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[EekTheKat]

The more I play this game, the more I'm convinced they made the right decisions about combat. HS's combat engine is damn fun to play with, and it's fairly accessible as well.

It's a streamlined experience designed to mimic Martial Arts movies, specifically the ones where one person would take on a horde of people at once.

Bunny hopping (from jumping) and a standard "HOLD BUTTON TO BLOCK EVERYTHING" blocking scheme would break the illusion, and it would make Heavenly Sword a far more by the books mundane experience.

Heavenly Sword also stands very well on its own compared to other games in the genre, and I hope Ninja Theory builds upon what they have here for a sequel instead of scraping everything and adding unnecessary stuff like a jump button "just because other games have it."

Also,

Nariko does in fact have

Spoiler

a stand alone jump attack in the game.

(

Spoiler

it's a leaping power slash with the HS - the move looks very graceful and powerful. It's also very cool looking when you chain it after a combo or use it as an opener.

).

 

[WickedLaharl]

finished it in one go. pretty easy game except for the the fight with bohan. which really, really pissed me off. as far as length goes it took me about 6 hours to finish the game and that includes the 5 fucking retries on bohan. my favortie chapter was 3 by far because playing as kai was awesome.

ending spoilers

Spoiler

i did not like the ending at all. nariko should've lived somehow

 

[SlasherJPC]

Try playing it on hell mode now Its alot of fun and more challenging.

 

[tanod]

So I got through chapters 1 - 3 last night. Played about 4 hours or so. I've died 3 times. Once at each first encounter with a boss and once at the kai section

Spoiler

where you hang upside down

. I completely lost track of where I was and the enemies were and got hammered. Difficulty feels about right for a first playthrough. I have subtitles on though I'm not sure that was too great of an idea since they kind of distract from what's going on. Definitely turning them off on the 2nd playthrough.

There have been so many "OH HO HO HO" (like OMG, that was so awesome) and LOL moments from the dialogue and just pulling off some insanely cool moves. This is definitely in the running for my personal GOTY at the moment which also includes GoW2 and BioShock. So awesome...

Music and sound design is awesome-wowsome. It handily beats Lair for best music on the PS3 and that's saying something. I'm not a graphics whore/detail nut at all but the real-time lighting is really noticeable to me and jarring with how amazing it looks. Also, I'm surprised that I don't get that uncanny valley feeling to the character models, at all. Kai's model is INCREDIBLY impressive/gorgeous.

I won't be able to play much more until Thursday or Friday but I'm looking forward to it. HS is delivering far beyond what my expectations were. I'm very impressed. Great job Ninja Theory!

 

[Y2Kev]

Anyway, here's my review.

http://columbiaspectator.com/node/26767

 

[theBishop]

The more I play this game, the more I'm convinced they made the right decisions about combat. HS's combat engine is damn fun to play with, and it's fairly accessible as well.

It's a streamlined experience designed to mimic Martial Arts movies, specifically the ones where one person would take on a horde of people at once.

Bunny hopping (from jumping) and a standard "HOLD BUTTON TO BLOCK EVERYTHING" blocking scheme would break the illusion, and it would make Heavenly Sword a far more by the books mundane experience.

Heavenly Sword also stands very well on its own compared to other games in the genre, and I hope Ninja Theory builds upon what they have here for a sequel instead of scraping everything and adding unnecessary stuff like a jump button "just because other games have it."

Also,

Nariko does in fact have

Spoiler

a stand alone jump attack in the game.

(

Spoiler

it's a leaping power slash with the HS - the move looks very graceful and powerful. It's also very cool looking when you chain it after a combo or use it as an opener.

).

I agree the "controversial" combat choices make the game better. However, omitting the jump button hurts the game outside of combat. Puzzles are stupidly basic in part because Nariko has such limited motion within the environment. Using QTE events just to climb up the side of a hill flat sucks. If they make a sequel, the jump button needs to be there. I don't care if its disabled during fights, the game needs it.

 

[Nolan.]

I also forgot to say a big thanks to Ninja Theory for at least making stuff like cutscenes accessible after play. I was pleasantly surprised by that because I like watching stuff back sometimes without having to play it all over again. Does anyone know if they have another project to do.?

 

[Il Comodino]

How many chapters has Heavenly sword?

 

[WickedLaharl]

How many chapters has Heavenly sword?

