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[shysaursoft]

I'm not expecting it to. Still, can you do an install and check the file size - do it for GAF!

(actually do it for me, I want to know how much stuff I'll have to delete from HDD)

If you wait 10 minutes, I'll go do it right now.

 

[mckmas8808]

The review code I played with Miktar didn't seem to have AA at all. I was looking for it quite often while he was playing instead of me. It wasn't just the HDR scenes, as far as I can tell AA is off.

Given the amount of frame drops it's getting at 720p, I'm not surprised. You'd want faster framerate over AA for that kind of title anyway, so if it's a tradeoff there it's the right one. But it definitely shows the jaggies on screens 40" and up.
.

That's weird because the demo had AA.

 

[Mmmkay]

4xAA is there - you will always see jaggies, until we start getting to 16xAA. Learn what to look for.

Uh don't be so patronising. Their goal for AA in Heavenly Sword was not something applied to all geometry so it's pretty easy to spot aliasing in the game (this includes the demo). And even then, we don't necessarily know if they kept the feature as they were optimising.

 

[Lord Error]

General Lee D. Mented, uinless they changed something from the demo the game has AA for sure. 2x and 4xAA are possible to mistake for no AA if you look only at the rough spots though. Some people thought Motorstorm had no AA for example, even though it has 2x AA for sure.

The kind of tessellation you're talking about can be done on PS3, but I'm not sure how many games are doing it. Lair does for sure. Not sure if Gears is doing it either to be honest, but I'll take your word for it. HS does a whole lot with it's graphics, and I think you have to agree that it does many things better than even Gears. I also think they spent their poly budget and shaders very wisely. The characters in particular look a whole lot more appealing to me than those in Gears, but maybe that's just me.

 

[shysaursoft]

I must be missing it - is the option to install in the Options menu when you're in the game? I can't find an Options menu at the Title Screen, my only options there are 'Continue Game' or 'Start New Game'. If I select either, it goes into the game, and then all I can do is press start, go to Options, but there is no option to install there either.

Edit: About the AA, looking at the game now again, I swear to God this thing just doesn't look like it has AA. Look at her hair, any edge, the waterfall, anything with transparency (the grass, etc).

 

[deepbrown]

Why are you bringing me into this? I never once said I mashed buttons - I took the combat system very seriously, and even bothered to learn most of the combos.

It sounds like you're trying a bit too hard to defend this game: I'll say it again, this is a good game and I would recommend it to anyone with a PS3.

But don't lynch me just because I don't love it as much as you do.

That was a reply to the other guy not you

We're having a discussion, a debate, I'm offering you advise with my point of view, you counter argue. We reach some kind of conclusion.

"The funny part was Miktar played all the way to like the last chapter without ever figuring out how counters worked, and then I did it after about 5 minutes of playing. "

Read the Blog entry, it is quite capable of supporting a masher to some extent, and a more hardcore gamer who wants more.

Uh don't be so patronising. Their goal for AA in Heavenly Sword was not something applied to all geometry so it's pretty easy to spot aliasing in the game (this includes the demo). And even then, we don't necessarily know if they kept the feature as they were optimising.

Look I know you're technical, and you're good at all this AA stuff, but my impression was that they were expecting too much. Point taken, they may have used AA in certain places and not in others. BUT my impression was that the 8xAF was selective, but the 4xMSAA was not. I doubt they'd take something out which their whole engine was built around supporting.

 

[Lord Error]

Miktar, my information that portion of the game can be installed comes from Mesijs, who said he also played and reviewed the game for gamer.nl website. I guess he'll have to tell you what to do exactly :\

 

[dark10x]

The models are good, but a lot of the cutscenes run at extreme closeup and you can see the poly count just can't match Gears of War.

Aer you serious? The models in Gears were one of its weakest points. Everytime the camera zoomed in, the textures became a mess and the model edges stood out. They look awesome at a distance, but not up close.

 

[General Lee D. Mented]

General Lee D. Mented, uinless they changed something from the demo the game has AA for sure. 2x and 4xAA are possible to mistake for no AA if you look only at the rough spots though. Some people thought Motorstorm had no AA for example, even though it has 2x AA for sure.

The kind of tessellation you're talking about can be done on PS3, but I'm not sure how many games are doing it. Lair does for sure. Not sure if Gears is doing it either to be honest, but I'll take your word for it. HS does a whole lot with it's graphics, and I think they spent their poly budget very wisely. The characters in particular certainly look a whole lot more appealing to me than those in Gears, but maybe that's just me.

