If we remove low frame rate, goddamn Kai levels, irritating "pets", 1 second parries, cringe dialogues, crappy boss fights, irritating voice actings except Serkis & Nariko, poorly written villains, awful quick time events, annoying disc puzzles and horrible story; it might be good.
Cool aesthetics and music tho
Cool aesthetics and music tho
Finished this during midnight. What I'd call the perfect weekend game due to it's short length. I'd say don't expect much from it and combat gets rather repetitive. regardless Heavenly Sword offers some fun experience in general. it's kinda sad we didn't see any sequel due to "sony" but great standalone nonetheless.
When a brand new game console launches we all look toward the games they launch with to really show us what the console is capable of. There have been some failed system launches with either very few games or just poor ones. The PS3 was not such a console especially with Heavenly Sword backing it and wowing gamers across the world. Heavenly Sword puts the characters Nariko and Kai in your hands as you battle an evil warlord trying to take over your clans’ land.
Right from the start of the game you get introduced to sweeping epic landscapes, amazing graphics, beautiful sounds, and a great, albeit simple, combat system. For being a launch title the game has excellent production values and they really shine for the PS3.
The most important part of Heavenly Sword is the combat system and it never falters. You don’t receive the Heavenly Sword until a bit into the game, but once you do you are welcomed to three different fighting styles on the fly. Instead of having to stop the game and switch styles you can use them by just holding down a button. You are always in “speed” mode which breaks the sword into two swords while L1 puts you in “range” mode that is kind of like Kratos’ chain swords in God of War (which Heavenly Sword receives its nickname “Goddess of War”), and lastly holding down R1 puts you in “power” mode. There are a good amount of combos that let you switch in and out of these styles with amazing animations and a cinematic sweeping camera. Another element to the gameplay is the counter system. The enemy will glow the color of the style you need to be in to counter. Standing still is automatic block so hitting an attack button at the right time will perform a killer counter attack.
On top of this, you play as Kai who has a deadly semi-automatic crossbow that can be controlled with “aftertouch” which is controlled with the SixAxis motion controls. This was one of the first game to really utilize the SixAxis with bone-crunching and nasty kills from guided bows or anything else you can hurl at the enemy.
Puzzles in the game aren’t really a challenge since there aren’t many of them, but the bosses are. Each boss has multiple health bars, and once you get one knocked down you initiate a button pressing sequence by hitting circle (sounds just like God of War). Some bosses are just downright hard and seem impossible to beat, but remembering their attacks is the key.
Not only does the game look and sound amazing, but the story is riveting and so is the acting. With full motion capture sequences, this game has some of the most realistic facial animations I have ever seen. With Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Ink Heart) as a director and actor on board, you are treated with amazing work.
If the combat isn’t satisfying enough for you there are epic battles where you fight thousands of soldiers on-screen at once. Shooting a cannon and using after touch is just so satisfying especially towards the end of the game. If you are also curious about collecting items you can unlock stuff by doing certain tasks or meeting certain goals in each section of the game. With such a beautiful game you would want to see how it was made.
If I had to see a flaw in Heavenly Sword it would be that the game is extremely short clocking in at 4-6 hours depending on your playstyle. You could literally beat this in one or two long play sessions. The game also has some technical issues with some slow down and occasional choppy animation. The combat is also a bit shallow and a tad too button mashy. Other than that I can’t wait for the sequel to be announced, but it has been over 3 years and no word, so I feel this great new IP has been abandoned.
Right from the start of the game you get introduced to sweeping epic landscapes, amazing graphics, beautiful sounds, and a great, albeit simple, combat system. For being a launch title the game has excellent production values and they really shine for the PS3.
The most important part of Heavenly Sword is the combat system and it never falters. You don’t receive the Heavenly Sword until a bit into the game, but once you do you are welcomed to three different fighting styles on the fly. Instead of having to stop the game and switch styles you can use them by just holding down a button. You are always in “speed” mode which breaks the sword into two swords while L1 puts you in “range” mode that is kind of like Kratos’ chain swords in God of War (which Heavenly Sword receives its nickname “Goddess of War”), and lastly holding down R1 puts you in “power” mode. There are a good amount of combos that let you switch in and out of these styles with amazing animations and a cinematic sweeping camera. Another element to the gameplay is the counter system. The enemy will glow the color of the style you need to be in to counter. Standing still is automatic block so hitting an attack button at the right time will perform a killer counter attack.
