While the post-apocalyptical setting is one which has been treaded time and again, the post-post-apocalyptical is one that has seen few renditions. Ninja Theory (developer of Heavenly Sword) is hoping to quickly change that fact with Enslaved, their newly announced IP which is set to fall into the hands of gamers sometime in 2010. Little information has been given, but if Heavenly Sword is any indication as to the quality of Enslaved, there’s plenty of reason to get excited.

The game’s story follows Monkey, a man born one hundred and fifty years in the future, after many great wars and genocides have nearly eradicated the entire human race. Throughout his entire life, Monkey has avoided any other people out of fear for the mechs which roam the land where he lives. These machines are remnants from an old war in which people were rounded up like cattle and carried away to be kept in containment. Now that the war has ended and their programmers are long gone, these ghosts of the past still stick to their duties long after necessary.

After a huge conflict with some of these mechs, Monkey is knocked unconscious, and a small, fearful girl places a headband on him. This headband is her bargaining chip, for if Monkey does not do what he’s told to, it will crush his skull. For this reason, Monkey must aid the small girl in returning home to her village, no matter how far away it is.

During gameplay, players will be able to dismantle and dismember mechs in order to utilize their weapons on other enemies. Monkey is acrobatic, powerful and brutish, and shows no mercy when taking on these bionic warriors. The girl, Trip, can be used to distract gun turrets and must be tossed across great gaps which she can’t leap across on her own. Hopefully, though, the game won’t be one huge escort mission, and will have Trip become even more useful, such as Elika in Prince of Persia.

Throughout the game, players will learn more about the desolation and loss of information in the aftermath of these great wars. Small side conversations between Trip and Monkey will depict just how ignorant people have gotten after such a long time not knowing the whole truth. One conversation the developers described had the duo making their way through a barren city with huge buildings that had many windows. In this talk, Trip gawked and mentioned her idea that there must have been thousands of people living in these cities, and Monkey explained that there may have been hundreds of thousands. Little did they know these cities actually housed millions.

With so much time between now and the game’s release, it’s hard to sell Enslaved short just yet, especially considering its interesting premise. Though some fans of Heavenly Sword may feel a bit apprehensive about this spiritual successor, we won’t know for sure if it’ll meet our standards or not until its release. Enslaved will be released sometime in 2010.