Almost done catching up with all of the media from the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con and thankfully I am finally able to post about a game that grabbed my attention on the floor and hasn't let go since.
Shane Bettenhausen & Nephilim
The game is called "El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron" which releases on August 16th for the Xbox360 and Playstation 3. This game has an amazing art direction that feels like an expressionist painting come to life with an intriguing story to tell. The art carries over into character designs that feel like they fit into the world, yet at the same time feel greatly out of place. This isn't a knock against the game but does go to show that not only the world itself feels almost like what I would expect an acid trip to be like. (Official Trailer)
The combat reminded me of the Devil May Cry series with the ability to juggle your opponents but differed in the ability to steal and "purify" the weapons that you get to use against them. These weapons (at least what I could play of the demo) included a blade called an "Arch" for short ranged attacks and a type of long ranged weapon called a "Gale" that consisted of floating blades that you could send out one at a time or charge then tap the buttons to cause a multi-hit combo to knock enemies back. There is at least one more weapon in the game, but I did not have access to it during the demo. All of the weapons would become "corrupt" during use thus lowering their effective attacks, but you could "purify" them easily with the tap of a button.
Timing plays a big part while fighting so I will have to talk more about that once I have time to sit down with the final game because even during the interview it was mentioned that there is an "Ah-Ha!" moment that I did not get yet so it felt a little clumsy to me when I just jumped right in.
But even with the short time I got to play the game and the wonderful interview that I got, I can not tell enough people about this game. From the art, the possibility of the combat system, the level/character designs, and so much more I was sold that this game had some potential. So take a listen to the fairly long interview with Shane Bettenhausen of UTV Ignition Games and then download the demo for either the Xbox360 or Playstation 3 then leave a comment below. I would love to hear about what you think in regards to what I am seriously looking to be my SDCC 2011 Game of Show.
Also...sorry about the audio quality. I really was having to record from my phone while their booth was next to the Nickelodeon booth. So you may have to turn it up some, but please give it a listen anyways!
Jeremy Powers aka Zen
Editor & Host of the Zenspath Podcast
Left-Click to Listen or Right-Click & select "Save As" to Download