Heavenly Sword - IGN review (UH OH INCOMING)

Linkzg said:
see, this is why reviews are sometimes bad, people are choosing to NOT buy this game because of one sites review.

there is a demo for this game out, play that atleast and form your own opinions, then decide yourself.

downloadable demos are the best part about this gen, anyone with the console and online access can try out game demos instead of judging based on reviews.
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You mean that demo sold you on the game? How could anyone who wasn't guy to buy the game demos, reviews, etc. all be damned be sold on that demo? It was so unbelievably short I blinked and almost missed it. I think most of us considering buying the game were looking past that demo, and watching their trailers.
 
In the heavenly sword demo thread I said it would get a 7 out of 10 and an 8 out of 10 by nice publications. I got flamed for 5 pages.

Look who was right.
The answer is me
 
HocusPocus said:
You mean that demo sold you on the game? How could anyone who wasn't guy to buy the game demos, reviews, etc. all be damned be sold on that demo? It was so unbelievably short I blinked and almost missed it. I think most of us considering buying the game were looking past that demo, and watching their trailers.
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if you check demo thread, many people played that demo >10 times....
 
Can't say I was surprised by this. This was one of the most promising games two years ago, then something went terribly wrong during development. We haven't been shown gameplay sections for a long time, and what eventually was shown wasn't THAT great (the boss batlle with lizard woman, the arrows sequence etc.). Probably production values went on their head to the detriment of gameplay. I was beginning to think they just concentrated on technical and cinematic aspects without focusing on gameplay. So, I tend to trust the underwhelming scores. Too bad.
 
Endymion said:
Can't say I was surprised by this. This was one of the most promising games two years ago, then something went terribly wrong during development. We haven't been shown gameplay sections for a long time, and what eventually was shown wasn't THAT great (the boss batlle with lizard woman, the arrows sequence etc.). Probably production values went on their head to the detriment of gameplay. I was beginning to think they just concentrated on technical and cinematic aspects without focusing on gameplay. So, I tend to trust the underwhelming scores. Too bad.
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lol... its like rewriting the history
 
MaX_PL said:
i love how theres this NGS hate just because HS didnt live up to some expectations.
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I can speak for anybody else in this case, But I think the combat of NGS is great, but the design is rather archaeic...I was hoping HS would deliver something more coherent as an immersive experience (beyond just gameplay elements)...seems big issues though. Still day one for me though
 
Be honest here,who actually in the right mind thinks it will score high 9 in the first place? They keep saying rich storyline and atmosphere but they keep avoiding the gameplay.
 
I called the stinker MONTHS ago, but I was banned. I mean after E3 who still thought this game would be anything but garbage.

Sad too, cause the only next gen system I own is a Ps3. Not my fault the game is ass tho.
 
You just hit the attack button over and over and stop hitting it when somebody is going to attack you. The demo can't possibly be representative of the gameplay.
 
dollartaco said:
You just hit the attack button over and over and stop hitting it when somebody is going to attack you. The demo can't possibly be representative of the gameplay.
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That's what YOU did - a lot of us did A LOT more.

ps. are IGN saying HS is worse than Harry Potter Game, Cars Game, Pac-Man, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo, Flatout, Marvel:Ultimate Alliance, World Snooker, King Kong and Zuma?

The final score is absurd considering their criticisms. It doesn't get everything perfect, but perfect is a 10/10 - I'd put it at 8-9 from their comments. HS is a casualty of the console it's on - Sony's need for something revolutionary puts far too much pressure on its games, and makes expectations absurd. If Kameo can get 8.4 on the 360, then I expect HS would have got an 8.6 on the 360 as well. PS3's own fault I suppose.
 
deepbrown said:
That's what YOU did - a lot of us did A LOT more.

ps. are IGN saying HS is worse than Harry Potter Game, Cars Game, Pac-Man, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo, Flatout, Marvel:Ultimate Alliance, World Snooker, King Kong and Zuma?

The final score is absurd considering their criticisms. It doesn't get everything perfect, but perfect is a 10/10 - I'd put it at 8-9 from their comments. HS is a casualty of the console it's on - Sony's need for something revolutionary puts far too much pressure on its games, and makes expectations absurd. If Kameo can get 8.4 on the 360, then I expect HS would have got an 8.6 on the 360 as well. PS3's own fault I suppose.
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You know, it could be simply that what Heavenly Sword has/does is great, but there just isn't enough of it.

