[Review] El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron (PS3)

With any release in the current generation, gamers have cometo expect a certain complexity of their games. There is obviously no standardacross the board for what complexity is with such a broad range of genres, butindividual genres have certainly developed concurrently and would raise certainexpectations as a result. Failing to meet these, however, is not a certaindeath sentence for any game, as ElShaddai: Ascension of the Metatron proves.  

Players take the role of Enoch, an angel sent out on amission to capture fallen angels and take them back to heaven. Avid readers ofthe bible and fans of Christian mythology may recognize a name or two, but noneof it is really connected to the original mythos. In fact, the game even hasplayers crawling a “Tower,” which likely refers to the Tower of Babel. Thinkanime Evangelion, which, aside fromthe name references to the bible, uses nothing else. While it’s certainlynotable that the creators have chosen the Christian mythos as a base for El Shaddai’s writing, it’s another disappointmentwhere the end product has little or no connection to the source material.

The most notable aspect of El Shaddai is undoubtedly the visuals. For most of the game, itbears a striking dream-like look, where there is a blurry filter cast atop. Inmany levels, the game switches to a 2D platformer, often featuring designs thatare a radical departure from previous three dimensional segments. No matterwhere players are in the game, though, it will look beautiful. It’s as though thecreators made absolutely certain that no colors of the visible spectrum wereleft out. Underneath the filters though, this game is definitely lacking. Facialexpressions are bland; character designs are generic; there is also anoticeable difference between the real time and prerendered cutscenes – enoughto believe that they are a full console generation apart.

Combat is simple to jump into yet provides plenty ofcomplexity for players. With the attack button, players can hack away atenemies, hold it down to absorb an attack before unleashing damage on theunsuspecting enemy, or delay attacks to break an enemy’s guard. It’s the game’sown version of rock-paper-scissors as players will have to decide on thecorrect action to take based on the enemy’s stance. Players content withhacking away will find their weapons amiss as it deals less damage over time.As weapons endure use, they will have to be purified or players can simply an enemy’sweapon. Weapon selection itself had a strategic role, encouraging players totake out groups of enemies in a specific order as to not make the task toodaunting.

In an age of technological prowess, El Shaddai uses artistic direction instead to create a beautifulgame. Furthermore, its simple gameplay allows gamers to focus on thepresentation more than anything else. However, the game has its fair share ofshortcomings that shine light on the creator’s lack of attention to detail. Despiteits technical flaws and lazy writing, this game still bears the making of a“classic” game – at the very least for its value as one of the mostaesthetically pleasing games to grace this generation.  

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360; Publisher: Ignition Entertainment; Developer: Ignition Tokyo; Players: 1; Released: August 16, 2011; ESRB: Teen; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.