Spoiler

6

 

[Elios83]

Ok Nariko if finally mine!! :O
I'm near the end of chapter 2. I'm really amazed by the art and dramatic direction. It sets a new standard.

 

[Darji]

Yay finally got it and its totally awesome. Just finished chapter 2. But man do I suck with the aftertouch things especialy the first one with Kai....

 

[XHitoshuraX]

I also forgot to say a big thanks to Ninja Theory for at least making stuff like cutscenes accessible after play. I was pleasantly surprised by that because I like watching stuff back sometimes without having to play it all over again. Does anyone know if they have another project to do.?

Spoiler

HS2 Pre-Production Design

 

[Ceb]

Nice writeup, Y2Kev.

I just got done with the 2nd chapter of Heavenly Sword. In total, I've played ~3 hours. If I can get 8-9 hours of this quality out of the game, I'll be very satisfied.

The combat sections do feel a bit clumsy when you're surrounded by powerful enemies and the frame rate drops. It's a bit of a layman's brawler, but it still requires hardcore finesse to keep the combo count up.

The lavish visuals and amazing soundtrack are the main reasons to play the game anyway. I like to walk slowly through some of the more detailed environments, panning the camera and taking in the atmosphere. The well-directed cutscenes are the highlight though. After Nariko, Bohan and Kai, "virtual actors" will have to step it up in the future. I'm kinda worried that even MGS4 will start to feel archaic in this respect compared to HS.

It feels a bit like playing a wuxia version of ICO actually.

 

[patsu]

I'm kinda worried that even MGS4 will start to feel archaic in this respect compared to HS.

I have the same feeling but the latest MGS4 trailer is not as bad as I thought in comparison. I think they each have their own things going (for now).

 

[SlasherJPC]

Man, I need to replay this game stat. Glad to see this thread not dying so quicky.

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

I just realixed that Nariko does'nt have a set of "red Flash" power moves...

why?


Heavenly Sword 2....STAT.

 

[Lord Error]

Puzzles are stupidly basic in part because Nariko has such limited motion within the environment. Using QTE events just to climb up the side of a hill flat sucks. If they make a sequel, the jump button needs to be there. I don't care if its disabled during fights, the game needs it.

You can have complex puzzles without jump button easily. Don't forget, Nariko can lift stuff off the ground and drop it elsewhere, that's a huge boost for puzzle possibilities. She could break items with the sword, cut ropes, free creatures from the cage, etc. I don't think her moveset is that limited at all. Instead of adding a regular jump button, I think they should just continue with context sensitive "jump over" action, like they have with Kai. That worked like charm.

I'm kinda worried that even MGS4 will start to feel archaic in this respect compared to HS.

I really don't think MGS4 will be able to match the character performances in HS. In fact, new trailer makes me a bit sad, looking at the facial animation in MGS4, it's just so obviously below the bar now set by HS. But so is everything else, really, maybe even Uncharted.

*However*, people running/jumping/doing crazy stuff, and all the vehicular action in MGS4 will be second to none, you can count on that after seeing that new trailer.

 

[Tieno]

As the game continues to linger on in my head (rented and returned it) my feelings towards it grow even more positive. This sometimes happens with me and it's a sign that a game/movie/book is dear to me.
Not a lot of games have moments that are just plain awesome, but Heavenly Sword has at least one or two in both gameplay and cutscenes.
I'm also very fond of the way they ended it, one of the most satisfying endings. Epic and powerful, but also touching and emotional. You can't say that about a lot of games, where most struggle to even have one of those aspects.

The flaws it has just make me that much more curious for a sequel.

Probably going to pick it up when I have more money and it's dropped in price in a year, so I can come back to it.

 

[dark10x]

I really don't think MGS4 will be able to match the character performances in HS. In fact, new trailer makes me a bit sad, looking at the facial animation in MGS4, it's just so obviously below the bar now set by HS. But so is everything else, really, maybe even Uncharted.

*However*, people running/jumping/doing crazy stuff, and all the vehicular action in MGS4 will be second to none, you can count on that after seeing that new trailer.

Yeah, that's about right. Still, MGS4 will display all cutscenes in realtime and uses motion blur.

 

[Klytus]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but Gamespy have re-reviewed HS after realising that the retail version of the game has a much-improved framerate from their review copy.

Interesting URL too...