Which is a valid statement. You feel cheated despite the content itself being great. It's like taking a mere bite from an expensive, juicy steak. That bite, the food, what went into your mouth is great, it's awesome -- but are you left satisfied? Is your hunger satiated? No. It isn't.
 
dollartaco said:
You just hit the attack button over and over and stop hitting it when somebody is going to attack you. The demo can't possibly be representative of the gameplay.
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Congratulations! And welcome to any action game ever made! you can easily beat most of Ninja Gaiden Sigma with either flying swallow or [],/\,[],[],[],/\. God of war? just smash triangle nonstop. I shit you not, I was watching my friend play and thats ALL he did for the 2+ hours I saw him, yet he was still enjoying himself fight after fight.

It seems to me most of the reviewers don't have an actual problem with the fighting and combat, but the pacing. The game is poorly paced so it seems all you're doing is fighting>fighting>fighting. I definitely sensed this problem from all the videos I saw, but it doesn't bother me one bit. I thoroughly enjoy the combat system and want to kick some ass with it - not platform from one area to another JUST because the developer felt they needed it there to add variety. This game has always been a straight action game, not an action-adventure. I've played the demo now 20+ times and I can't wait to get my hands on the final game for the ass-kicking and story.
 
hteng said:
wait... how do you guys know the game is 6 hours? i dont recall seeing it in any reviews?
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sionyboy said:
Impressions on the game from a Gaf'er who had played the review build.
I believe a Swedish magazine review also stated 6 hours of play.
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In addition, the IGN video review also stated that it was 6 hours long.
 
RBH said:
In addition, the IGN video review also stated that it was 6 hours long.
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Thanks for the heads up on that.

I don't know why they didn't put it in their review about actual length. They mentioned it was short, but not an actual number. The definition of a "short" game varies from person to person, it would have been more beneficial to include some real numbers in their review than a mere hint.

DeanoC at B3D said the game took him 9.5 hours to complete, but I'm pretty sure that developers are not the most objective of sources when it comes to their own game. Heck, Valve said HL2:EP1 was about 6-8 hours, and the only way you got that sort of playtime of it was playing it through twice.
 
C- Warrior said:
You know, it could be simply that what Heavenly Sword has/does is great, but there just isn't enough of it.

Which is a valid statement. You feel cheated despite the content itself being great. It's like taking a mere bite from an expensive, juicy steak. That bite, the food, what went into your mouth is great, it's awesome -- but are you left satisfied? Is your hunger satiated? No. It isn't.
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Well I don't believe the average gamer will get through this game in under 10hours on NORMAL. I also believe when I play through it again on Hell Mode it will take me around 15-18hours....that's if I can complete it at all.

I do hope that the story gives closure and that you feel satisfied - I can't give you my thoughts on that until I've played the game.

Plus I have hopes that the game does very well in this area:

"A game's length rarely has to do with its quality, AndresON777. Heavenly Sword is short but the narrative arc tracks along its length nicely. You wouldn't complain because a book or a movie isn't long enough, would you? It ends when it ends because that's when it had to end. The end."

Plsu I'd rather have a bit of juicy steak (HS) than 20 McDonalds Burgers (Kameo, Harry Potter, Cars, PDZ, King Kong...) But I guess my tastes don't match the majority - tis why everyone's fat these days...

Plus Tomb Raider Legend is the shortest game I've ever played and it got 8.2 - nah not swinging with this at all.
 
-EDIT- probably old, so nevermind.
 
So when are we going to start seeing the advantage of bluray on games?

Seriously though, I think some people have it in their heads that every PS3 exclusive is going to be a AAA title. But that's just unrealistic. There are plenty of 360 exclusives that aren't very good either.

Not every game that's exclusive is going to own.
 
I said it was crap, and deepbrown defended it with his dying breath; but would anybody believe me?

Noooooooo!

Like I said kids, when you promote your game by touting Andy Serkis and WETA's involvement over fundamental stuff like - good game play; it should be obvious to anyone with a brain that we're running up on a failure to launch.
 
BigDug13 said:
So when are we going to start seeing the advantage of bluray on games?

Seriously though, I think some people have it in their heads that every PS3 exclusive is going to be a AAA title. But that's just unrealistic. There are plenty of 360 exclusives that aren't very good either.

Not every game that's exclusive is going to own.
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You can already see the advantage of Blu-ray in HS.
 
The Take Out Bandit said:
I said it was crap, and deepbrown defended it with his dying breath; but would anybody believe me?

