Enslaved being freed in October

It's been nearly three years since the last game from Ninja Theory--the PlayStation 3-exclusive Heavenly Sword--arrived on shelves, but the wait for the developer's next project is almost over. In a new trailer this week (see below), publisher Namco Bandai revealed that the studio's upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is set for an October launch.

Set in a postapocalyptic America, the game tells the story of slaves forced to work together for survival. The game's protagonist, the muscular Monkey, is captured by slavers along with the techno-savvy woman Trip. The pair escape, but Trip hacks a slave headband to tie her life to Monkey's, forcing him to protect her as they search for refuge.

The game is inspired in part by Chinese mythology and includes elements common to many such treatments in popular culture, including the staff-wielding, cloud-riding Monkey King escorting a youngster on a journey westward. Gamers may be familiar with facets of the story through games like Capcom's SonSon, the highly regarded Saiyuki: Journey West, or the Dragon Ball series.

Like Heavenly Sword before it, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West will feature Andy Serkis (Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films), with the actor providing voice work and motion-capture for Monkey. The studio has also enlisted Hollywood talent to handle the game's story, with 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland handling the script. While Enslaved will be Garland's first game script, he's not entirely unfamiliar with the intersection of the two media. Previously, he had been the screenwriter behind the scuttled Neill Blomkamp Halo film.

For more on Enslaved, check out GameSpot's first hands-on impressions.