Why did Enslaved flop when Borderlands succeeded?

Resolution's Mark Raymond writes: Sadly, and unsurprisingly, Enslaved: Odyssey of the West has bombed. It’s so far sold an estimated 75,376 copies on the PS3 and 76,607 on the 360, a combined total of 151,983 worldwide. According to GfK Chart-Track, it entered into the UK all-formats chart at number 7 on the week ending 9th October 2010, fell out of the top ten to 11th place the following week, then to 25th, and now it’s hanging on at 28th. Already, sites like The Guardian and Play-Mag have articles up, exploring why this may have happened and who or what is to blame.

Yet, I think what’s interesting is the context within which this product failure occurred. Compare Enslaved to Borderlands, and you’ll see some similarities:

[EscoBlades]

I never liked Borderlands anyway. I also played Enslaved st the Eurogamer Expo, and it felt fairly "empty" to me. The platforming was a little off, the visuals didn't wow me (not that visuals determine the strength of a game) and the general gameplay felt flat. can't say i'm surprised it didn't sell more.

[gillri]

but character were great and the setting and narrative was great

sometimes people concentrate on gameplay too much when that isnt what this game is about

[Ju]

"sometimes people concentrate on gameplay too much when that isnt what this game is about"

Lol at that line. We are still playing video _games_, don't we?

[Baka-akaB]

god forbid people play an hack and slash for its gameplay .

If they wanted to focus on other crap , they should just have done an action rpg (or something like heavy rain , could work) and be done with it .

It failed at platforming , failed in fighting bits because of the stubborness in design from NT , period .

[chazjamie]

yeah, gameplay. what is that? i watch the cutscenes, and enjoy the hell of reading npc text. thats gaming for me, books and movies. i hate touching the controller, one day its going to be seamless, so all i have to do is press the button to switch the console on.

sorry for the rant, but this is a game, not a movie.

[longcat]

Gaming has evolved over time and there are now many facets to a videogame, which i think is good fro the medium.

I think what gillri is trying to say is that the game has some worth but it is not necessarily in the gameplay department.

I played assassins creed 1 mainly because of the presentation and the fact that the story interested me (politics, religion).

[perfectCarbonara]

a game not about gameplay, now I've heard it all.

[Redempteur]

thank you gillri for opening my eyes ...

i mean you pass your time climbing and hiting robots in a pretty shallow format BUT THIS ISN'T WHAT THE GAME IS ABOUT !!

escuse for wanting to have fun with my games

[RememberThe357]

This game isn't the peace of crap you guys are trying to make it out to be. Most of you didn't even play and frankly need to shut up.

The game had serious issues like the crap camera (in combat), and shallow hack and slash fighting, and the horrible ending. The the story and characters are frankly amazing. I play games to be entertains and to challenge myself. But the character development in this game is something I had to see through.

I really liked this game and it had a ton of potential to be one of the years best. Unfortunately it is a little too unpolished and simple to get the honors.

But all the negative talk about this game in unwarranted. If this was an exclusive people would be rushing to defend it's characters and story, but since it's multiplatform everyone just wants to shit all over it.

@below: They did. They still do. Hell, I do. When have to seen Sony fans not defend Heavenly Sword? Please point me to that thread.

@below(again): http://n4g.com/news/602884/...
Here's a comparison. Typical SOny people defending Heavenly Sword and Typical 360 people hating on it. All of them pretty much ignoring Enslaved.

Unfortunately a lot of the old stories aren't coming up in the search right now. otherwise we could put this to rest.

[Gohadouken]

Yeah like everyone defended Heavenly sword back then ?
Give that weak excuse a rest , it didnt work when they had an exclusive and more fans of the game .

@edit

Except they did not . What am i talking about ?

There werent more defenders of Heavenly sword back then , than there are today for Enslaved . Only a few for both games on N4G.

So how the hell does it qualify at "people rushin to defend the game if it was an exclusive" ?
Hell the game didnt even have the support of the press like Enslaved did .

For both games there are dislikes and critics that go beyond the silly "exclusive/multi" excuse .

EDIT 2 :

I wont do your homework for you , go search for it . People have consistantly complained about HS' short campaign and it's gameplay . It's not new .
Sure some guys love and defend the game , but they are quite few ... most others dont even care

[AAACE5]

The hard fact of reality is, Ninja Theory just doesn't make games that a lot of people like! I don't know what it is about their games, but you feel like they should be cheaper that what they charge.

When they made Kung fu chaos for the original Xbox, it sucked! I liked the concept of Heavenly Sword, but the only reason it sold decently was because there was very little to buy on Ps3 at the time that had such great graphics. I bought it and played it for like 3 hours and put it away.

The concept of Enslaved was just too wierd for me. I had low expectations for this game from the start. I always considered it a $20 purchase.

[The Wood]

NT's arrogance is why people are sh!tting on them. They acted immature and promised to give more than they could. Some of this is self inflicted and you can see that both camps are sh!ttin on it. I enjoyed heavenly sword but it was short. People were defending it because others were attacking it. Their attacks were purely to discredit the game as a whole like there was nothing good about it. Show me any game that hasn't been defended and you'll have a point.

[- Ghost of Sparta -]

Borderlands is an endless RPG FPS that focused on insanely addictive co-op (or SP) gameplay while Enslaved and the douche bags at Ninja Theory focused on bad graphics, 3 hours of incredibly easy, one button gameplay, and cutscenes.

I'm sorry but Enslaved isn't worth a penny.

[bakasora]

It flopped?
Nice...
Maybe because they were going screw up Dante.
There is reaction to every action.

[DragonKnight]

Gameplay is what makes or breaks a game. People need to be able to enjoy what they are DOING in a game, not just what they see and hear. Why do you think the old-school SNES games are still considered by those old enough to have played them to be among the best games ever made still to this day? It's because of gameplay.

Take a look at a game from this gen like Demon's Souls. The game has a bare bones story. No character development to speak of. Hell it almost has no music. But pure atmosphere, massive customization, and punishing yet highly addictive gameplay have made it Atlus U.S.A.'s most successful publishing project in 20 years. So many people love that game and want a sequel it's not funny.

Enslaved went in the complete opposite direction. Focused on looks and story, and made it bare bones in the gameplay. Auto-platforming, clunky and simplistic combat, ridiculous camera, robot enemies. And the thing is, they could have had an awesome game with the premise of using the Journey to the West story of Sun Wukong if they kept it in it's Ancient context and used demonic enemies and Sun Wukong's magic. Now that would have been a game to play. But this is Ninja Theory. A green developer who think they've created the greatest masterpieces gaming has ever seen for 20 years, when they've only made like 2 games. They blame everyone else for their failures and mistakes, and expect reception to their games to be unanimously perfect.

Well sorry NT, you had something with HS and decided to bitch about it, alienate your fans, NOT create a sequel to it, and made an unfinished game in Enslaved. It's safe to say we have little expectations of you, and are now really in fear of how DmC will turn out.

