El Shaddai

played the demo and the game at my cusins.it really just depends on your preferences

sigh... nobody else? Well, somebody look into it. I'm on the fence here. Oh well, that's what GameFly is for anyway :/

First off: I simply can't believe that there isn't a dedicated forum for this game. I mean, there's one for Enslaved and indeed, other not so brilliant titles, but NOT El Shaddai? Blasphemy!! I say again, blasphemy!!

At any rate, I knew that this game was going to be obscure but not necessarily hard to come by, but there are only three posts in the entire Xbox forums? Blasphemy!! :P

Anyway, to answer your query Turbo, and if you haven't already gotten the game yet, I'd thoroughly recommend it. In fact, I'd say sell your mother if you have to, just to get your grubby and dirty little paws on this gem! We can have too many mothers but not enough games like El Shaddai!

Ever since I played the demo I fell in love with it. Just yesterday though, I got to live out an experience like no other, and found it incredibly hard to put the controller down. It was THAT good! I may even grab another just to show my support for the now disbanded developers.

Sadly however, being obscure and all, we're not likely to ever see games of this caliber again or anytime soon in the near future. The prospects of such a gloomy outcome scares me. Since we're most likely to see Modern Talking Warfare: Words At War 27 than a truly original artistic piece such as the likes of  El Shaddai.

Loving this!!

well thanks for the in-depth acclaim. i only recently re-added this game to My GameQ on the GF site. it will eventually float to the top. i figured im with a mass rental service, i could at least try it. anyway, i am concerned that you only spoke of the games art and presentation, not necessarily the gameplay.

In my opinion, El Shaddai is a fantastic game and well worth a rental. As Ghost of Kirin already mentioned, the visual style(s) of El Shaddai can be absolutely breathtaking. The reason enough can't be said about this aspect of the game is because not only is it a wonder for the eyes, but it also weaves itself into the gameplay. It constantly shifts as you progress and creates new paths for you to take. The core gameplay mechanics are centered around platforming and a level-based hack-and-slash that, while may appear to lack depth on the surface, actually involves quite a bit of player input in order to make the most of. It's one of those simple to pick up, difficult to master sort of combat systems. It's no Ninja Gaiden, but it's a fairly intuitive system that focuses on timing and observation much like the former. And while the draw of switching between platforming and fighting may sound repetitive, the various levels and worlds you venture through incorporate many different gameplay modes from other genres that more than keep the staleness at bay. I'd go into more detail, but the surprise is part of the fun!

I love your honesty! And you are indeed right. I did not lament on the pros and cons of the gameplay mechanics.

So here goes: The battle system is rather unique, in that it only employs a single button to deal out the attacks, rather than utilizing the more common setup of light and heavy attacks assigned to different buttons.

The uniqueness of this single attack button setup is somewhat of a double edged sword, so to speak. Since a novice player would be pre-occupied in button mashing the heck out of the game without realizing that there are hidden combos corresponding to the timing and pauses of the button presses. Each weapon, of which there are only three, unfortunately. However they do add to the extension of a very rewarding combo system if you are willing to learn them.

So, in saying that, for a player who doesn't care to learn the innards of the game's battle mechanics, will grow bored of the game's rewarding elements as it progresses on a linear path. Very quickly too, I should add, because the game gives you a lot of freedom to battle as you like on the easier difficulty settings. As such, most players a more inclined to just mash their way through the battles.

I love the fact that it’s an intelligent battle system designed for those seeking to squeeze every ounce of the weight it is worth out of the game. Without spoiling too much, I really loved the idea of being able to defeat some of the tougher one on one special enemies on your play through. Oh, and there are little side quests throughout the world as well for those not contend with just the main story of the game.

The cons are that the game could have done with a few more weapons added to the protagonist’s arsenal and multiple paths with which to navigate to the hero's objectives. The English dialogue isn’t that terrible, but it could have been better though in my opinion. The menu system is rather odd in that there’s a slight pause and an interrupt as you navigate your way around it. To me, those are the few minor setbacks, some less so than others, to this awesome game. All in all though, these are not enough to detract your pleasure and experience in any way whatsoever!

Addendum: Dasgetto summed it up what I said short and sweet!

I'm gonna be brutally honest about this-

It has a weird name so people probably look into it and get turned off when they find out it probably means almighty god.

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It sounds arabic and people in the US are usually against anything like that, to be blunt.

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The main character is some metro sexual looking dude which seems out of place in a game with that name and the beautiful backgrounds. Btw why is he wearing blue jeans with his divine mystical robes thingy?

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As for my personal opinion, it just looks boring.

By being brutally honest, did you somehow just sum up how you actually viewed it and then  went on to assume that the masses carry your field of view as well?

I'm not trying to be offensive, but it just came across that way from your syntax. Having said that though, you are of course entitled to hold your own opinion, and I respect that.

He doesn't wear jeans with robes, just the armor. The reason being is that he's been at this for more than a millennia, and of course he has to keep abreast with the times and be fashion forward as well, right? :p

[quote user="UnyoBro"]

I'm gonna be brutally honest about this-

It has a weird name so people probably look into it and get turned off when they find out it probably means almighty god.

.

It sounds arabic and people in the US are usually against anything like that, to be blunt.

.

The main character is some metro sexual looking dude which seems out of place in a game with that name and the beautiful backgrounds. Btw why is he wearing blue jeans with his divine mystical robes thingy?

.

As for my personal opinion, it just looks boring.

[/quote]

Did you even play it?

Sorry I wasn't clear enough before. I was speculating why people wouldn't like it. I said how I feel at the bottom, looks boring.