One of the most useful tools in the reviewer’s arsenal is that of comparison; the ability to draw on past experiences and previous games in order to give context to the title at hand. Although some of the underlying hack ‘n’ slash gameplay mechanics of Ignition’s El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron can be traced back to genre highlights like God Of War, in other ways it is simply utterly unique, unlike anything we’ve ever played before and unlikely to be repeated again.
Cross-hatched pencil, ever-shifting watercolour clouds, cartoon platforms, vector geometry; El Shaddai’s art style flits about frenetically at a breakneck pace. As soon as your eyes have accustomed to one vivid, unique effect, you are transported off to another world, bedecked in yet another polar opposite one. It’s initially quite jarring, but there is no denying that Ignition’s art directors have outdone themselves here – given carte blanche to do as they wished, and seemingly struck by too many ideas to narrow them down, they’ve simply chucked them all in. The result is a hodge-podge of one-off visual feasts, used and quickly discarded, any one of which you’ve never seen a videogame rendered in before.
It’s a shame then, given the beauty of the environments, that their implementation lets them down. Jagged edges abound when viewed on a large HD TV, and can’t help but break the immersion. In one particular neon-decked area, with huge floating platforms receding into the formidable draw distance, the result is downright ugly. The main character and enemy models fare better though, and provide a rare thread of consistency through the ever-changing landscapes of El Shaddai’s opening chapters.
So far we’ve yet to find gameplay that matches the sheer ingenuity of the game’s visuals. Enoch, the main protagonist, uses standard combos, power attacks and dash moves that characterise the hack ‘n’ genre; a move-set you’ve practised so often, and clicks into place so quickly here that you’d be forgiven for thinking you were playing God Of War if it weren’t for the gaudy, supernatural colours coalescing all around you. Even the weapons are handed out by stealing them from your foes – sound familiar? It seems our well-polished ‘comparison’ tool has gotten a run-out after all.
Familarity sets in further when progression settles into an early, repetitious rhythm. Environments can abruptly be cordoned off in order to spawn a slew of enemies, with the walls only coming down once all have been vanquished. These well-worn hack ‘n’ slash arenas are often interspersed with 2D platforming sections that sometimes call recent downloadable hit Outland to mind, but which lack that game’s finely-tuned physics. There’s something about Enoch’s jump that feels stiff and incomplete which can lead to awkward platforming and common, frustrating falls.
A less than stellar start for El Shaddai then, but if anything can lead us through these unentertaining periods of gameplay, it’s the promise of yet another brilliant new piece of environmental design, yet another artistic lens through which to view the unfolding story. We’ve never seen anything like it, and such originality is a breath of fresh air in an increasingly stale marketplace. We think that’s worth sticking with, so expect our full review soon.
El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron releases in the UK this Friday on PS3 and Xbox 360.