El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron *DE (Xbox 360)

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is a breath-taking combat title for Xbox 360, and tells the story of a lone warrior tasked with saving the human race. The game is set in a world in chaos, overseen by a number of angels named the Grigori. Originally the servants of God, these celestial beings once watched over mankind, but soon succumbed to temptation and abandoned Heaven to live amongst the people of earth. After witnessing the Grigori’s negative influence on humanity and the construction of a blasphemous monument to their success, the Tower of Babel, the Heavenly Council pledged to cleanse the Earth with a great flood, thus eradicating both man and the errant angels.

One voice stood up to these omnipotent beings: a human called Enoch, who was a lowly scribe in Heaven. Thus, a deal was struck wherein if Enoch could capture the renegade angels, Earth would not suffer – and El Shaddai’s stunning 12-stage mission unfolds.

The player is cast as Enoch, who enters its beautifully-realised environment totally unarmed. The world of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is layered in dynamic, ever-changing visuals, creating a truly original aesthetic style that runs through the game. It also reveals an immersive 3D world, where the unarmed Enoch must locate the errant angels and defeat them in combat. Although initially unarmed, Enoch is a master of hand-to-hand combat capable of stringing together incredible combination attacks, and can also arm himself with those weapons dropped by his defeated foes. These can then be incorporated into his attacks, improving his effectiveness further.

All weapons in El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron are crystalline in structure and possessed of supernatural powers capable of defeating the angels. They range from swords to projectiles, but most coveted of all is the Arch – a holy blade that can slice through absolutely anything. The Arch is key to Enoch completing his mission, but the sword must be first liberated from his angelic owner, and then its blade must be purified before he can complete his task.