I could be wrong, but to me it looked like there was no AA. I don't have screencaps to prove it or anything, so whatever. AA isn't going to make or break a game anyway.

As for tessllation Gears was using it to drastically increase the polycount of their models, because the 360's GPU can do it in hardware. It's one of the things ATI/AMD was going on about when I was at the R600 launch in Tunisia earlier this year. Viva Pinata also makes extensive use of the hardware tessellation engine. You can do a similar effect on any general-purpose GPU or CPU, but obviously with a bigger performance hit. It's one of the additions to DX10.1. HS does a lot better texture and lighting work than Gears. I'm just saying I wish we had both in one place.

 

[shysaursoft]

Sorry - I cannot find any option to install, whatsoever. :/

 

[dark10x]

Yeah, but the models in Gears DO NOT seem to benefit. You're saying they use it, but I don't see it in the results as that was the weakest aspect of the game (visually). Models seemed to be fairly blocky and simply coated in textures designed to give them a more detailed appearance (something which fell apart at close range).

 

[shysaursoft]

That was a reply to the other guy not you

We're having a discussion, a debate, I'm offering you advise with my point of view, you counter argue. We reach some kind of conclusion.

Touché - but in your reply to "the other guy", you said "It sounds like you guys", which I thought meant me included. My bad.

 

[Mmmkay]

Edit: About the AA, looking at the game now again, I swear to God this thing just doesn't look like it has AA. Look at her hair, any edge, the waterfall, anything with transparency (the grass, etc).

Yeah, their AA was targeted to cover opaque geometry so that's no surprise.

 

[shysaursoft]

Yeah, their AA was targeted to cover opaque geometry so that's no surprise.

(Gods, and I don't even *care* about AA, but Even opaque geometry (like anything at the 'Select your Stage' scene) has serious lack-of-AAness. Maybe it's this giant Bravia that the PS3 is hooked up to? (To be brutally honest, I'm not all that jacked-up on the technical shit. I play games, not build PCs)

 

[dark10x]

It is fairly disappointing to read all of these impressions, but in reality, I deduced as much from the demo. The low framerate, the flimsy combat system, and general feel of the game is all wrong. Using poorly compressed video in place of realtime is also a pet peeve of mine. :\ I'm sure I'll check it out next week, but I dunno, I'm not excited. Perhaps I'll rent it.

 

[deepbrown]

Touché - but in your reply to "the other guy", you said "It sounds like you guys", which I thought meant me included. My bad.

Actually I did say "you both". So slap my hand and call me monkey! But still I hope you would play it by reading everything, all the information, plus reading as much extra information you can - understanding that you may be able to get through the game by mashing buttons, but that the engine will support those who want a bit more depth.

If you think that the engine supports it then maybe give it a go on Hell mode, to see if you get more of a connection to the action - because I think you will, as I have over the 50 odd times I've played the demo.

When I get the game I'll be able to whip you more with a more expensive whip, but for now this is all I can offer you

 

[shysaursoft]

Actually I did say "you both". So slap my hand and call me monkey! But still I hope you would play it by reading everything, all the information, plus reading as much extra information you can - understanding that you may be able to get through the game by mashing buttons, but that the engine will support those who want a bit more depth.

If you think that the engine supports it then maybe give it a go on Hell mode, to see if you get more of a connection to the action - because I think you will, as I have over the 50 odd times I've played the demo.

When I get the game I'll be able to whip you more with a more expensive whip, but for now this is all I can offer you

I do my research when I review. I'm not just some dipshit with a blog, I write for a print magazine and there are repercussions when I get something wrong. I could lose my job, for example, if it is discovered that I'm a talentless hack.

I've been looking at Hell mode in-between posting here, and truth be told, so far it looks like I could finish it on Hell mode easily enough - the fundamentals to the game remain unchanged, they just offer you less opportunities to take advantage of gaps in enemy combat.

But I don't *want* to play through the game *again*, is my point. It's just not that interesting, it's not that cool. I didn't play through Gears of War more than once either - it was fun, but doing it again would be a treadmill.

Here, let me throw caution to the wind:

You know what Heavenly Sword looks like to me? A game Ninja Theory weren't all that interested in making. They got cash (to make the game), they got the talent (that much is obvious)- they made a good game. But if you look at the attacks, the SuperStyles and the 'humour' in the game, it's almost as if they'd have rather have worked on an over-the-top kung-fu game (*cough*), something more 'fun'.

Hell: They'd make a great DBZ game, now that I think about it. Don't crucify me, plz.