Noooooooo!

Like I said kids, when you promote your game by touting Andy Serkis and WETA's involvement over fundamental stuff like - good game play; it should be obvious to anyone with a brain that we're running up on a failure to launch.
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It isn't crap. I still stand by my thoughts on the gameplay mechanics that I played in the demo. I was not too know that the final game would be very short, or that their would be too much shooting arrows. I still believe from the criticisms the overall score is very harsh - especially looking at the games that are supposedly meant to be better than it.
 
deepbrown said:
Plsu I'd rather have a bit of juicy steak (HS) than 20 McDonalds Burgers (Kameo, Harry Potter, Cars, PDZ, King Kong...) But I guess my tastes don't match the majority - tis why everyone's fat these days...
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I just need to quote this part for posterity. So awesomely delusional. :lol
 
deepbrown said:
Plsu I'd rather have a bit of juicy steak (HS) than 20 McDonalds Burgers (Kameo, Harry Potter, Cars, PDZ, King Kong...) But I guess my tastes don't match the majority - tis why everyone's fat these days...
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But you can have those 20 McDonalds Burgers along with lots of full Juicy Steaks.
 
Wow, this is disappointment total, looks like NT spent most of their effort on the graphics over anything else, I mean 6 hours is as short as hell, especially for a full priced game.
 
cartoon_soldier said:
But you can have those 20 McDonalds Burgers along with lots of full Juicy Steaks.
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With Bioshock maybe....not with what I listed.

ICO took me 7hours to complete and I had no urge to play it through again - in fact there was zero incentive to go back at all. Yet you can replay any level in HS whenever you like with new moves. I call that replayability...

Zilch said:
I just need to quote this part for posterity. So awesomely delusional. :lol
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lol I thought it was inspired :lol
 
Norml said:
It seems all PS3 only games get reveiwed by nitpicking most of the time. Also I dont see how a last gen game.. sigma gets a 9.5 in gameplay, thats just complete crazy because Heavenly Sword is clearly more fun and brings new elements to the game.
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How is HS clearly more fun than Ninja Gaiden? The Ninja Gaiden franchise has amazing gameplay.
 
Maxwell House said:
How is HS clearly more fun than Ninja Gaiden? The Ninja Gaiden franchise has amazing gameplay.
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I found the 5min demo I've played well over 20 times by now more enjoyable than NG, which I've beat now on Normal and Hard. Ninja Gaiden is fantastic game, the fighting system is tight and enemies relentless, but I just enjoy Heavenly Sword's stlye more. Everything has more of an artistic flair and the music is so incredible. Oh yeah, I also enjoy a solid story in my games. :lol
 
NeonBlade said:
I called the stinker MONTHS ago, but I was banned. I mean after E3 who still thought this game would be anything but garbage.

Sad too, cause the only next gen system I own is a Ps3. Not my fault the game is ass tho.
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7 out of 10 is NOT a stinker.
KGKK said:
Yet they gave GOW, POP, the first DMC and MGS2 higher for lasting appeal:lol
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maybe because those games were more replayable?

i mean, partly due to the supposed pacing issues it sounds like the game gets repetitive for some people *and* is short.

obviously if you were able to replay the demo a dozen times that probably isn't going to be an issue for you... but why do we always have to go through a song and dance of attack every reviewer who gives a game a lower score than people who already have decided they were going to buy the game based on the demo they enjoyed doesn't like it?

not everyone liked the demo, so why should it be hard to accept that some people genuinely don't like the game?

some games aren't for everyone. heavenly sword is looking like that kind of game. if we accept that it has flaws, then we have to accept that some people won't mind those faults and some people will.

demos > reviews... so why attack? why don't we ever see people attacking the reviewers so vehemently that give the good reviews?

antiloop said:
Sounds good to me.

In other news I heard Bioshock can be finished in 8 hours.
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and in other news I heard Bioshock was really replayable.

something i haven't heard of HS.
 
forgeforsaken said:
On easy on a second playthrough with absolutely no exploration, as a speed run, maybe.
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There's a guy who actually claims 6 hours if you don't play it as a collectathon.
 
Shake Appeal said:
I have played Bioshock for 9 hours now and someone who's finished it told me I was a quarter of the way in.

so, uh. :lol
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Only took me like 8-10 hours all told and that was on Hard. Bioshock isn't a long game.
 