[RememberThe357]

I'm not saying that not one hated on Heavenly Sword (I'm not sure where you got that from), I'm pointing out that there would be more people defending it if it was a PS3 exclusive. That is how this site works. Hell, people still defend Lair, and that game sucked.

@The Wood: Talk shit about NT all you want, they deserve it. They bitched about Heavenly Sword not selling, and talking about how going multiplatform would solve all their problems. I feel like they deserve it. Plus, they're completely f*cking up one of my favorite franchises. Dante deserves better than to be turned emo...

Also, there are plenty of games that no one defends. That is not my point. My point is that when a game is an exclusive people seem to let things slide or decide to see the brighter side of a game with a few flaws. When it isn't exclusive people here seem to be more harsh on it. I find it contradictory to praise one game for it's excellent story but flat gameplay (Heavy Rain comes to mind) but then say the opposite for an other game (enslaved). One moment gameplay it's as important and the next it's most important (I'm not calling out Heavy Rain explicitly just using it to add context).

Again, my point is the contradiction that no one seems willing to admit exists.

Edit @above: You make good points about the game. But you are acting like it's unplayable. I'm only saying that the game in entirely playable and that I had a good time with it.

For me games have evolved to be more then a gameplay experience and have become a great story telling medium. We've seen it many times with Uncharted, Heavy Rain, Lost Odyssey, and so on. Gameplay is indeed important, I could bare to finish Lost Odyssey (to make your point for you). I couldn't bare the combat in LO and spent most of my time reading the great side stories, so I understand what your talking about. But combat in Enslaved does not make the game unplayable in anyway. It's a bit shallow but it works.

[Archdemon]

Mark my words.

[Gohadouken]

@RememberThe357

And i never said people didnt defend it , just that they are a minority .
Wich your "proof" (two morons going at it as per usual , whatever the game involved) hardly address .

That more people or not were pro heavenly sword than enslaved , is a debatable opinion
My take is it's doubtful , with many people simply siding with the stellar reviews reinforcing their stance .
heavenly sword didnt have that , at best some could hide beind the usual "they hate the ps3" .

"I find it contradictory to praise one game for it's excellent story but flat gameplay (Heavy Rain comes to mind) but then say the opposite for an other game (enslaved). "

No offense but's that's a BS point and comparison . Heavy rain had , without surprises anyway , the gameplay of typical game of its genre . It had no particular mention of clunky gameplay and just did what's usually warranted by its genre (qte or click and point) .

Enslaved , on the other hand , had the typical gameplay of a game of its genre , but mediocre , subpar in comparison .

Mind you , i'm not saying it's unplayable and pure crap , it's obviously overall probably a decent , good game like Heavenly Sword . But the game's (un)success is do to its own flaws and the market , hardly some fanboy vendetta .
It's far from some gem suffering from infamy and underserved fate like some are claiming now .

[HolyOrangeCows]

"sometimes people concentrate on gameplay too much when that isnt what this game is about"

*Facepalm*

[Jaces]

Guess Ninja Theory can't blame PS3 now for the "poor" Heavenly Sword sales now since Enslaved did even worse, and this was multiplat....ouch. ;P

[Mr2Good3]

That's has to be the dumbest comment of he year

[DragonKnight]

Just because the game is playable, doesn't mean it's a good kind of playable. And just because the story is good, doesn't mean it should be at the expense of the gameplay. Video games could be a great story telling medium, but they are GAMES. What you do should always be more important than what you see or hear in a game.

[ChickeyCantor]

"sometimes people concentrate on gameplay too much when that isnt what this game is about"

You make it sound like an old FMV game like those on the sega cd or something.

[Ult iMate]

Batman was single player. Darksiders was single player. God of War. Heavenly Sword sold 1.5 mil being singleplayer. So it's not the singleplayer to blame.

[wenaldy]

Pretty much contradicting... :/

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Coffin87]

had Splitscreen.

This is absolutely the reason why I bought it. Last year, ca. 2 weeks before christmas. I had LOTS of fun with my bro with this game, we still play it from time to time, just for the sake of the non-stop-shooting action. It's very much fun.

But Borderlands 2 (if they do it, which in this day and age is pretty much a given) will have to eliminate the shortcomings of the first game, or it won't really attract me.

[Fan Tastic]

Enslaved flopped because it sucked.

It flopped more because they released a demo prior to coming out, which in effect killed a ton of blind buys.

[bluebogle]

If you are going to limit yourself to gameplay alone, than there are plenty of old NES games out there. If you want video games to evolve beyond just the game part of it (as they've been doing over the years,) then yes, story, setting, characters; all of these are important.

I would have bought this game if it came out on the PC. Oh well...

[ExplosionSauce]

Monkey was raised in the wild, yet he speaks so eloquently.
So story and narrative shouldn't be the only important thing in a game, especially if they're not that great.
Good voice work though :P

[DORMIN]

FPSs sell more.

No matter how many WE all complain about the over saturation of shooters, many people still buy like crazy. Its just the trend right now.

[Sarcasm]

I fail to see how the two are even remotely related. I think most people who play Borderlands just love looting and the whole idea of finding a plethora of different weapons. If only they had armor customization too, it would have been even more addicting. Add to the fact of exploration, shooting, and leveling up, it's pretty much an easy sell for a lot of gamers. And I forgot to add that it can be played with up to 4 people online or offline.

Enslaved is a straight through single player experience. Some people just aren't looking for that kind of experience, hence why the sales are so low.

[jellybalboa]

they should of asked why has enslaved flopped and castlevania triumphed, both games are in the same genre.

[Baka-akaB]

they never do that oddly , and you know why ? Because it's that obvious that Castlevania plays better and might be more fun and worth more .

Wich they can't admit , since they almost all backed up Enslaved as a critical darling and it backfired .

[Vojkan]

what a re....d comparison!
Borderlands is 40 hours long rpg shooter that you can play with friends. Enslaved in 8 or less hours action adventure.
I couldn't care less about Borderlands, but come on comparing these two makes no freaking sense.
Ninja Theory shot themselves in the foot when acting arrogant and dissing PS3. Many PS3 owners took it to the heart and didn't care about this game. Second it games out in bad time, same can be said about Vanquish. These type of games should be released durring summer, or August at latest..

[dredgewalker]

We bought it and it never appealed to me and luckily someone traded it for Castlevania which I enjoyed. We also bought Vanquish and though it's on the short side I had a lot of fun playing it and I'm going through hard mode right now.

[badz149]

comparing 2 new IPs. Castlevania LoS is a reboot but it's still a long running franchise. with that in mind, as a new IP Borderlands sells great even compares to established franchises. although that must be because it's basically an FPS RPG which usually sells more due to more crowd loving the genre compared to action games!

[Stealth20k]

I hope everything that namco touches fails misserably

there treatment of tales and its fans is abhorrent

[vhero]

One game was new, innovative, had great multiplayer and was made by a dev who didn't slag off fans who bought there previous game.. Multiplayer was probably the biggest killer as unless you got a huge name behind it, it seems we are living in an online generation so no online = no sales unless your game is a really great game like bioshock and has such a good single player it doesn't need a multiplayer aka an RPG.