 

[General Lee D. Mented]

It is fairly disappointing to read all of these impressions, but in reality, I deduced as much from the demo. The low framerate, the flimsy combat system, and general feel of the game is all wrong. Using poorly compressed video in place of realtime is also a pet peeve of mine. :\ I'm sure I'll check it out next week, but I dunno, I'm not excited. Perhaps I'll rent it.

Well if it makes you feel any better the videos that replace realtime in parts of the final game look better than the in-game, because it doesn't show aliasing like the in-game cutscenes and has sufficient bit-rate (thanks to Blu-Ray). It does show what looks like a slight resizing issue but I think that's because the game's running 720p on our 1080p screen and the upsampling on the TV isn't perfect.

 

[deepbrown]

You know what Heavenly Sword looks like to me? A game Ninja Theory weren't all that interested in making. They got cash, they got the talent - they made a good game. But if you look at the attacks, the SuperStyles and the 'humour' in the game, it's almost as if they'd have rather have worked on an over-the-top kung-fu game (*cough*), something more 'fun'.

Hell: They'd make a great DBZ game, now that I think about it. Don't crucify me, plz.

Uh oh. You've lost me there. In fact from being on this journey since 2004-5 with Ninja Theory, I find that comment quite offensive.

They did not have the cash - in fact they were re-mortgaging their houses in order to fund this game. A certain company wanted to buy them and move them to the States, but they said no because the project was too important to them, and they wanted it to be theirs. But just before they were all homeless, putting themselves really on the line for this game and genre they love - Sony called them.

Really after reading that comment I'm out of here.

ps. I understand if you don't want to have to play the game again, you shouldn't have to. I was just suggesting that maybe you should have played it with a different concept - and that Hell Mode might help you see what the combat engine offers for hardcore gamers. But if not, no problemo. Damn this "ps." really lost the impact of me getting out of here. I'M GONE!

 

[ram]

You know what Heavenly Sword looks like to me? A game Ninja Theory weren't all that interested in making. They got cash, they got the talent - they made a good game. But if you look at the attacks, the SuperStyles and the 'humour' in the game, it's almost as if they'd have rather have worked on an over-the-top kung-fu game (*cough*), something more 'fun'.

thats what i feeling, when playing the game too. its definatly good, but not triple A awesome. biggest problem, imo the whole game would need more polish. sometimes things like tha grass looks like xbox quality and i dont get ist, why nariko looks completly difefrnet ingame, than in the cutscenes.

its like: heavenly sword = god of war - polish - jump n run sequences - puzzles

 

[shysaursoft]

Uh oh. You've lost me there. In fact from being on this journey since 2004-5 with Ninja Theory, I find that comment quite offensive. I'm out of here.

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. It was a whimsical statement, based on Heavenly Sword constantly flip-flopping between "serious" drama and storytelling, then throwing in

Spoiler

"Let me shoot him in his Weak Spot for Massive Damage"

.

Look, I'm not here to be a wet blanket for the game - that was not my intention. I recommend the game, I think it's fun, it's getting a good review - but I have my reservations and I wanted to see what other people think first, in case I missed something obvious.

So I came to NeoGAF. Where else could I have gone?

 

[General Lee D. Mented]

thats what i feeling, when playing the game too. its definatly good, but not triple A awesome. biggest problem, imo the whole game would need more polish. sometimes things like tha grass looks like xbox quality and i dont get ist, why nariko looks completly difefrnet ingame, than in the cutscenes.

its like: heavenly sword = god of war - polish - jump n run sequences - puzzles

+ cutscenes + more cutscenes + prerendered cutscenes + tedious "ok I get the pattern please just DIE!" boss fights.

 

[shysaursoft]

So just before they were all homeless, Sony called them.

You're very close to the subject matter. A little too close, don't you think? I mean, I love my games - but it's not like I'm going to try and get invited over to the developer's house for dinner with their parents.

I know how you feel - plenty of games in the past have been pure labors of love, the developers penniless, and my heart would explode every time some gaming philistine didn't give the game its dues. But you can't please them all, especially the ones that are blatantly unfair towards the game.

But I'm being fair to Heavenly Sword, I think. It is a Good Game(tm). How many times do I have to say it, until you stop thinking I'm Satan ever time I mention that the game falls short in certain areas?

 

[Lord Error]

+ cutscenes + more cutscenes + prerendered cutscenes + tedious "ok I get the pattern please just DIE!" boss fights.