It really doesn't sound like IGN had all that much of a problem with the length of the game, or at least I don't think it was much of an overriding factor in the final score. Rather it just sounds like a few of the games features suffered from fairly sloppy implementation. I think their complaint that the game relies too much on the combat after citing it as the games biggest strength is a little strange though.

Another frequent complaint I don't really understand is the fact that your progress is hindered at various stages until you defeat all of the enemies. NG, GoW and DMC all do this in far less fluid ways than the way it was done in the HS demo at least. NG used doors that just wouldn't open if I remember, although like GoW there were areas where you could simply ignore enemies and move on, but both DMC and GoW made use of magic forcefields, something I've yet to see of HS.

Other than that the review actually quashed some of my own fears, that one puzzle they described sounded pretty cool actually and the promise of more makes me happy. It also seems like some of the QTE is more reactive than the sequences in the demo (which were awful) so I'm thinking HS could turn out to be an excellent game that fell victim to expectation.

Really it sounded as though their biggest problem is the same as mine, as far as I'm concerned you could trade in the QTE and shooting in a heartbeat for some platforming and maybe even some limited exploration.
 
freethought said:
It really doesn't sound like IGN had all that much of a problem with the length of the game, or at least I don't think it was much of an overriding factor in the final score. Rather it just sounds like a few of the games features suffered from fairly sloppy implementation. I think their complaint that the game relies too much on the combat after citing it as the games biggest strength is a little strange though.

Another frequent complaint I don't really understand is the fact that your progress is hindered at various stages until you defeat all of the enemies. NG, GoW and DMC all do this in far less fluid ways than the way it was done in the HS demo at least. NG used doors that just wouldn't open if I remember, although like GoW there were areas where you could simply ignore enemies and move on, but both DMC and GoW made use of magic forcefields, something I've yet to see of HS.

Other than that the review actually quashed some of my own fears, that one puzzle they described sounded pretty cool actually and the promise of more makes me happy. It also seems like some of the QTE is more reactive than the sequences in the demo (which were awful) so I'm thinking HS could turn out to be an excellent game that fell victim to expectation.

Really it sounded as though their biggest problem is the same as mine, as far as I'm concerned you could trade in the QTE and shooting in a heartbeat for some platforming and maybe even some limited exploration.
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i think it's going to be a common complaint. it's what left me cold from the demo. the part linking the combat didn't feel like fleshed out gameplay. personally i can't play a game that's nonstop brawling for hours on end, no matter how good the combat system is. that's probably where the pacing complaints come in, despite the combat system being praised.

however, even in the demo the fight on top of the pillar did keep you in with invisible walls... and Nariko didn't think to bring the whole pillar crashing down and acrobat away before killing everyone on it.

it would have imho, been much more badass if you could have fallen off the pillar AND sent it crashing down to the ground by cutting the ropes and swinging away rather than walling the player in taking away all the tension of fighting on a small area with a large drop on all sides and exaserbating one of my own pet peeves... when your character can do ridiculous acrobatics in cutscenes, but can't do that same stuff in gameplay.
 
Odrion said:
I beat the game in five hours, did you leave your console on?
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I got lost a few times
little sister hunting. Speed of progression definitely picked up with plasmids that supported survivablilty though. Point was its not a long game :P
 
deepbrown said:
That's what YOU did - a lot of us did A LOT more.

ps. are IGN saying HS is worse than Harry Potter Game, Cars Game, Pac-Man, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo, Flatout, Marvel:Ultimate Alliance, World Snooker, King Kong and Zuma?

The final score is absurd considering their criticisms. It doesn't get everything perfect, but perfect is a 10/10 - I'd put it at 8-9 from their comments. HS is a casualty of the console it's on - Sony's need for something revolutionary puts far too much pressure on its games, and makes expectations absurd. If Kameo can get 8.4 on the 360, then I expect HS would have got an 8.6 on the 360 as well. PS3's own fault I suppose.
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That's the most ridiculous post I've ever read. The only thing I will say is; Different reviewers, different opinions.
 
Oh yeah, I also enjoy a solid story in my games.
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and you can tell HS has this from the 5 minute long demo?

or are you also in the Fullyrambolic boat of hoping that "Twing Twang" is twopence licking erotica?
 
I dunno if anyone on this board has mentioned this, but that "twing-twang" is an onomatopoeia for Kai's bow.... in other languages she says something like "pew-pew." She has to simplify it because Kai is a bit... off, I guess.
 
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