Ben-DutkaIt seems that any studio developing a game even remotely similar to Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is taking cues from the 2009 award winner.
Ninja Theory, the team responsible for the upcoming action/adventure title, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West , has a game that's a bit more than "remotely similar." It's not a shooter, but it should move and play a bit like Uncharted . Hence, according to what Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades said at last week's Develop Conference , his developers realize Enslaved might be compared to Uncharted 2 …but that's a lot of pressure. Said Antoniades:
"It’s never good to be compared with something that’s already the pinnacle of its genre. It makes you slightly uneasy. I’m okay with people comparing it to Uncharted [2] because it’s in the same genre. But, bloody hell, that’s a lot to live up to."
He does say that even the best games fall short of films in terms of storytelling (which is true, for the most part) and in fact, he sort of insinuates that the plot and character development in his game might be on par – or even exceed – that of instant classics like Uncharted 2 or even Heavy Rain . Don't scoff just yet; they've got quite the cast assembled for Enslaved .
"When we’re doing Enslaved and the story and the character and everything we’re not looking at other games, we’re looking at movies and achieving that level of cinematic performance. We’ve got a good shot at delivering a strong story where the talent behind it actually matters."
We're not about to expect the game to have a better story than Heavy Rain , but perhaps Uncharted 2 is a realistic goal. Well, provided the voice actors are just that amazingly good. Andy Serkis is great but he can't do it alone. Anyway, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West will be ready to go by October 5.
Related Game(s): Enslaved: Odyssey to the West , Uncharted 2: Among Thieves