On top of this, you play as Kai who has a deadly semi-automatic crossbow that can be controlled with “aftertouch” which is controlled with the SixAxis motion controls. This was one of the first game to really utilize the SixAxis with bone-crunching and nasty kills from guided bows or anything else you can hurl at the enemy.
Puzzles in the game aren’t really a challenge since there aren’t many of them, but the bosses are. Each boss has multiple health bars, and once you get one knocked down you initiate a button pressing sequence by hitting circle (sounds just like God of War). Some bosses are just downright hard and seem impossible to beat, but remembering their attacks is the key.
Not only does the game look and sound amazing, but the story is riveting and so is the acting. With full motion capture sequences, this game has some of the most realistic facial animations I have ever seen. With Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Ink Heart) as a director and actor on board, you are treated with amazing work.
If the combat isn’t satisfying enough for you there are epic battles where you fight thousands of soldiers on-screen at once. Shooting a cannon and using after touch is just so satisfying especially towards the end of the game. If you are also curious about collecting items you can unlock stuff by doing certain tasks or meeting certain goals in each section of the game. With such a beautiful game you would want to see how it was made.
If I had to see a flaw in Heavenly Sword it would be that the game is extremely short clocking in at 4-6 hours depending on your playstyle. You could literally beat this in one or two long play sessions. The game also has some technical issues with some slow down and occasional choppy animation. The combat is also a bit shallow and a tad too button mashy. Other than that I can’t wait for the sequel to be announced, but it has been over 3 years and no word, so I feel this great new IP has been abandoned.
Another game my dad got me. I remember being so absorbed in the world and finding the combat fun, but I don't think I ever actually finished it.
Ninja Theory write something that isn't insanely tone deaf and offensive challenge
PS Now. I don't really have much to say about this game except the combat and QTE's are awkward and PS Now streaming wasn't great when I played it.
Pretty basic and usually jank but I enjoyed some of the boss fights and the cutscenes are surprisingly great. Andy Serkis 4 lyfe.
This was a great hack n slash though I wish the campaign was longer it was a lot of fun the whole time playing it
This game will always have a special place in my heart.
Juego que tenia pendiente de PS3 y me ha parecido bien sin mas no destaca en nada y la historia es meh, una pena porque visualmente me parece muy guay pero se queda en mitad de todo lo que se propone a mi parecer.
Heavenly Sword sadly never got the recognition it deserved for being a launch title , and oddly enough, I feel that is due to it being a launch title. Heavenly Sword is plagued with a lot of issues that came with early PS3 games, mainly forced motion controls and lack of PS3 trophies. While the lack of trophies are more apparent as it weakens the value for Trophy hunters, the real downfall was the motion controls. Being forced into a number of sections through out the game in order to use the clumsy six axis control is a chore and nearly half the time you use them it slows down the pacing immensely.
Aside from these hiccups tho, Heavenly Sword does manage to be a neat little hack'n'slash game with some really interesting boss battles and over the top characters, amazing face capture technology at the time, and a genuinely interesting story. While the framing of the story isn't exactly the best set up, with most of the game being a flashback, the highlights are the interactions of the ever serious Nariko and her cast of zany counterparts.
While I don't think Heavenly Sword will turn everyone's heads around to play it, if you ever wanted to play another game like God of War on the playstation, you can't really go wrong with Heavenly Sword. Despite all it's warts it's still a pretty fun time, but you do have to go through some grim to get there.
Aside from these hiccups tho, Heavenly Sword does manage to be a neat little hack'n'slash game with some really interesting boss battles and over the top characters, amazing face capture technology at the time, and a genuinely interesting story. While the framing of the story isn't exactly the best set up, with most of the game being a flashback, the highlights are the interactions of the ever serious Nariko and her cast of zany counterparts.
While I don't think Heavenly Sword will turn everyone's heads around to play it, if you ever wanted to play another game like God of War on the playstation, you can't really go wrong with Heavenly Sword. Despite all it's warts it's still a pretty fun time, but you do have to go through some grim to get there.
I gave up at the final boss. Oops.