[chazjamie]

well, this is what you get when a bunch of film students want to make games(you pick up on this arrogance, since they see and understand things no one besides them will understand).

[Mmmkay]

going to film-school doesn't make me like enslaved any better... the demo sucked btw.

[nycredude]

One word... GUNS!

[princejb134]

because enslaved aint bordeland

[Christopher]

I really don't see how Enslaved will become a cult gem. It's an okay game at best with an above average story. Borderlands was addictive fun with the addictive loot finding of Diablo games and had great co-op and online multiplayer features with a story that really didn't try to get in the way of having fun.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

What killed this game is the same 3 button mashing combo's throughout the entire game. xxxx xxxy yyy thats it.

[ilikestuff]

played the demo of this game, the jumping and climbing was slow and it felt off, the combat was a pile of brown too, it wasnt fun and it was an eyesore. just my opinion, id never buy it

[ReservoirDog316]

Well they just sold one more. Just got it from amazon today.

[solar]

havent played Enslaved, so i cant comment on the game, but Borderlands IMO had a lot of potential, but failed with the release product.

no mini map, constantly out leveling missions to make the game too easy, boss battles that had no challenge, lack of epic weapons unless playing with a co-op team of 3-4, horrible ending, better game play with DLC, Randy preaching how great the PC version would be compared to the console versions (which was an absolute lie), the game was a mess.

if it wasnt for Gearbox finishing DNF (which i've waited 13 years for) i would never buy another Gearbox game. empty developer promises that are not met.

[DigitalAnalog]

They neglected the PS3 port SO MUCH, that they removed the Dolby surround from the PS3 and offered it ONLY to the 360 making their version superior in both visuals AND sound.

-End statement

[big_silky]

borderlands is possibly the most boring game i've ever played

[schlanz]

"Enslaved is a single-player-only game, which is reportedly quite short in length (I’ve heard between four and twelve hours from beginning to end) and doesn’t feature elements which would typically aid a game’s replay value. On the flip side, Borderlands was a huge game in terms of content, had both single and multiplayer functionality, and even had a mode dedicated to a second playthrough. You could literally spend dozens of hours in that game world and still be experiencing stuff for the first time. If you were to compare Enslaved to a game like that, it clearly doesn’t even compete, and it’s understandable that people would be reluctant when they’re being asked to shell out £30-40 for an experience as short as that."

That sums it up pretty accurately for me. Borderlands had me playing for well over 50 hours between multiplayer and single player.

Not a very good comparison though, they aren't similar games at all. The only thing they have in common is their release date and the fact that it came shorty before a CoD game- which theoretically should hurt an FPS like Borderlands more than an action/adventure game like Enslaved.

[OSU_Gamer]

Im surprised to see that many agrees. I thought the game was great if you like RPG's.

[antz1104]

Im STILL playing Borderlands, and its been out for a year. Boring isn't the word I would use to describe it.

@ OSU I know, right?

[EliteAssass1n]

the box art is what sold Borderlands. Almost got me buying it but i didn't, which i was so thankful as i soon learned that its one boring-ass game if you got no online.

[solar]

if you played with a friend or a group of friends it was tolerable. what Gearbox promoted compared to the finish product out of the box without DLC, it was a letdown.

[OSU_Gamer]

I still have to respectfully disagree. I only played by myself, and thought it was an awesome game. And I don't see how it was any more boring than any other single player RPG. If anything it had more action.

[FriedGoat]

If this was an exact 1:1 copy of the TV show "monkey" i would buy it.

[Blaster_Master]

This game was pretty shallow for a platformer. Im playing Ratchet Crack in Time and Enslaved fails on so many levels when I compare it to something like CIT or Mario Galaxies.

[NewsForMe]

One is a single player only game with a short campaign, the other is one of my favorite coop games that is quite lengthy and has lots of replay value. Three playthroughs on Borderlands with all the DLC with three friends is worth the money.

[gillri]

Campaign is an average length actually,

people who buy games for replay value or MP, or Coop and not for creativity and originality are ruining the industry

same with Psychonauts and beyond good and evil, they were awesome but how many of you have played those games?

[Baka-akaB]

Please do not insult those games by lumping them with Enslaved .

For starters , those games were actually original and good in every aspects , not just the plot and presentation .

Do not dare use that excuse for a game that wont be remembered in the distant future , for creative achievements unlike those .
There have been enough games with both creativity AND gameplay , and there will be enough more in the future , to make sure of that .

[NewsForMe]

Sorry video game industry that I don't have the money to buy 50 games a year so I buy good games that don't under deliver to get more out of what I do get. Renting has been around for a long time and the industry is still here. Enslaved was a renter plain and simple.

[OSU_Gamer]

"people who buy games for replay value...are ruining the industry

"

...wow

[Redempteur]

?? you're coomparing this " this" to the awesome BGE ?
BGE had variety, exploration , several gameplay styles ( races, taking photos, evading ennemies, battles AND mini games!!)
it had an open world to explore with several hidden arenas.
Platforming in BGE when it was here wasn't scripted AT ALL .

[chazjamie]

no my boy, people who create games with intention of replay value and releasing dlc the next month is ruining the industry. i did not want 4-6 hours games, i have not heard one gamer on this site ask for such a stupid request. you know what bullshit capcom, namco, and everyone els said, they trying to expand the market, trying to appeal to the casual market.

we have to be "grateful" for what they do give us (no matter how much it costs). we cant do anything about this shit, except hope that the sp is longer than 3 hours, and that the mp works.

[antz1104]

So I shouldn't buy a game that I'm going to play over and over again in favor of one that Im going to play thru, put on the shelf, and maybe play a year later when I get bored? C'mon now, creativity and originality lose their luster by the third play thru.

[Christopher]

***people who buy games for replay value or MP, or Coop and not for creativity and originality are ruining the industry ***

Dumbest thing I've seen written on N4G in a long time.

The fact of the matter is that it all matters. People want creativity, originality, replay value, online gameplay, and even the option to play with others sitting right next to them.

Even then, how the heck you think that Borderlands is a typical FPS when it's the first to ever merge the gameplay of Diablo with an FPS is beyond my understanding. Borderlands is comprised of the two things you just mentioned and more.

I'd love to see your argument for the 'originality' and 'creative' aspect of Enslaved apart from the storytelling. Last time I checked, it's far from the first 3rd person action game with combat and platforming.

[vhero]

@OSU_Gamer I rarely agree with you but yeah I said the same when I read it some people really are that deluded..

[Droid Control]

It was too boring and repetitous.

I also didn't like enslaved. I only played the demo - but didn't like what i saw. I felt no connection to the character and a disconnect from the gameplay.

[Sitris]

I guess my tastes in games are more general in most. I find fun in most games actually.