OK now, GoW has a lot of all that as well! (I'd wager it has more pre-rendered cutscenes than HS actually)

What GoW has that no other games of this kind do, is decent puzzles. I love it for that.

 

[deepbrown]

You're very close to the subject matter. A little too close, don't you think? I mean, I love my games - but it's not like I'm going to try and get invited over to the developer's house for dinner with their parents.

I know how you feel - plenty of games in the past have been pure labors of love, the developers penniless, and my heart would explode every time some gaming philistine didn't give the game its dues. But you can't please them all, especially the ones that are blatantly unfair towards the game.

But I'm being fair to Heavenly Sword, I think. It is a Good Game(tm). How many times do I have to say it, until you stop thinking I'm Satan ever time I mention that the game falls short in certain areas?

Dude I don't give a monkeys about that! You just said that Ninja Theory didn't care about the game - well I was just showing you HOW MUCH THEY care about the game.

I dont give a monkey's.. I just want to play a good game. It was just quite striking for you to say they didn't care - for the reality is very different, as I hope I have informed you.

 

[tanod]

The cutscene character models are the same as the gameplay models with a few additional special effects thrown in for stuff like eye reflections and the Bohan - crow effect. It was in the making of video.

Some of the cutscenes (the pre-rendered ones) were recorded from the game engine and made into videos to decrease the visibility of loading as well. It's a technique used all the time in a lot of games.

 

[shysaursoft]

Dude I don't give a monkeys about that! You just said that Ninja Theory didn't care about the game - well I was just showing you HOW MUCH THEY care about the game.

I dont give a monkey's.. I just want to play a good game. It was just quite striking for you to say they didn't care - for the reality is very different, as I hope I have informed you.

It is a good game. And I'd like to point out what I actually said, not what you think I said:

You know what Heavenly Sword looks like to me? A game Ninja Theory weren't all that interested in making. They got cash (to make the game), they got the talent (that much is obvious)- they made a good game. But if you look at the attacks, the SuperStyles and the 'humour' in the game, it's almost as if they'd have rather have worked on an over-the-top kung-fu game (*cough*), something more 'fun'.

Hell: They'd make a great DBZ game, now that I think about it. Don't crucify me, plz.

I know I'm probably wrong, and Ninja Theory worked their asses off on a labour of love. I'm just saying that I think they'd rather have been making something more 'fun' in terms of subjectmatter. If a designer from Ninja Theory would like to go on record stating I'm off my nut and 100% wrong, then that's what I am. Until then, I'll speculate to the best of my abilities because I like doing it.

 

[deepbrown]

The cutscene character models are the same as the gameplay models with a few additional special effects thrown in for stuff like eye reflections and the Bohan - crow effect. It was in the making of video.

Some of the cutscenes (the pre-rendered ones) were recorded from the game engine and made into videos to decrease the visibility of loading as well. It's a technique used all the time in a lot of games.

Corectemondo

It is a good game. And I'd like to point out what I actually said, not what you think I said:



I know I'm probably wrong, and Ninja Theory worked their asses off on a labour of love. I'm just saying that I think they'd rather have been making something more 'fun' in terms of subjectmatter. If a designer from Ninja Theory would like to go on record stating I'm off my nut and 100% wrong, then that's what I am. Until then, I'll speculate to the best of my abilities because I like doing it.

Dude, good luck to you and your review.

 

[shysaursoft]

The cutscene character models are the same as the gameplay models with a few additional special effects thrown in for stuff like eye reflections and the Bohan - crow effect. It was in the making of video.

Some of the cutscenes (the pre-rendered ones) were recorded from the game engine and made into videos to decrease the visibility of loading as well. It's a technique used all the time in a lot of games.

Yar. I concur.

 

[shysaursoft]

Corectemondo

Dude, good luck to you and your review.

Thank you. I know that the instant anyone smells I'm a 'VeeDeeOh Game ReeVeeewEeer', my reputation goes through the floor and out the other end - but I take my job seriously and truth be told, I think I do a respectable job of it.

I know you're going to love and enjoy Heavenly Sword when you get it, and you'll forget all about my negative comments.

 

[Lord Error]

The cutscene character models are the same as the gameplay models with a few additional special effects thrown in for stuff like eye reflections and the Bohan - crow effect. It was in the making of video.

In what part of "making of" have they discussed that?

 

[deepbrown]

Thank you. I know that the instant anyone smells I'm a 'VeeDeeOh Game ReeVeeewEeer', my reputation goes through the floor and out the other end - but I take my job seriously and truth be told, I think I do a respectable job of it.

