Enslaved may be published by Namco Bandai rather than Sony, and may be on Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation 3, but Ninja Theory’s latest still has a lot in common with its PS3 exclusive, Heavenly Sword – Gollum Serkis is returning to wax lyrical in his own inimitable, rubber-faced way, and there’s the familiar promise of a vast, cinematic story brought to life by a convincing cast of characters. One of the lead characters, Trip, also bears a striking resemblance to Nariko.

But there is, of course, plenty that separates the two. Enslaved tells the tale of two characters, most notably, and there’s Alex Garland, him of The Beach fame, writing the story, with gameplay built around the unlikely duo of Monkey (Serkis) and Trip working together, against one of their wills, in a post-apocalyptic world of killer robots.

With the game due out next year, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, so we tracked down Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades to find out more.

Read the full interview at Eurogamer.net

There’s no indication of either of these figures being part of larger lines based on their games, nor is there currently a price (but you can expect it to be around $15-20 a piece compared to the current market). It makes sense that DC is making all these figures, considering the fact that the Sony PS3 will be the console home of the forthcoming DCU Online MMO. Hopefully this partnership continues to produce benefits like this because I could sure use a full set of Uncharted action figures. Oh, and I heard that there might be an opening for someone to snag the LittleBigPlanet action figure license. So keep those fingers crossed.

Getting an early look at DC Comics’ solicitations for February of next year sure has its advantages. One of them happens to be seeing just what their action figure plans are for the coming months. Well, next July, you can expect some really sweet ass figures based on Sony characters like Nariko and Sweet Tooth.

This won’t be the first time that DC has plasticized Sony properties. The company’s DC Direct branch already has plans for a Resistance 2 line, as well as a series based on Ratchet and Clank. We reported on those a while back, and I’m still looking forward to getting my hands on that Ratchet series this December. Why they’re choosing for Nariko and Sweet Tooth to get figures this long after their last respective games have shipped is beyond me, but that’s not going to stop me from getting my hands on both of them. That Nariko figure is particularly sweet, what with the flowing red hair and all. Not to take anything away from that Sweet Tooth figure, but I’ve got enough shirtless male gaming characters wielding knives adorning my desk as it is.

This months Edge Magazine, Gamepro Magazine, and Official XBox magazine all include a preview of Enslaved. I hope I can get pictures up soon!

The November issue of Chief magazine includes an exclusive preview of Enslaved. The only thing new that is mentioned is a release indication, Fall 2010.

Check out the photos of the magazine below.

From Play-mag.co.uk

…There’s also exclusive previews of Just Cause 2, Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow and the new game from Heavenly Sword creator Ninja Theory, Enslaved. And still there’s more: an Assassin’s Creed II three-hour hands-on, a look at future PS3 tech including 3D gaming, reviews of GTA: Chinatown Wars, Brütal Legend and PES 2010 and we reveal the first motion-control games.

So don’t forget to check it out! Scans asap.

A: Antoniades let slip that Monkey’s cloud will pop up later in the game, apparently taking the guise of a hoverboard that will utterly change the way you navigate open areas like this.

B: Settings are stunningly detailed, nature’s return and the derelict past left behind by a near fallen humanity made eerily beautiful by an incredibly talented art team.

C: The largest remnants of the mechanised war make up the Titan Graveyard, a desert-like expanse filled with gigantic corroding machines that still twitch with signs of activity.

D: The staff is a versatile weapon indeed, allowing for both close and ranged combat thanks to it’s blast option and variety of ammo types. We look forward to seeing how far it’s ability to grow to obscene lengths is taken.

E: As with Resident Evil 5’s Assist Jumps, Monkey can toss Trip to distant ledges to have her do her thing on the far side, such as dropping a ladder to help you progress.

F: Get too caught up in the action and it can be all too easy to forget about Trip. When she’s in trouble, you really need to drop everything.

Story

Nina Kristensen: “There’s actually always been a secret love of Monkey within the studio, even in Kung Fu Chaos“

Tameem Antoniades: “Once we had the idea of this dual-character game, wrapping it up in an interesting story proved difficult. I read Monkey years ago, but we didn’t want to do another Asian-themed game after Heavenly Sword”, Antoniades recalls. “We just kinda thought, what if it was robots instead of demons? Technology instead of magic? Maybe we could use the kernel of Journey To The West and adapt it in some unexpected way. So it all came about from that, really.”