[Mmmkay]

i'd rather play fallout than borderlands...
i'd rather play uncharted than enslaved....

[vhero]

Hmm I enjoyed both fallout and borderlands. Both have there good points and bad points guess its all about what you like in a game. As for boring.. How can unlimited weapons, online play and 4 (5?) add ons be boring?? there tons to do and to be fair the world is HUGE... Some people are just too picky I guess but thats that. To be fair I did wait for it to drop in price but not by much.

[djfullshred]

When people say games like Borderlands is repetitive or boring, I assume they are looking for more story, which was the weak point of this game.

But ultimately, when you get down to it, a FPS game with a good story, and not so good shooting mechanics provides even less replayability than a game like Borderlands with great FPS control, and not much story. I've played Borderlands over & over again, because I like the gameplay...even if the missions are nothing more than "go to map point & fight enemies"

[Greek God]

together with my lil brother splitscreen very fun!

[solar]

i am not going to buy games til the GOTY Editions are released. Fo3, Borderlands, DA:O, ME, all games that were released as GOTY Editions that come with all the DLC for the price of the game at release date.

why should i buy a $50 PC game, or $60 for a console game when i can wait to get all the extra content for waiting longer? it's crap if you ask me.

[goku32359]

but there are some games you cant resist. I bought Dragon age knowing full and well that they were probably gonna make a GOTY version, but that wait was gonna be too long.

[floetry101]

Borderlands is the ultimate in lazy game design. All the talk of an open world with millions of guns was quashed when you find out that "better weapons" didn't actually equate to "different looking guns". The open world was about as cooke-cutter as it gets, enviroments looked the same, enemies looked the same, weapons looked the same. Unless you have an attention span of 4 seconds, Borderlands might have been fun sporadically.

[djfullshred]

I think gamers expectations have gone totally out of wack these days. I can understand not digging a game, but saying a game like this is a "lazy design"? You may not like their design choices, but this a pretty large game that looks like a lot of work went into it IMHO.

As far as attention span goes, I think that is totally irrelevent. You are getting into the realm of personal taste when it comes down to what is interesting or not to you when playing a game.

[vickers500]

"better weapons" didn't actually equate to "different looking guns"

Well now, it's pretty obvious you haven't played the game, or have only spent a very very short time with it.

The guns always look different. Not counting stats here, a gun can have multiple different parts. Stock, body, barrel, magazine, scope (with different zoom levels and different shaped scopes and different crosshair designs) and a grip. Each of those individual factors have unique traits, and even more unique traits when you go from weapon type to weapon type. You can have an smg with a long barrel and a circular scope with 4x zoom, a round drum magazine or you can have a reflex scope (square shaped scope) with a short barrel and a regular magazine size, or any combination of those, plus, any combination of the stock, body, and grips.

Your statement about how they "didn't actually equate to different looking guns" is one of the most moronic ones I've ever seen on N4G. Borderlands has some of the most unique weapon aesthetics to ever grace a console. If you want to compare Borderlands weapons to Fallouts weapons, Fallouts weapon design wasn't different at all. Every single unique weapon was just a design copy-paste with a different name and tweaked stats.

Combine all the stat variables of Borderlands weapon parts and then make every variation of parts you can, and you have one of the most diverse arsenals of different looking guns ever, unlike Fallout where the Blackhawk is the exact same design as the scoped magnum.

[floetry101]

Each to his own. If you consider the weapons to be 'variable' in Borderlands, then that must be the only thing to hold onto.

You said that it was one of the most moronic ones you've seen on N4G, then you proceed to compare it to Fallout? A game which still has a reasonable amount of cool weapons, but also has branching storylines, moral grey areas, unique enemy types, balanced character perks, and a decent plot? Aside from cool weapons, Borderlands has NONE of those things. But please, feel free to shoot skags for another 5 hours, and yes, I played that garbage all the way to the woeful climatic stage in the snow.

[vickers500]

Don't change the topic. The point was that your statement of Borderlands weapons not "looking different" was completely full of sh*t.

And I didn't Borderlands was better in any of those areas you mentioned.

Just saying it's 1000x better than Fallouts weapons. Bethesda were so god d*mned lazy that they couldn't even make a MINOR TWEAK to weapon design for what are supposed to be "unique" weapons. Hell, the least they could have done is change the color.

"But please, feel free to shoot skags for another 5 hours"

Is that what you did? You're playing it wrong. Playing through the campaign (once by yourself, and the other time with friends) and the dlc with friends is a blast, but of course if you go in wanting to hate it (which from the tone of your comment, sounds you were), you probably will.

Borderlands has much more than cool and unique weapons. Co-op, great art design, humor, MASSIVE replayability (hunting for that perfect weapon, even though there will always be something better, replaying the campaign to fully level up, etc.). Not comparing this to FO3 (in these particular areas), just saying that calling the game "garbage" is rather stupid.

It's fine if you don't like the game, you're entitled to your opinion, but the game is far from bad. Borderlands actually brought something fresh and somewhat unique to this current gen of gaming, an industry filled with generic military fps games.

Borderlands is a game more catered towards the gameplay, not the story. Not every game needs to have a story, some games can just be fun to play, but whatever.

Just because you don't like something, does not mean it's bad. I personally don't like Oblivion, but I can respect and understand that it's a good game. Borderlands is no exception.

[Sitris]

End of discussion. Well thats my opinion anyway :D

[rockabroni]

I think the main reason is (imo) that the economy sucks worse than last year and people like myself have to pick and choose more wisely because of money situations. I will pick up Enslaved eventually ,but for my money now I will have to pick 1 game and that game is Black ops. Some may not like the monster that is Black ops ,but this game is the main reason I would say that alot of games are getting overshadowed.

[militant07]

too much praise for enslaved. I deleted the demo after few secs in.

I think I should give it one more chance..

[solidt12]

i like the demo but the actual game that I rented yesterday from redbox is not grabbing me. The pacing is too slow and the camera is making me sick. I was hoping I would enjoy the game after playing the demo and liking it but I don't. I gave it a fair shot because I loved Heavenly Sword. Heavenly Sword is 100 times better than this game.

[Corrwin]

Not an FPS
No Multiplayer

Borderlands was an FPS, the singleplayer was the same as the multiplayer, and it last a hell of a lot longer than 10 hours.

You get a better investment on Borderlands, simple.

[floetry101]

Sometimes a longer game doesn't exactly equate to a good game, especially if you're doing the same old shit for the entire game. Thankfully the ending made it all worth while, that all that grinding actually attributed to an explosive finale with a boss that really seperated itself from the others in the game.

Oh wait, no it didn't.

[Corrwin]

Ever hear that it's about the journey, not the destination?

Most game endings are disappointing, in fact the better the game, the worse the ending. Why? Because it's all fun and exciting, and then it ends.

[cemelc]

"10 hour game
Not an FPS
No Multiplayer"

This comment fails on so many level is not even funny.

So in your opinion if its not an FPS is autofail? Tell that to god of war 3, bioshock 1, uncharted 1, castlevania, Batman AA.