I know you're going to love and enjoy Heavenly Sword when you get it, and you'll forget all about my negative comments.

What comments?

I'm sure I'll find my own negative comments - I hate short games for one. And I have a feeling I wont like the shooting sections. But hopefully your review doesn't have any arrogant speculation. I'll look forward to reading it.

 

[shysaursoft]

What comments?

I'm sure I'll find my own negative comments - I hate short games for one. And I have a feeling I wont like the shooting sections. But hopefully your review doesn't have any arrogant speculation. I'll look forward to reading it.

It won't. I keep speculation out of my reviews. All it will have is an arrogant "out of 100" score at the end, which is all people care about anyway. All the 'wurds' in front of it will be summarily ignored, and those that thought I scored it too low will lambaste me, and those that think I scored it too high will lambaste me.

Lots of lambasting in this gig.

 

[XHitoshuraX]

In what part of "making of" have they discussed that?

Even if it wasn't mentioned in the Making of videos (and Im not quite certain it is) it's been said before.

Yes. There is quite a bit of loading, especially if you die - it has to spend upwards of 20 seconds reloading the level (except when you fail a QTE - that tends to put you right back at the start very fast).

This is true to an extent. The load times can be frustrating but are hidden behind cut scenes for the most part. Of course the issue with this is that there is a chance you won't want to watch the same cinema over and over.

This game is Ninja Theory's Final Fantasy, they did Kung Fu Chaos and now they have Heavenly Sword. If this flops, any credibility they have is ruined. Something that must be mentioned and cannot be pointed at enough is the amazing voice acting and performances. And that’s what they are, performances. These aren't just voices behind a polygon player. These actors physically performed their part, used emotion and intention. This is not to suggest voice acting for other games is poor, I use this as a specific example.

This is one of the mainstays of the game itself: "To Bring Cinematic Production to Gaming." To simply touch upon this aspect of the game briefly is to miss the entire purpose of its existence.

Miktar, I appreciate your impressions.

 

[shysaursoft]

These actors physically performed their part, used emotion and intention. This is not to suggest voice acting for other games is poor, I use this as a specific example.

And the performances are absolutely top-notch : Serkis, for example, is a joy to behold every time his overly-reflective eyes appear on screen.

This is one of the mainstays of the game itself: "To Bring Cinematic Production to Gaming." To simply touch upon this aspect of the game briefly is to miss the entire purpose of its existence.

As I said right at the start of joining this thread - the cutscenes are awesome. But I could stress that more: but then... that makes me wish they'd just gone and made a CG movie instead?

Miktar, I appreciate your impressions.

Thanks. I appreciate that you took the time to mention this.

 

[Awntawn]

This game is Ninja Theory's Final Fantasy, they did Kung Fu Chaos and now they have Heavenly Sword. If this flops, any credibility they have is ruined.

I don't think this is going to flop, the game has plenty of hype and is fairly well advertised. It also actually seems to cater a lot more to casual gamers (or rather those who aren't hardcore fans of the genre like myself) than most other games in the genre, both in terms of the combat and with the larger focus on storytelling and presentation, so I have a feeling the popular response to it will be quite positive.

The biggest negative I see that this game has going for it is people lumping it together with LAIR's critical reception, which is a huge misconception that god knows how started circling around. The reviews to this one have been, averaged out, indicating a fairly decent game, just not AAA caliber - honestly I don't know why people expected otherwise. Also, considering that most reviewers at least agree that there is a lot of potential else shown in HS for this generation of gaming, I'm sure a lot of people will be interested to see what NT is going to be able to cook up next now that they have some next-gen experience under their belts.

 

[XHitoshuraX]

I don't think this is going to flop, the game has plenty of hype and is fairly well advertised. It also actually seems to cater a lot more to casual gamers (or rather those who aren't hardcore fans of the genre like myself) than most other games in the genre, both in terms of the combat and with the larger focus on storytelling and presentation, so I have a feeling the popular response to it will be quite positive.

I think thats two sides of the spectrum right there. One has to do with presentation, which in 9/10 cases, is universal to both casual and hardcore groups. The storytelling is, as I've said, top notch, and many of the Halo generation dont have the attention span for it. I can't tell you how many industry professionals I've spoken to who say "yeah I just skip the cutscenes, too boring."

 

[tanod]

In what part of "making of" have they discussed that?

I think it's part 3. It could also have been on one of the gametrailers previews.