Anyway for what it's worth, I finished it on Monday night and loved every minute. Even my gf was enthralled. I guess one of the plus points of it being so short is that she didn't miss any of the cutscenes and was able to follow the story right to the end...

 

[XHitoshuraX]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but Gamespy have re-reviewed HS after realising that the retail version of the game has a much-improved framerate from their review copy.

Interesting URL too...

Anyway for what it's worth, I finished it on Monday night and loved every minute. Even my gf was enthralled. I guess one of the plus points of it being so short is that she didn't miss any of the cutscenes and was able to follow the story right to the end...

A junior, with a girlfriend?

HA.


Thanks for playing the game !

 

[Lord Error]

Hmm, interesting. I don't think Gamespy review was posted here to begin with.

It's kinda funny that they felt the need to re-review it, though. Playing the game (I'm at beginning of chapter 6 now) I was consistently enjoying it so much that I really started thinking that some people reviewing it were holding back for some reason, being more critical or cynical than they usually are.

I dunno, maybe I'm crazy but I really think HS is underrated as far as reviews go, even though it's review average is good and all (82% now). R&C and Uncharted will have to be really amazingly good to be more memorable than HS.

 

[theBishop]

I really don't think MGS4 will be able to match the character performances in HS. In fact, new trailer makes me a bit sad, looking at the facial animation in MGS4, it's just so obviously below the bar now set by HS. But so is everything else, really, maybe even Uncharted.

*However*, people running/jumping/doing crazy stuff, and all the vehicular action in MGS4 will be second to none, you can count on that after seeing that new trailer.

Heh... you can't very well say Nariko's movement isn't restricted and then start talking about MGS4 and Uncharted. MGS, especially shows ridiculous freedom of movement. Snake can fire from every conceivable position, throw grenades over his head from a prone position, hand-to-hand combat, peek through doors/hings, hang over ledges, and so much more.

 

[levious]

but will it have a jump button?

 

[SlasherJPC]

As the game continues to linger on in my head (rented and returned it) my feelings towards it grow even more positive. This sometimes happens with me and it's a sign that a game/movie/book is dear to me.
Not a lot of games have moments that are just plain awesome, but Heavenly Sword has at least one or two in both gameplay and cutscenes.
I'm also very fond of the way they ended it, one of the most satisfying endings. Epic and powerful, but also touching and emotional. You can't say that about a lot of games, where most struggle to even have one of those aspects.

The flaws it has just make me that much more curious for a sequel.

Probably going to pick it up when I have more money and it's dropped in price in a year, so I can come back to it.

Yeah it truly does grow on you. Even after having played through it once on normal and on hell mode, it seems I can't stop thinking about it. It was just paced so perfectly and with utmost care to the characters, environments, and dialog.

 

[Lord Error]

Heh... you can't very well say Nariko's movement isn't restricted and then start talking about MGS4 and Uncharted.

No, no, I was talking about something else entirely. I was comparing character performances, as in - facial animation, lip syncing etc, between the new MGS4 trailer and HS.

 

[Klytus]

A junior, with a girlfriend?

Believe. She rocks. Even bought me my PS3 as a present at launch!

One of the things I love most about this game is the way Nariko adresses the camera in between chapters. So beautifully done, they really brought you closer to the character. I haven't gone back to replay any sections yet (but i will), but is replaying the whole game the only way of seeing these again?

I dunno, maybe I'm crazy but I really think HS is underrated as far as reviews go, even though it's review average is good and all (82% now).

About the gamespy thing, I wonder if the copy they reviewed was the same version used by other websites. It's definitely underrated imho.

 

[Doc Evils]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but Gamespy have re-reviewed HS after realising that the retail version of the game has a much-improved framerate from their review copy.

Interesting URL too...

Anyway for what it's worth, I finished it on Monday night and loved every minute. Even my gf was enthralled. I guess one of the plus points of it being so short is that she didn't miss any of the cutscenes and was able to follow the story right to the end...

Interesting. I usually trust gamespy when it comes to reviews and 4/5 is a good score.

 

[Lord Error]

Yeah it truly does grow on you. Even after having played through it once on normal and on hell mode, it seems I can't stop thinking about it. It was just paced so perfectly and with utmost care to the characters, environments, and dialog.