Id rather play any of those games than borderlands anyday, cos those are better games from every standpoint.

[vickers500]

"cos those are better games from every standpoint"

Me and my friends have put in 70-100 hours (of consistent fun) into Borderlands.

I've put in about 5-7 hours (varying from fun, to just plain boredom) into God of War 3.

I've not played Castelvania, and I've only finished like half of Arkham Asylum, but Arkham Asylum got boring after a while.

I've beat Uncharted 1 twice.

Absolutely none of those games got anywhere near the amount of playtime I have in Borderlands, and none of them have anywhere near the amount of replayability that Borderlands does. I'll give you Bioshock, I love that one a lot more than Borderlands, even though it's shorter.

But saying that those other games are better from every standpoint is just plain stupid. Even if you aren't like me and don't replay the campaign a second time to fully level up, the game still lasts a lot longer than God of War 3, Arkham Asylum or Uncharted 1. So no, from the standpoint of replayability, those games don't even come close to being better than Borderlands.

Borderlands story may be non-existant, but the gameplay, graphics (by graphics I mean art style) and co-op (hell, even sp by yourself is fun) is top notch. I've gotten far more value for my money from Borderlands than I have from God of War 3 or Uncharted. Hell, even The Secret Armory of General Knoxx dlc is longer than God of War 3 (and I think Uncharted, but I'm not too sure about that one), and that's only ONE of the four DLCs (3 of them being spectacular, underdome did kind of suck though).

I agree that the "not an fps, no multiplayer" comment was pretty stupid, but your "cos those games are better from every standpoint" statement is just as stupid as his.

[Genecalypse]

Because Ninja Theory gave gamers a big fuck you

[BYE]

That can't be the reason.

The average customer either doesn't know or doesn't care.

[Baka-akaB]

this !

people keep hangin on to that shrively up excuse .

The average consumer dont care about the console war and exclusive business (not enough to constantly read about it at least) , they dont give a rat's behind about devs interviews so wouldnt know that NT was spitting in their own food , and are removed so far from the DmC controversity .

They didnt buy for economic reasons , or the big concurrence , or lack of interest with/without the demo ... or all of those reasons combined

[Bolts]

It seems the average customer cares less about Enslaved than the fanboys did about Heavenly Sword 2. Thats the problem right there.

[Mmmkay]

or because we tried the demo and didn't like it one bit. the fact that NT even compared it to Uncharted 2 before release says it all.
make crappy games and you will get crappy sales.
bitching about it doesn't help either. go make some iphone apps!

[DanteKnightsTemplar]

Every review was 8 and up.I was suspicious,Im glad people didnt fall for Ninja Theorys bs.Now,they'll fuck DMC up..and then what?Well.I'll be pissed.very

[CREESH]

I would rather go through that again, than play GOW3 again.

[tinybigman]

But not more then GoW3, which imma go through again now that I got the code for his brother.

[THC CELL]

They should not piss the sony fans off lol

Or maybe they should of made heavenly sword 2

[outwar6010]

how did they piss off sony fans?

[tinybigman]

Probably by bad mouthing their own product, and constantly complaining about the system.

[perfectCarbonara]

By going multiplatform and complaining about Heavenly Swords sales.

Now look what they've done.

[outwar6010]

wat 150 k worldwide thats messed up it was a good game and will get it around end of the month when i get paid

[tinybigman]

Games been discontinued now better get copy soon. My brother works at gamestop and told me yesterday.

[outwar6010]

i live in the uk im sure ill find a copy in game or cex but thx

[Mmmkay]

it'll be £17.99 at play or zavvi pretty soon,....

[outwar6010]

i hate zavvi when bioshock 2 was coming out i preordered from them a week later after release date i got nothing so i called they then started some long arse inquiry sending me over paper work that i needed to sign and send back which took another 3-5 days and then i got my money back no game

[perfectCarbonara]

A curse on those that badmouth the PS3

Complaining about HS selling 1.5 million in the early life of the PS3

Now that they have over 80 million potential buyers they sell like shit.

A curse on you indeed.

[chazjamie]

i hope dmc doesnt become a victim of this curse. one vid caused so much hate. if more info becomes available, more hate will spread.

i am somewhat sceptical about the new direction, but i would hate to see any dmc game fall flat like enslaved did.

[Redempteur]

dmc can support one bad game IMO, dante will live on with MvC3 and hopefully the popularity of dante will make capcom think a little more now that inafune is out of the picture.

[visualb]

enslaved sold how much? 141 K world wide in both platforms?

vs...

1.5 MILLION Heavenly Sword sold ON ONE SYSTEM AT LAUNCH.

and they complained they wanted more "sales" i.e they got greedy.

serves them right to be honest.

maybe if they were a bit more humble, HS could have had the Uncharted2 effect (3.5 million sales and counting) on one platform IS NOT BAD

karma is a b!tch, don't fuck with her

[Rampaged Death]

My guess is the advertising.

[BrutallyBlunt]

That would be my guess too. I remember seeing Borderland commercials. I have yet seen one Enslaved advertisement.

[Akagi]

Borderlands was ALL hype. "A bajillion guns" - c'mon! Also, it definitely had a more aggressive marketing campaign. It was in your face for a while.

[Stealth20k]

I am so happy that enslaved fails

serves namco right after how they treat tales fans

I hope everything they touch fails

[BrutallyBlunt]

Dont we buy games based on enjoyment?

[Greek God]

they pissed DMC fans off like myself so i wont buy anything again from NT

[MaideninBlack]

Exactly. If developers like Capcom and NT want to disregard their fanbase then they're going to have a hard time finding a way to pay their bills.

[tanoris]

i dont buy anything from NT after what they did to dante

[rekof]

I mean,.. It is certainly not a bad game,..

But they (and all gamers) must be aware that some games have tens of millions of marketing budgets,..
NT are a bit arrogant to think they will sell millions, with a new Ip. They should release it in the summer,..
Or rather make HS2 and keep it exclusive,.. Shitting on your fan-base is a no no,.. It has been proven time and time again,.. That 1.7 Million Heavenly Sword sold,.. doesn't sound bad now fuckers,.. does it?

[breakdancefight]

I am a huge fan of ninja theory, but enslaved suffers from poor design decisions. Ninja theory wanted so badly to have a mainstream hit that the gameplay became a watered down hand holding mess. The main character as dynamic as his personality is is not appealing from a visual point of view. You cannot tell a persons personality by screen shots and my first impression was huge douche bag, I played through half of the game before having to put down from lack of challenge in combat,platforming and terrible camera.

[gillri]

lol gaming has gone down the pan when all people care about is gameplay. and I cant believe people saying that gameplay is the be all and end all

Okami, Deus Ex and Shenmue. My favourite games of all time, and guess what? all had average to decent gameplay

so why do I like them so much? immersion, story, narrative, atmosphere

that is what gameas are all about for me, sometimes you do get the brilliant gameplay also like with ME2, but very rarely

If you guys were so hung up on gameplay then why didnt Bayonetta sell well?

want good gameplay? get Bayonetta, want great character and setting? get Enslaved, want to run around an open world get Borderlands

obviously people dont want the former's,

[Gohadouken]

wow you are so focused in your end goal of defending the game , that its getting a tad sad , with misguided shots at cult games .