 

[XHitoshuraX]

Although he hasn't updated it in FOREVER, reading through the blof of one of the designers (read: Producer) for Heavenly Sword. It's an interesting read...so...err

Read it.

http://blogs.ign.com/Heavenly_Sword/2007/06/29/58758/

 

[jmd494]

Where the hell is gamespot's review?

 

[XHitoshuraX]

Where the hell is gamespot's review?

When Rich left...

Gamespot died.

 

[tribal24]

i dont think this game is flopping, just need good advertisment not the stupid box room commercial either.it needs gow2 style commercial

 

[Lord Error]

If there's one game that makes sense for them to advertise, this is it. They obviously skipped on advertising Lair, which was a good decision I guess, but this game should really be pushed, and it's not like it's difficult to advertise either.

 

[XHitoshuraX]

If there's one game that makes sense for them to advertise, this is it. They obviously skipped on advertising Lair, which was a good decision I guess, but this game should really be pushed, and it's not like it's difficult to advertise either.

Adverts are everywhere....online..

 

[tanod]

If there's one game that makes sense for them to advertise, this is it. They obviously skipped on advertising Lair, which was a good decision I guess, but this game should really be pushed, and it's not like it's difficult to advertise either.

Yeah, they have a next-gen Tomb Raider character in an epic God of War-type environment. How can they not have advertisements fucking everywhere?

 

[MattKeil]

This game is Ninja Theory's Final Fantasy, they did Kung Fu Chaos and now they have Heavenly Sword. If this flops, any credibility they have is ruined. Something that must be mentioned and cannot be pointed at enough is the amazing voice acting and performances. And that’s what they are, performances. These aren't just voices behind a polygon player. These actors physically performed their part, used emotion and intention. This is not to suggest voice acting for other games is poor, I use this as a specific example.

The story and acting are definitely the highlights of the game. I could have watched Serkis' character the whole time and been thoroughly entertained. However Heavenly Sword fares in sales or reviews, I hope it leads to Serkis and Ninja Theory being involved in more games to bring the acting up to this level.

To be honest, I loved Heavenly Sword. I'm a big hack and slash fan, and I found the gameplay to be a nice balance between God of War and Ninja Gaiden. I'm certainly glad there was an option to turn off the Sixaxis control. After I found that, the sniping missions became just as much fun as the melee ones. It's also the first game on the PS3 I've played in which I didn't miss rumble. The visual feedback is extremely well done.

My problem is that I finished it in five hours. It's like giving me a taste of delicious ice cream and then not letting me have any more. There's no reason Serkis' character couldn't have had a few more generals or something to lengthen the game. It actually feels like the story jumps into the endgame way too fast, and could have used more of a slow build.

I suspect it was probably time-related. Perhaps Ninja Theory had to spend so much development time getting the game up and running that they didn't have time to fully make the game as long as they wanted. Whatever the reason, they still ended up with something special, if brief. It's a great game, I just can't justify paying $12 an hour for it.

 

[tribal24]

The story and acting are definitely the highlights of the game. I could have watched Serkis' character the whole time and been thoroughly entertained. However Heavenly Sword fares in sales or reviews, I hope it leads to Serkis and Ninja Theory being involved in more games to bring the acting up to this level.

To be honest, I loved Heavenly Sword. I'm a big hack and slash fan, and I found the gameplay to be a nice balance between God of War and Ninja Gaiden. I'm certainly glad there was an option to turn off the Sixaxis control. After I found that, the sniping missions became just as much fun as the melee ones. It's also the first game on the PS3 I've played in which I didn't miss rumble. The visual feedback is extremely well done.

My problem is that I finished it in five hours. It's like giving me a taste of delicious ice cream and then not letting me have any more. There's no reason Serkis' character couldn't have had a few more generals or something to lengthen the game. It actually feels like the story jumps into the endgame way too fast, and could have used more of a slow build.

I suspect it was probably time-related. Perhaps Ninja Theory had to spend so much development time getting the game up and running that they didn't have time to fully make the game as long as they wanted. Whatever the reason, they still ended up with something special, if brief. It's a great game, I just can't justify paying $12 an hour for it.

what difficulty you played it on?

 

[MattKeil]

Normal, since Hell is not unlocked until you finish it once.

 

[Lord Error]

Yeah, they have a next-gen Tomb Raider character in an epic God of War-type environment. How can they not have advertisements fucking everywhere?

The have pretty neat online ads already, and there's UK TV ad, but you never know with SCEA. They really can be complete idiots when it comes to game advertising.

 

[MirageDwarf]

Looks like HS is really short.

Whoever played HS could you please tell if HS has puzzles like God of War?