I think it helps to pace yourself with this game. Give yourself a breathing room to think about what you've played through instead of blowing through it in one day. There's really a lot of nuances in there, and in places where other games just completely ignore it. I'm consistently impressed by the way chapters end with monologues, that lead you on to think that Nariko talks to you, the player who controls what happens to her,

Spoiler

while at the end it starts sounding like she's talking to the Sword, but it can still be interpreted both ways

It's 'only' a damn menu selection screen, but they made it into something that binds the whole game together, and treated it like it's a piece of art...

 

[Ceb]

The Kai missions in chapter 3 were amazingly fun. Some amazing visuals too. God, I love the lighting and the meticulously detailed environments in this game.

 

[XHitoshuraX]

I think it helps to pace yourself with this game. Give yourself a breathing room to think about what you've played through instead of blowing through it in one day. There's really a lot of nuances in there, and in places where other games just completely ignore it. I'm consistently impressed by the way chapters end with monologues, that lead you on to think that Nariko talks to you, the player who controls what happens to her,

Spoiler

while at the end it starts sounding like she's talking to the Sword, but it can still be interpreted both ways

It's 'only' a damn menu selection screen, but they made it into something that binds the whole game together, and treated it like it's a piece of art...

Bishop and I were arguing about that earlier in the thread lol

 

[Lord Error]

Bishop and I were arguing about that earlier in the thread lol

I skipped through that earlier as I sensed spoilers. In any case, I think it's pretty amazing that a discussion like that can even be had about a game.

 

[drohne]

just started in on hell mode, and i'm liking it quite a bit -- the difficulty spike isn't that big, but enemies hit harder and are much less passive, so you have to be more attentive to positioning, crowd control, and the ai's intentions. lots more opportunites for counters too. god knows i love counters. it was already a more defensive, reactive game than its genre peers, but it comes into its own with the difficulty turned up -- its double dragon dna really shows. i really think the difficulty should've defaulted to this level.

 

[Guts Of Thor]

Please tell me that they will release the soundtrack at one point! One of the most impressive soundtracks so far this gen.

 

[Agent X]

I got the game when it was released last week, and just completed it a few minutes ago. It's one heck of an adventure. The characters are brought to life with exquisite modeling and animation, backed up by some truly talented voice acting. The fighting action is great, and the inclusion of the target shooting segments serves to spice things up and prevents the game from becoming monotonous.

I enjoyed it a lot, and will certainly play through it again!

 

[msdstc]

I was going for 100% on everything, but really there's nothing to motivate me. That's another thing I really hope is in the second one, some nice unlockables and such, and hopefully some dlc in the future.

 

[Agent X]

There's really a lot of nuances in there, and in places where other games just completely ignore it. I'm consistently impressed by the way chapters end with monologues, that lead you on to think that Nariko talks to you, the player who controls what happens to her,

Spoiler

while at the end it starts sounding like she's talking to the Sword, but it can still be interpreted both ways

It's 'only' a damn menu selection screen, but they made it into something that binds the whole game together, and treated it like it's a piece of art...

I really liked this aspect of the presentation, too. It gave more depth to Nariko's character, and served as a great way to segue from one chapter into the next.

 

[Wollan]

Australian release today. I don't have time to play really but here's a quick first impression from nearly completing chapter 1.

The character acting is something else. When Kai jumped ontop of Narikos lap and they were rejoicing, put a smile on my face. The music is very good. The graphics are omg worthy, a shame it's not a solid 30fps but I've never seen such things as the armies and to this degree in a game before. I found it a bit weird actually walking inside the fortress arena, seeing shadows cast across Nariko, you see a big valley and mountain range endlessly far to the west and when you come ontop of the gate you see huge catapults, insane armies..etc. Used to get one of these graphical features but not all at once (with some framerate issues but not game breaking). The music is really beautiful as well. And Nariko is one of the first videogame character I would actually describe as hot. Reached a certain level now.

 

[Lord Error]

As they say, all good things come to an end - I finished HS last night.

The very last boss fight was very tough, but I think the game drops down difficulty after you die a couple of times on it. I'm actually almost 100% positive this is the case. The ending is really quite sad,

Spoiler

not just because Nariko dies, but because of what happens to Bohan, and the way his son comes to his rescue. Really quite touching

. The ending cinematic although quite different looking than the rest of the visuals, was fitting for something that would play at the end.

