The Power Lies in the Name (El Shaddai: Ascent of the Metatron - PS3 and Xbox 360)

If you had told me a year ago that there was going to be a cool game based on the book of Enoch, I would have given you a tin foil hat to help keep the voices out of your head. El Shaddai, however, is incredible. One of the best action games I've played in years, El Shaddai has you playing as Enoch, charged with hunting down and capturing seven fallen angels in order to prevent a cataclysmic flood. Enoch is aided on his quest by the angel Lucifel (he's good in this one, hence the "l" see) and four archangels: Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel, Michael.

AAAAAWWWWW!!!!!

Directed by Takeyasu Sawaki (Devil May Cry, Okami) and produced by Ignition Studios, this game is a seven-hour paper-rock-scissors action adventure game that got a hold of some really good acid. Enoch can wield 1 of 3 weapons over the course of the game: sword-like the Arch, the deadly-accurate ranged Gale and the Veil gauntlets which can form into a shield. Essentially, these weapons work on a paper-rock-scissors scheme with Veil deflecting Gale, Gale sniping Arc, and Arc besting Veil. This weapons degrade overtime, but Enoch can purify any weapon (even those held by enemies) to increase it's effectiveness and damage. Purification is also great for disarming opponents to change the tide of battle quickly.

Yes, yes a basic formula that is easy to understand but very hard to master at high difficulty levels. Even on normal difficulty, the player must understand the relationship between these weapons or face never-ending peril once they hit "the tower" (trust me, you'll know it when you see it) and start the actual game. Enoch's battle animations are exciting and dramatic as well. You'll find yourself leaping over targets, sliding under golems or manhandling multiple enemies using the Gale's fangs like Byakuya's petals.

Yeah, he's a good guy in this one right?

The combat, however, is not what keeps you in this game. The psychedelic art and creative game design draw you further into the story better than any other mechanic in this game. Taking place on glowing mountains made of light, the training stages offer incredible visuals while constantly shifting between dramatic 3D action/adventure gameplay to 2D platforming. This type of innovative approach to a basic game format is exactly what I look forward to in new IPs, and El Shaddai goes full tilt in the innovation department. There is even a Tron-esque motorcycle stage!

This game looks so awesome I want to vomit.

I absolutely loved this game, but it has some drawbacks. While the game doesn't really punish you for dying (You have to mash buttons in order to revive your character if you die in combat. Otherwise, God literally snaps his fingers and you go back to the last solid platform unless you have lost all possible revives and armor.), I found myself incorporating death into some of my endgame battle plans. While you revive with only half armor, sometimes this I just enough to get your though a battle. I'm not quite sure if this is really a complaint, but it was definitely something that stuck with me for better or worse. The backgrounds and environments, like I mentioned before, are amazing but sometimes they are a bit too distracting. Tack on cumbersome camera controls and you get a recipe for disaster during some of the 3D platforming segments. I'm sure my downstairs neighbors would agree on how frustrating this can become.

The game is wroth the money though, if you are into this type of stuff. This is the best action/adventure game I have played since Bayonetta, and the most innovative platformer I've picked up in years. El Shaddai is infectious, inspiring and insanely fun. The gameplay (save the camera) is spot on and dynamic, the story is truly inspired and the artwork is incredible to say the least.

(Programming note: Traded in Bleach for D4, because yes. Review in the next few days. Also Starfox 64 3DS and new Rider talk)