El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is a very...interesting game for many reasons, but by far the most noteworthy is that it's a perfect example of everything that's right and wrong with the Japanese gaming industry. Long, strange title? Check. Androgynous lead character? Yep! Strange imagery that could have only come out of Japan? Oh yes. But looking deeper presents a much more interesting picture; one that's not so obvious - El Shaddai is like nothing you've ever played before. At times it's stunningly gorgeous and an incredibly engrossing experience, but unfortunately those experiences are also fleeting, and El Shaddai wears out its novelty long before it should.

The plot of El Shaddai is inspired by the Book of Enoch, and its...well, it's interesting to say the least, but here's what I pieced together, stay with me. Appropriately enough, you control Enoch; a priest on the lookout for seven fallen angels in an effort to stop a great disaster from striking earth. Where birds with boxing glove heads and motorbike riding robots come into that tale though - that's still a mystery, but it all adds to what makes El Shaddai so unusual, its unique art direction. Most times, the game is adorned by a sleek watercolor style of art. But when the game hits over drive and the story really begins to pick up, so does the wonderful art direction. El Shaddai is incredibly good at reinventing itself; I often had to remember that I was playing the same game I was an hour ago.

"El Shaddai makes a strong attempt to not be pigeon holed in any certain ideas..."

What's most notable about the style of El Shaddai is that even though it has a decidedly Japanese flair, it never rests on the conventions that fellow games from the region do. Sure, there's some here and there throughout the game, but El Shaddai's tastes are far more eclectic. One minute you're slicing and dicing enemies on the beach and the next you're racing in a Tron inspired cycle section. El Shaddai makes a strong attempt to not be pigeon holed in any certain ideas, and the result is spectacular.

If the unique style of El Shaddai is the heart of the game, then the combat is its muscle.  It would be easy to go into El Shaddai as merely a button masher, but doing so would take away what makes it so unique. Combat starts off incredibly slow, but as you learn the basics, the game gets deeper very quickly. The catch is that you're able to steal your enemy's weapons and use them against them, opening up the game to combat changes on the fly. Throughout the game, there are three different weapon types to pick up and learn; the sickle style arch, the explosive firing arch and the Veil, which gives you the ability to turn your hands into giant hammer like weapons. Being able to switch freely between the weapons and styles makes for an almost rhythmic experience, that's rivaled in this generation only by Child of Eden.

"The game is also incredibly uneven with its difficulty..."

The downside to all of this is that having only three weapons to master makes for a somewhat thin experience. You'll be able to use each of the weapons fairly on in the process, and as entertaining as the combat is, there's really not much to figure out as you get into the middle and later portions of the game, and as a result, you can start to feel like the game is dragging on. While it does a great job throwing curve balls your way in terms of design and level changes, it can still feel twice as long as it really is. The game is also incredibly uneven with its difficulty as one minute you'll be cruising through the game, and the next you'll have a horribly frustrating experience that will make you want to throw your controller.

You don't need to play El Shaddai - you need to experience it. It may grow old a lot sooner than it should, but it's a unique and fun take on the Japanese action genre. To be blunt, El Shaddai is a mixture of so many ideas and thoughts that it should be a mess, but it's a wonderful mess that you may not love, but you won't be able to turn away from.