” It’s going to be a challenge all the way through development,” Antoniades confirms. “The fact is, Trip shouldn’t do anything stupid while you’re playing the game and if she does get into trouble, it’ll be your fault – you’ve not done something, you’ve not put her somewhere safe or you’ve not protected her correctly.” He then goes on to detail her one-shot failsafe. “She also has a last-chance mechanism. If she’s being attacked by a robot, it will pick her up and grab her. Then, just before it would kill her, the camera will swoop in to show you that in slow motion and she’ll do an EMP blast. This stuns all the enemies around her for a few seconds, so you’ve got that time to get back to her and save her.
But if you fail to do that, you’re toast. As long as you’re always aware that you have to protect Trip and as long as it’s always fair,I think it’s a valid mechanic.”

Combat

“The combat in Enslaved isn’t about having lots and lots of combos- it’s more about technique. Countering, evading, attacking, multiple enemy moves…it’s about choosing when to apply those techniques,” Antoniades informs us. “The combat is hard, too. If there are three or four guys around you that you’re fighting, you’re pretty likely to lose most of your health, if not die. We want it to be a brutally hard combat system and the reason for that is that we want the player to think about other ways of approaching situations. You can go in and try to fight them hand to hand, but surely it’s better to rip off a machine gun and shoot a couple of guys with it first?”

The game has undergone a name change from simply Monkey
to the subtler Enslaved.

No QTE’s (Quicktime events) are in the game.

Check out the new pictures from GamesTM magazine

A: Rather than simply being able to make the headband contract to cause Monkey pain, Trip can also issue him with commands.

It helps keep him on task early on.

B: Monkey has a recharging shield, which also covers Trip while he is carrying her. Health, however, is another matter entirely and when that gets low, you have to call upon her to use health packs on your behalf.

C: Taking down bigger mechs in close quarters combat is no mean feat, but your reward is one of several impressive sequences that show Monkey beating the bolts out of them before finishing them off.

EDIT: Replaced pictures for better scans

By PS3.nowgamer.com.

While we haven’t been able to play the game ourselves, we have heard some interesting things from our compatriots at gamesTM. They pointed out things like a menu enabling you to issue simple commands to the AI-controlled Trip, meaning it will hopefully avoid those unnecessary pad-throwing incidents due to massive idiocy on the computer’s part, as well as how puzzles in the game can be approached from numerous angles (figuratively and literally, of course). We’ve also been told to expect some pretty brutal combat, with scouting – using a robotic dragonfly, naturally – helping to reveal weak spots and the like in enemies. Example: some robots have weak gun joints, so why not rip their arms off and use their own weapons against them?

So check out the new Games TM magazine! Hopefully I can get my hands on some scans soon.

Here are the first details on Enslaved from Namco Bandai Games:

“Developed by Ninja Theory Ltd., Enslaved takes players on a gripping, surprise-filled journey as two dissimilar characters form an uneasy union in order to survive their way through a perilous, post-apocalyptic America. A tactical action-adventure game, Enslaved centers on the complex relationship between the two main characters and challenges players to employ a mix of combat, strategy and environment traversal. With influences and contributions from top music and film industry talent, Enslaved combines beautifully rendered graphics and captivating music with seamless animation and engrossing gameplay. Enslaved is planned for release in 2010.

More than 150 years in the future, the world has transformed into an unrecognizable state where all that remains are a dwindling human population and merciless robots left over from wars long past. In Enslaved, players take on the role of Monkey, a strong and brutish loner, and his AI partner Trip, a technologically savvy but sheltered young woman from a peaceful community. Both become captured by a mysterious slave ship, which are rumored to harvest people and take them out west never to return. As they each attempt to escape, Trip realizes quickly that Monkey, with his raw strength and power, is the only hope she has of making the perilous journey back home. She hacks into a slave headband to enslave Monkey and link them together – if she dies, he dies. Her journey has now become his.

Players must make sure both Monkey and Trip work together as they skillfully navigate through the world and survive against the dangerous enemy obstacles that lie in wait. Monkey will deftly wield his trusty staff weapon to attack and defend against enemies, using a combination of melee attacks, blocks and counters. He will also be able to perform spectacular takedown moves, allowing him to rip an enemy apart piece by piece, take its weapon for his own use or destroy it in one final blow.”

Watch for more details on Enslaved soon, and keep a lookout on namcobandaigames.com.