Breathtaking. Ethereal. Striking. Trippy. These are four of many words that can be used to describe the art style of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. Here is a game that defies visual comparison; there simply isn't anything out there that looks remotely like this game. The art style is constantly in a state of flux, which is very appropriate, given the specifics behind the main character's journey. Each level of the Watchers' tower looks wildly different from the one before it. For example, one level drowns your vision in the most brilliant whites imaginable, as if it is indeed Heaven itself. Later in the game, you're dropped into a world that looks as if it was constructed out of laser light. Several artistic tricks are employed to keep you in a slack-jawed state of bliss; the heavy use of special filters and color schemes that can only be described as experimental probably wouldn't work well in a game dealing with different subject matter. Oh, and let's not forget that the artistic lead in this game is Sawaki Takeyasu, the visionary behind the stunning last-gen classic Ôkami.

Amazingly, El Shaddai sounds almost as good as it looks. The soundtrack hits all the right notes, which is quite a feat. I'm not sure I've heard a holy quest scored so appropriately. It's strange to admit, because this soundtrack includes more than just the requisite choirs and organs. If you've ever read the Book of Enoch, did you ever think that a slap bass solo would accompany any of it perfectly? Probably not, but it works. There seem to have been several resources at the disposal of Ignition Tokyo, and the experimentation pays off, as this is one of the prettiest-sounding games in recent memory. Voice acting is also solid, if bizarre. If you have no experience with the ancient Jewish texts that El Shaddai directly draws its story from, you will understand approximately 1% of everything spoken. The most notable cast member is Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter's Lucius Malfoy) as Lucifel, your main traveling companion/save point. His voice is completely unrecognizable in this game; part of it surely has to do with the fact that he's not playing a villain, but more has to do with the American accent he puts on for the role. Sound effects are somewhat minimal, but each of the three main weapon attacks sounds appropriate enough; lightsaber sounds are awesome no matter what actions they are triggered by. Just saying.

If you consider yourself unread when it comes to religious texts, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron will confuse the hell out of you. I only have a rudimentary understanding of the Book of Enoch, and I was lost most of the time. However, the developers seem to have the gist of the story -- at least well enough to produce a video game that lasts between eight and ten hours.

So El Shaddai concerns the exploits of Enoch, a scribe charged by God with a holy task. It turns out, a group of fallen angels called the Grigori (called the Watchers by most) have consorted with mankind, bringing about the birth of strange creatures called Nephilim. In addition, they have built a tower, a sort of base of operations. They see their actions as an evolutionary step, while God considers the entire situation abominable. Enoch is burdened with the duty of bringing these angels to justice and shutting down the tower before God and the Council of Elders flood the entire world. The storytelling is bizarre to say the least; the entire experience feels like one of those vivid dreams that temporarily changes the way you look at the world, only this one lasts a good deal longer.

So the framework is certainly there for a great action game; does the rest of the game deliver? Yes, for the most part. El Shaddai is split into eleven chapters, each of which follows a similar template. On its own, the level design isn't impressive; most navigation consists of running down the only path the game lays out for you. To be fair though, most of this stuff is accompanied by a subtle storytelling device that allows you to look past what you're actually doing and pay attention to something the game wants you to focus on. Sometimes this can be a bad thing; all too often, the game wrests control away from you, shoehorning Enoch into a dramatic forced walk. These moments have a tendency to intrude on the actual fun of the game.

El Shaddai's platforming elements range from decent to annoying. Its imperfections are primarily the result of the fixed camera, but for a game that looks like this, the benefits of such a restriction outweigh the annoyances. El Shaddai is at its best when it has the chance to show off its nuanced and surprisingly deep combat system... and that's best saved for two sections down.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron isn't without its frustrations, but overall, it offers an invariably limp challenge on the default difficulty. That's not to say that mashing on the (X) button will propel you to the end credits faster than you can say "Amy Grant." As long as you grasp the intricacies of the combat system well enough, you should be able to finish Enoch's quest in under ten hours. Again, exploration is all but impossible in this game, as it intends for you to take a very specific path. Still, that hasn't stopped the developers from adding in some collectibles along the way.

Once you finish your first playthrough, you will unlock two bonus difficulty levels: Hard and Extra. Personally, I found Hard to be my favorite of the settings; while Normal is a tad too easy for my taste, Extra just feels like a bit much. Hard is the happy medium, a tough challenge brimming with rewards and personal satisfaction.

If it wasn't for its fantastic combat system, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron wouldn't be much more than a pretty face with a weird personality. However, once Enoch gets into the thick of it with the fallen angels and their fanatics, the game becomes really exciting.

As you progress through each of the surrealistic landscapes that compose the Watchers' tower, you'll alternate between the aforementioned platforming sequences and the circular combat arenas. Enoch may be a mere man, but he is able to use God's weapons. There are three: the sword-like Arch, the projectile-firing Gale, and the cloven shield fragments called the Veil. There is a rock-paper-scissors dynamic to the weapons, so while one weapon might trump another, it is weak compared to the third. What makes this really interesting is that all of your enemies can use these weapons. When any of your enemies are knocked unconscious, you have the opportunity to steal their weapons from them. Most of the time, any weapon will suffice, but some encounters require that you come up with a battle plan on the fly.

El Shaddai's combat system consists of one attack button, a defense button, and a jump button. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. If you're a button-masher, you will only get so far. Timing is everything in this game. Enoch can unleash a flurry of attacks with heavy button-mashing, but if you hold off for a split second, he will launch into a devastating defense-shattering blow. Combining the attack button with the defense button will set up an aerial combo, that is, if you connect. Each of the three primary weapons has its own variation on the combat control scheme, and some feature special defense or movement options. It's surprisingly deep and quite well-designed.

As if the Watchers and their followers aren't enough, Enoch must keep the threat of corruption at bay. Every time he successfully lands a hit, his weapon absorbs a bit of "vileness" from the target. After a while, the weapon will become corrupted and turn red, and its effectiveness will drop sharply. A tap of (LB) will have Enoch purify the weapon; again, timing is everything, as he becomes vulnerable to enemy attack for about two seconds.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is bold, audacious, and honestly, kind of wonderful. It's one of the most immaculately produced games in recent memory, and it fortunately has the gameplay to back up all the eye and ear candy. El Shaddai may be based on apocryphal texts, but it's a religious experience all the same.