10 things you need to know about Enslaved

We got excited about Enslaved: Odyssey to the West when we finally got our hands on it recently. We're worried that this possible sleeper may just get ignored by the public since it's not obvious what the game's really about, and it's hard to tell why it's different from anything we've played in quite some time. So here are the ten things that make Enslaved so much more than just another fall action game in a fall choked with action games.

1) It%26rsquo;s a sci-fi take on a beloved Chinese myth

Journey to the West is a tale about the Monkey King, who was granted magical powers by the gods. He met a monk who commanded him with a magic crown, and together they had all kinds of adventures. The Monkey King used a magic staff that expanded in length so he could kick every variety of ass. In Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Monkey is the name of a normal man instead of an actual monkey. He does climb on the scenery in monkey-like fashion, and his outfit has a subtle touch – a sash that dangles from his belt and looks suspiciously like a tail as he runs and leaps about.

Above: The word is still out on the source of Monkey's cyber-ish scars

Instead of a monk trapping him in a magic crown, Monkey is enslaved by Trip, a beautiful scarlet-haired girl who has a talent for hacking, and so hacks a slave headband in order to force Monkey to help her get home. It looks like the relationship will develop into a romance, as Trip clearly isn’t comfortable with enslaving Monkey and shows increasing signs of guilt about it, while Monkey learns that she’s not so bad over time. Monkey still has his expanding staff, but of course it’s sci-fi technology instead of magic.