Another recent OMG moment was the last encounter with Flying Fox. That whole scene where you approach the cage and what happens then, and the way his demise plays out, was really, really awesome stuff.

I have said it once, and now i can say with confidence - R&C and Uncharted will really have to be something amazing, to be the most memorable PS3 game against HS. This is really Ico-level of general awesomeness and maturity that this game gives away, and I'm a sucker for that stuff.

 

[manzo]

I literally spilled my coffee when I saw this:

http://www.tilt.fi/cgi-bin/show.pl?action=show&page=ps3&num=60

These shops in Finland are asking 79.95€ for this game. THAT'S EIGHTY FUCKING EUROS.

That's 112$. We are paying Super Nintendo prices here.

 

[Tieno]

I literally spilled my coffee when I saw this:

http://www.tilt.fi/cgi-bin/show.pl?action=show&page=ps3&num=60

These shops in Finland are asking 79.95€ for this game. THAT'S EIGHTY FUCKING EUROS.

That's 112$. We are paying Super Nintendo prices here.

import/ebay

 

[manzo]

import/ebay

Naw, I'm buying this game when the dust settles, when the stores are starting to fill up with used copies.

Still, this 80 euro ripoff fucking infuriates me. I know that the Finnish PS3 fans are so thirsty for this game that they WILL pay the price.

This will mean that more games will be appearing for 80 euros if they see that people are willing to pay these sums for games again. :/

 

[wotter]

I literally spilled my coffee when I saw this:

http://www.tilt.fi/cgi-bin/show.pl?action=show&page=ps3&num=60

These shops in Finland are asking 79.95€ for this game. THAT'S EIGHTY FUCKING EUROS.

That's 112$. We are paying Super Nintendo prices here.

Crazy.

Most stores here are selling it for 65€ or 69€. I've seen it at 59€ too.

 

[manzo]

Crazy.

Most stores here are selling it for 65€ or 69€. I've seen it at 59€ too.

59€ I could pay, but not 65 or 69 for a game this short.

I'll just buy one from ebay.

 

[EGM92]

I'm right at the beginning of the game, playing Kai's Night Attack shooting the guys, is there any way to adjust the sixaxis sensitivity?? It's way too sensitive.

 

[tanod]

I'm right at the beginning of the game, playing Kai's Night Attack shooting the guys, is there any way to adjust the sixaxis sensitivity?? It's way too sensitive.

I had a really hard time with that mission but don't worry about missing guys too much. You get the hang of it as you go through the game and it gets REALLY fun.

 

[Elios83]

Finished today. Bought yeasterday at 59€.
It's really a great game, the environments are amazing, someone said that this game is like 'Ico meets a wuxia movie' and I think it nails it perfectly even considering its length, 5-6 hours are not a lot but it's a really great ride.
I hope they announce the sequel as soon as possible

Spoiler

Kai could be the main character, and the black crow will be back trying to find someone else to replace Bohan to get the sword

.

 

[jjasper]

So what is the replay value on it like? I would like to get it this weekend with the B2G1F but only if I feel like I could go through it 2-3 times and still enjoy it.

 

[Elios83]

So what is the replay value on it like? I would like to get it this weekend with the B2G1F but only if I feel like I could go through it 2-3 times and still enjoy it.

Well you unlock all the extras if you get the max rating in each mission in each chapter which is quite challenging.
That's what I'm doing right now playing the game a second time.
BTW it would have been nice if the game allowed to store all the artworks you unlock in the photo folder so that one could use them as wallpapers or print them with a USB printer but it's not possible.

 

[Lord Error]

I'll replay the game just so that I can see all the crazy stuff that happens again. I also want to try some of combos that I see are there, but I didn't try them, and to get more medals, so that I can unlock some of the artworks.

First playthrough, I played it for at least 8 hours for what it's worth. I'm not good at counting hours, but it lasted for 5 days, 1.5 - 2 hours each day. It was as fun for my wife to watch it being played as it was for me to play it, which is always a big plus The game is as good in that sense as GoW or RE4.



Oh, and maybe too late now that it's on PSN (dunno what quality they have it there through) but here's the TV commercial, in a really good quality HD MPEG2 file, that someone grabbed off of DVR:

http://rapidshare.com/files/54364491/heavenly.mpg

Much better looking than the Gametrailers file, and it can be played natively on PS3.