Okami , deus ex and shenmue were fan favorites because they had great gameplay , added to their creative qualities actually . Some of them actually pushed many innovations in gameplay , later on copied by other games .

Hell even if , let's try believing it for a second , ok or average in that department ... your previous and current arguments dont hold for a second IMO .

Their "average" gameplay had no particular flaw that were constantly highlighted like Enslaved .

It's ok if you like the game , but dont try selling it as some innovative and creative art project that we dont get . Especially when all other "art" projects arguably play better

PS :

Bayonetta did sell well . Platinum was happy , sega too , and it did over a million in a genre were the only million seller are well stuff like god of war , dmc , prince of persia .

[Redempteur]

"lol gaming has gone down the pan when all people care about is gameplay."

are you high ? no seriously ..did you think about what you wrote ??

gaming ...gameplay ...game ...see the patern ?

and triple facepalm ( okami and shenmue had awesome gameplay at the time of their release ) shenmue didn't age well because everyone improved on his mecanics ... but i have no doubts that the custom fighting system of shenmue is 500% deeper than the simple gameplay of enslaved .upgrading your skills in shenmue actually served A PURPOSE !

now it's clear , you don't know what you're talking about

[Akagi]

Deux Ex = average to decent gameplay. LOL! You need your head examined. Deux Ex is one of the best game, gameplay-wise, ever.

[gillri]

no it isnt , gameplay was archaic, inconsistent and poorly executed

its greatest came from Choice's and immersion

[cb4g]

That's just WRONG.

It's the combination of excellent game mechanics and immersive story the makes those games amazing.

Deus Ex, in my opinion, has the most believable and interesting story in gaming history but it also had superb gameplay to back it up.

[AusWarrior]

It flopped as opposed to borderlands as borderlands is a shooter, that's the market of today.

[wicko]

And it had coop, and it was marketed well. I also think the art style helped it quite a bit.

[EverydayGuy]

Well I didn't buy it because they diss HS, and killed Dante. The list can go on and on, but it looks like it just doesn't appeal to the general masses.

[fOrlOnhOpe57]

the lack of multiplayer and so much of the negative stuff that hit NT before Enslaved released, were two major factors in the game's sales crashing. Nor do I believe that NT's 'defection' from PS3 exclusive made much (if any) difference.
By comparison, Borderlands does come across as a pretty slow starter (it sure was for me) but given its chance, the guns, maps and gameplay; online multiplayer, splitscreen gameplay etc give more value for money, sheer fun and adiction than ANY game I've played this gen.
I must have sunk literally hundreds of hours into this, plus its DLC (especially the excellent Knoxx) and it still doesn't feel old.
Gearbox took a chance I reckon, with its distinctive art style, which isn't going to be to everyone's liking, but for me, it's one of the games defining characteristics and as it can be found at reduced cost, I'd recommend anyone to pick it up.

ps Levelcap 69 update out today - finally! Now where the hell did I put my Pestilent Defiler !!?

[AssassinHD]

Ninja Theory took the stance of "story is more important than gameplay". They are wrong. Story is an important part of the formula, I am not going to argue against that. It is not however more important than gameplay. People play games to have fun. If people wanted a good story without gameplay they would just read a book.

People will forgive a game for having a poor story, if the game is fun to play. People are less inclined to care about the story if the game isn't fun.

Really what is the point of a great story if people do not enjoy the journey?

[Bolts]

Should've made Heavenly Sword 2, I bet that game will sell more than 80K. Now they get fail two on two platforms instead of one.

[Seferoth75]

They should have put it on Wii instead. When quality games like this bomb on HD console it only proves that PS3 casuals are not out buying games and supporting the console the way they should. Por it over to Wii with Motion plus support and you will have an instant million seller or more.

Had this been a Wii game no excuses would be accepted and most of you would be saying the same thing I just did only you'd say PS3 deserves it.

Kinda funny really. I am sure the same Sony fanboy who said 200k on HD was a success while 700k was a failure will come along and call this a complete hit.

[TheBand1t]

Did Kaz Hirai kick your dog or something? You're the most bitter sounding tard on this site.

[frostypants]

You're right.

This would have done well on the Wii. Wii owners have much lower standards.

[MysticStrummer]

You should put some of that energy you use for hating Sony toward learning how to spell your own name. You might have more credibility then when you talk about casuals.

[jjank11]

Simply because many other games raised this genre to new levels and this game doesn't stand up to them. Sure the story might be cool but the Demo did not do this game any justice at all, it pretty much put me to sleep. If the Demo got you excited then you obviously have not played the best this genre has to offer.

Also, there were many people in protest about Ninja Theory not doing a sequel to Heavenly Sword. I happen to be one of them because I loved that game and saw no reason to abandon a game that could have only gotten better and definitely sold better than Enslaved even if it was exclusive!!

[koehler83]

Gearbox was all like "Millions of guns!"

And Ninja Theory was all like "Millions of lost sales due to exclusivity.. shmah!"

And gamers were all like "Millions of guns?! shmah!"

[REPLOID24]

I can't say I feel bad for them. In the end they'll probably say something like, "PS3 destroyed us". In reality it is their marketing, pr, and overrated status in the games industry.

[34543534798]

everyone should have expected this
Enslaved sucks, the graphics are poor - the animations are poor and the gameplay is poor. also the characters are poorly made
the girls is the one from heavenly sword(much better game) but a little tweaked
the other is a standard cliche warrior with the face of the badguy from heavenly sword

the character design wasn't done half as good as heavenly sword.

then there is borderlands, a game that did a lot of new things for the fps genre but lacked depth and story

well compare the cons of both these games and you'll understand why one outsold the other

Ninja Theory guys are a bunch of whiney babies if you ask me, they make something good but way too short for a full-price game and blame the PS3 for the poor sales. then they come up with this halfbaked piece of trash that's made in someone else's engine (UTE) that also proved to be crap when "too human" was made. and then they expect to sell? seriously I'm sure there are some very very talented people @Ninja Theory but whoever is in charge and responsible for Enslaved should be kicked out of the studio

[THC CELL]

i bet they are blowing bubbles out of there noses now lol

Now whos fault is it lol Not sonys for sure.

[The_Nameless_One]

So is Ninja Theory going to complain about how Tecmo screwed them over? I guess they are out of excuses. FIrst they complain about how Sony didn't put enough marketing power behind Heavenly Sword and how Sony pretty much hung them dry while they [Sony] broke even on Heavenly Sword. I guess they have short memories because as I remember Sony were the ones that saved Ninja Theory from getting closed. I think Capcom should maybe take a step back and see if they want to put the future of the DMC franchise in the hands of an average developer with an average track record.

