforgettable. To all those people who thought this was going to be a $15 downloadable title: now is your chance, and it's totally worth the price right now. If you enjoy action games like this and are willing to put your expectations aside: there is no reason not to enjoy this game, and I know that some of it left an indelible impression on me. It's certainly not perfect, and some of it is quirky, but it's still a very memorable and enjoyable game.

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I was hyped when I saw the initial trailer for this game and was blown away by the crisp looking frame rate, art style and music. I'm a fan of games like okami, odinsphere and others that have their own unique flair and dare to stand out from the crowd with something new. El Shaddai, while beautiful, failed horribly to deliver on every other aspect. The story is there but not as fleshed out as it should have been and is non-sensical at times. Gameplay consists of one attack button, one jump button and block. At first I thought there were two jump/block buttons but they both essentially do the same thing with the one exception of the jump+guard/jump+attack button presses which still do little to add to the shallow and repetitive combat.

If you hated running through a corridor in Final fantasy 13 repeatedly and killing a small variation of enemies then you will HATE this game. I pushed myself onward until I beat the game telling myself maybe it will be different but it doesnt get any better. Each level consists of running through a linear pathway whether its 2D or 3D... killing enemies in an enclosed area...rinse/repeat until you encounter boss.

The music was my other gripe. I loved the music i saw in the trailer which is a single track on the game and then the rest seems pretty much like forgettable elevator music. I will say I've been spoiled by games like demon's souls that have musical scores that are equally as characteristic and layered as the game is... El Shadai's is ...just bland most the time.

I would like to end with the fact that this is just my opinion, some people I have seen on various message boards thoroughly enjoyed it, I didn't.

My advice to anyone even considering plunking down 60$ of their hard earned cash on this short and half baked game would be to download the demo first from PSN, Rent it or wait until the price drops.

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This game is surprisingly good. I didn't like the demo but after several price drops and an amazon gift card I took the chance and picked it up. I'm glad I did. This is a fantastic overall experience. The visual design is gorgeous. The sound is pleasing, the story is enjoyable and the gameplay is fun. Overall I really liked this game and it will forever have a place on my shelf as one of the most unique games ever made.

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I haven't finished the game yet, which is good, I like good 60 hours game play, unlike some other games.

Pros:

1. Awesome graphic, feels like watching a movie and not really playing a game.

2. Many gameplay style from traditional hashing and slicing to Little Big Planet-like jumping and maze running to motorcycle racing game. It is like many games in one package.

3. I love the combo moves. It may take a little bit to master it, but it won't take long

4. Very nice background music.

Cons:

1. Poor English dub. Apparantly, not much attention has been paid to dubbing the game, as it is literal translation from Japanese to English and ignoring actual timing of the animation, so you will see the character moving his mouth but no words coming out.