[divideby0]

rented Borderlands on a BB monthly rental pass.... it was ok... but I didnt buy it.

after playing the enslaved demo, I didnt even bother to rent that game

[Masta Kaos]

They bad mouth Sony n PS3 alot......now who's to blame huh??? Ninja?? I bet HS2 would hv been a major hit

[Paradise Lost]

I dont understand how borderlands was good anyway.

[DaReapa]

"sometimes people concentrate on gameplay too much when that isnt what this game is about"
"people who buy games for replay value or MP, or Coop and not for creativity and originality are ruining the industry "
"lol gaming has gone down the pan when all people care about is gameplay. and I cant believe people saying that gameplay is the be all and end all "

gillri, please. Stop while you're ahead.

[Djinn]

Enslaved didn't succeed because its not a "big game" whatever the hell that means. /sarcasm.
Oh, and its not an FPS and there isn't a generic derivative multiplayer which is exactly the same to every other game's generic derivative multiplayer.
Or maybe the average gamer is flaming idiot who doesn't know the difference between his/her ass and his/her head.

[Katana Yamato]

Sum of the comments i've read here are kinda hypocritical.

I do feel bad that Enslaved didn't sell well, but it had sum bad traits to it. One of them not having enough replay value, hand-holding platforming, and sub-par frame rate. Other then that the story was very engaging (well, until the end).

But the comments here that i've read mostly focus on "Oh well, NT didn't do HS and they badmouthed Sony. I'm not buying this". God Forbid if any developer talks against Sony or any other console manufacturer the gaming industry isn't a dictatorship.

Also, the reason why NT didn't do HS is that Sony holds the rights to HS and only Sony is allowed to give the greenlight to give it to any developer it wants. Maybe NT requested to work on HS 2 and Sony refused. We haven't heard any news of an HS 2, and why should Sony bother? They have GOW and Uncharted to milk and maybe Gran Turismo whenever the hell that is released. HS for them,in the beginning of the PS3's life, was a failure in their eyes saleswise (from Sony's perspective).

Yes gameplay is important, but nowadays you need more for a game to succeed only on gameplay alone. Back in the 80's and early 90's game survived solely on gameplay cause back then that's what the tech at the time mostly offered. But with the graphical power of the consoles today you need more narrative. If gameplay is the only thing that is important then we might as well play games in wireframes.

You really shouldn't judge the NT that much, judge them by their games not what they blab about in interviews. What they say about Sony and things shouldn't reflect on the game. Judge the game on its own merits alone.

Also, NT said they tried to compare the graphics to Uncharted 1 (not Uncharted 2 like many people confuse it with). And its not like Uncharted 2 is the end all be all in graphics. Sum PC games probably look better then Uncharted 2 by now, but that's PC and anything in PC looks better anyway since its constantly being upgraded.

Also Heavy Rain's "gameplay" isn't that great either and it sold much better then Enslaved. And don't tell me the "gameplay" in that game was so important, it was just a bunch of QTE's, an interactive movie. While Enslaved, albeit shallow in sum degrees, offered more gameplay then Heavy Rain.

I think NT isn't going to survive as a game developer, i think they're better off making CG movies like Pixar or Dreamworks. Video Games are not there greatest forte.

[OGharryjoysticks]

Playing Enslaved, the movements outside of fighting felt lifeless and carried no weight. I could never stay into it. That and the story was a one trick pony with the let me send out the dragonfly bit...well at least it was until I gave up and stopped playing because it wasn't doing it for me.

[Urahara]

Also points to consider:

People are getting back at NT for what they did to Dante and DmC.

People are getting back at Tameem for being a dick.

People are not happy with them going from Sony to Multi like a bunch of turncoats.

And games cost too much these days on console for no damn reason whatsoever. No ones experimenting and taking a chance on a $60 dollar game.

The game was too short and gameplay sucks- that simple.

[lightningsax]

"One went on to be massively successful, moving an estimated 2,652,560 units worldwide, spawning four DLC packs in its wake; the other will probably end up a cult gem, gone but not forgotten, along with its friends Beyond Good and Evil, Psychonauts and Mirror’s Edge."

Um, no. BG&E went where other games didn't; while it did mimic Zelda control-wise, the rules were set more for stealth, and the style, story, characters, and just overall personality the game had made it a beloved classic among fans. Same with Psychonauts - while it was a bog-standard platformer in a way, its style stood out quickly and the story was just awesome.

Mirror's Edge is a bit different, and closer to Enslaved. The gameplay and style were awesome when you were outside doing parkour, but when you were in stupid corridors fighting standard cops, it looked a lot more like a badly-made copycat to other games, style and all. It was a bit schizoid. Enslaved was awesome when it was cinematic, but once you were stuck in an arena fighting samey robots at a slow-as-molasses framerate, it was boring. Just like Heavenly Sword.

This isn't from the creative minds behind the games the article compared Enslaved to; this is from Ninja Theory, and they need to start concentrating on what happens when someone picks up a controller instead of just making a movie out of a graphics engine with interspersed, uninspired combat. Not a cult classic. It's a "meh" title that will sell for a small amount of cash.

[soundslike]

6 hours

vs

endless randomly generated content and Co op

hmmm

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Sh0ckWav3]

i dont know about you guys but i sure as heck cant buy every game that comes out, but who the heck wants to pay $60+ for a game thats only a few hours and no multy? specially the way the economy is today? in fact were i work they lay off 250 people..

[undercovrr]

the issue is simple. Ninja theory makes not only games which are a bit below AAA titles, but also makes them incredibly short.

So not only are getting a 'good' at best experience, but are also paying $60 for a very short game with little to no replay value.

Ninja theory should either A: up the quality of their games or
B: increase the longevity (im not saying add online, i'm saying make story mode longer or add bonus material like God of war's arenas, challanges, etc).

[Ummm Da Dum]

borderlands was an RPG with online multiplayer, it brought something new to the console world.

Enslaved was just another generic platformer that didnt add anything new to catalogue of great games on consoles these days.

not saying enslaved is a bad game but other games have done what enslaved done and done it better.

[Der_Kommandant]

Dante´s Revenge!

[TheMutator]

is simple enslaved suck and boderlands not

[LiquidJordan]

Why the comparison to Borderlands?

[artsaber]

And just made Heavenly Sword 2. I mean Enslaved has the guy chasing BUTTERFLIES? Mechanical butterflies? REALLY? I was pretty much done after that... it is hard to recover from Monkey chasing butterflies. Then they had the nerve to FAKE Nariko? They deserve the flop.

[frostypants]

This game bombed because they didn't market it for sh*t, thus when it released it didn't have anywhere near the hype that Borderlands had. Also, for PS3 gamers at least, I think people thought it looked too much like the original Uncharted, based merely upon a superficial judgment of screenshots.

Basically, they did a horrible job explaining why we should want this game.

And yes, the main character looks stupid.

[djfullshred]

Four player multiplayer, first person shooter, with millions of guns, addictive levelling up, & enhancing your character, cool looking graphics, and a fun sense of humor...Borderlands is a no brainer for success. The other game just looks like some other game I don't know much about.

[DOOMZ]

Because Enslaved was short as hell!

[MysticStrummer]

and enjoyed it, but Borderlands is a much better game. Borderlands is one of my favorite games of this generation and Enslaved was merely ok. I won't hate on Enslaved's gameplay because I see what they were trying to do in making it more casual, but it's really amazing that it doesn't look (or play) as good as Heavenly Sword. As for the casual aspect of it, I enjoy a variety of game experiences so casual gameplay doesn't bother me. I'm currently playing MAG (since launch), Demon's Souls (again), and The Sims 3. How's that for a mix?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

There is no compelling reason to have to buy Enslaved. Replayability is limited to most eyes. There is no co-op, no multiplayer and I don't even believe it has any kind of challenge room system. Its just a really good 6-10 hr singler player game that most could rent and beat in a week.

Borderlands on the other hand... was all about replayability. Hence its success.

[RockmanII7]

Boarderlands is a FPS, that's why it sold.

[infamous_27]

Enslaved flopped because the average consumer looks at the boxart and thinks "wow, the name sucks, the box art sucks and the charatcers look lame."

[kirajc]

This is not a fair observation. Borderlands is a shooter> Shooters sell in today's gaming society. The game is a blead of highly successful games like fallout3. That is why the game did well...

Enslaved really is just a horrible game. The graphics may look ok, the voice acting may be great, and the story is told well but the feeling of the game is horrible. The gameplay sucks. The story while is interesting because it's based off a old japanese tale is boring because we have seen that type of story before. the world looks ok but it lacks feeling. It is just horrible... Being a gamer who plays a game mainly for story, didn't feel it. that is why I bought CLOS which is a better game... Great story, gow gameplay, looks beauiful, very long, nice replay value. CLOS gets your attention and holds it for the most part. Enslaved didnt have any of that.

Side note: NT even came at sony in the story, says something about a cell is out dated technology. NT IS A HORRIBLE DEVELOPER.... look at what they did to DMC..... Never supporting them for those two reasons.

[Holeran]

The demo of Enslaved killed it for me honestly. I think they might of done better if they didn't give the demo out until well after its release or never at all. Too sterile, (jump this way and don't worry cause you're nott gonna fall) doesn't work for me.

[PHOEBUS]

I think a lot of people saw the title, and then read the back and noticed that the main character's name is "Monkey" and placed the box back in disgust (lol).

In all, enslaved got pwned.

Black Ops next week everyone

[mrsatan]

Borderlands was innovative and something fans were hungry for, while Enslaved was just another action platformer. Enslaved had absolutely NOTHING going for it that was innovative. It was entirely devoid of feeling and uniqueness.

[lucifon]

Glad to see a relevant insightful comparison on N4G. /endsarcasm

[gamerdude132]

Cause it sucked. And yes, I played through the full game. Sorry, but NT got all pissy and started acting like little brats. That and the gameplay was unpolished and boring as hell. End of story.

[Grimhammer00]

I enjoyed enslaved. But it was a glitch fest in need of polish.
I was motivated in small part to get this game because NT was talking smack about Naughty Dog. I just had to play it to see why they thought their animation was better. They had said in an interview that naughty dogs animation was unessessarily using extra frames.

Lol then you play enslaved and its fluid...but noticeable jerky between different animations.

Bah. It was good, but NT needed this to humble them and teach them that they need to respect their betters.

[stuntman_mike]

i felt like i read the same comment over and over for 3 pages, either you all really hate enslaved or your just a bunch of sheep following the herd. Hard to tell on here lol.

[Knightofelemia]

They were both great games Borderlands is unique and was great and DLC was fun. The thing I hated was the fact it took to long to load and when the host left the game you would be kicked out of that game. Enslaved has a great story and a hot female character in it but it lacks online playablity.

[Fade_Walker]

How can you compare two very different games?

[iliimaster]

borderlands was an amazing game on my xbox 360 i have so much fun memories with it on my xbox but now i have it for ps3 for trophies im huge on trophies... and its not even close to as fun... maybe because all my friends were on playing with me too... idk but well for one the developer slinging mud on the ps3 not to mention destroying dante... and just that ENSLAVED itself is a step BACKWARD for this company... i say that because heavenly sword is so much more than this game... i bought this game because heavenly sword was one of my all time favorites... and it has some gameplay like it... but i bought it used so that it would not count as a sell... the ps3 is my system of choice had it been an exclusive we all would have got a better/longer/more detailed game but they chose to jump ship because i guess 1.5 million for a brand new system + a new IP and the sony install base at the time 1.5 mil is insane... but they want to talk bad well now who is the joke on?

[aliyis]

Maybe it has something to do with less disposable income. Let me dumb it down, less people working less money spent.

[Orionsangel]

Enslaved is Tomb Raider like game and Borderland had Multiplayer. Did we really need an article for this?

[J_Cob]

Yea, seems pretty pointless. If they had to ask that question they must not play video games.

[J_Cob]

One person buys Borderlands, tries coop with random people and loves it. He then tells his friends or plays split screen with them and loves it then buys it. The friend in turn tells another friend or tries split screen and they love it then buys also. It just keeps going and going. Enslaved, I wasn't impressed by the demo. It felt like it wanted to be Uncharted and Gears of War combined. I'll stick with those games when I want those experiences.

[Nac]

To those would said that "if they sought story they would read a book", well I have nothing nice to say other than you should just stick to Pong.

Second. Enslaved was trying to make the step towards that cinematic "experience"(Unchart ed 2) as opposed to just a cinematic game. I really enjoyed the game(but then again I find story as the most important aspect making me in the minority). Like i said, I enjoyed it, but it was no where near as grand as ND's Uncharted 2(which is closer to the hybrid experience of a movie/game). In time(five years or so) and tech we will hopefully get that hybrid medium, i just don't think its going to come from NT. But by God, I hope they get closer as the years go by.

[CrzyFooL]

Enslaved is a great game, but a rental. It takes a lot to get people to buy a game outright these days. $60 is a lot of money for a game with little replay value.

[Manac0R]

I bought enslaved along with castlevania on release day. Enslaved disappointed me, I could forgive the one button play mechanics, and even limited combat but I was expecting an epic story with great charters and in all honesty it was 'meh' nowhere near as good as reviews and comments made out. Just in my opinion.

Anyway enslaved has been traded in while castelvania still gets a look in to do some challenges.

[Alos88]

I think the main complaint was the game's length, but even then it's a great rental. I just don't get the hate this thing gets.

[stubbed_out]

It's all about the timing for me...I enjoyed the demo, the reviews have been good, and I'll be buying this later...currently I've got a slew of games to get through...then when they're done I've still got Red Dead Redemption, Castevania and GT5 to buy....sadly Enslaved is on my wish list...its just not at the top.