When the PS3 was first announced there were two games that Sony flaunted to the public to show off the power of their mighty console. One was the now infamous Killzone 2 footage, and the second was Heavenly Sword, a hack-n-slash tour de force that featured a beautiful scantily-clad redhead battling sword-to-sword against a horde of goons twice her size, and taking them down with a style and flair that made your jaw drop. Since the console launched, Heavenly Sword has been the game highlighted as the “this is why you bought a PS3” poster child by Sony and developer Ninja Theory. Now that it has finally been released, this game has a lot to live up to, and it absolutely cannot fail, because it would leave a huge crack in Sony’s armor. Is Heavenly Sword a hit or a miss? Well, actually, it’s both.
gameplay
Heavenly Sword is a third person action game where you play as Nariko, a young woman who is the only hope of saving her father and her people from the grasps of a brutal king, with the help of a mythical sword that only she can control. No doubt about it, Heavenly Sword gets an A+ for presentation, featuring some of the most amazing cut scenes I’ve ever seen in a game. The motion capture rivals anything you’ve seen in a Hollywood movie, featuring the talent of Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the Lord of The Rings films. As soon as you start the game you know that big money went into this thing, and that Blu-Ray disc is actually being used for its purpose.
Heavenly Sword is going to remind you of God of War in many ways; there’s just no avoiding the comparison, and it kind of makes you wonder if this was done purposely. But up front I have to say that God of War does it better, demonstrating quality over quantity. Now don’t get me wrong, Nariko is totally badass and all, but Kratos is the baddest mofo who’s ever picked up a sword. The first issue I had with Heavenly Sword’s gameplay is just how slow it is. Any PlayStation gamer who has played Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden understands how fast and chaotic a third person action title can be, and Heavenly Sword’s game style feels slower by comparison even though there’s so much more happening on screen at once.
On the SIXAXIS, the left and right thumbsticks control Nariko’s movements. Combining R1 and L1 with the triangle or square button unleashes a serious of attacks. Learning combos is the only way you’re going to make it through a battle; mainly at times when Nariko is fighting two dozen guys at once. One gripe I had with the controls were the R1 and R2 buttons that shift the camera from left to right so you can see everything around you. Every time I was locked in the heat of battle and was frantically hitting buttons to make combos, I would accidentally hit the R1 or R2 buttons. At that moment, the camera will leave you momentarily, which is long enough for you to get hit by a fatal blow you didn’t see coming. The motion-sensing feature actually gets a lot of play in this game, allowing Nariko to perform various actions. When you’re in a sword fight with multiple enemies and you take a hit that sends you flying into the air, you can shake the SIXAXIS as you’re airborne, and Nariko will quickly recover and lash her chain weapon in mid-air to bring down the enemy who struck her. When Nariko takes command of a cannon, pressing the square button shifts you into a point of view mode and allows you to use to motion sensing of the SIXAXIS to control the projectile once it’s fired to precisely hit your target. This technique also works when Nariko picks up a weapon and throws it at either an enemy or a lever to open a door. In general, this function works well and at times it is quite challenging to hit a target that is very far away. One feature that was oddly left out is the jump button. A game that requires so many chaotic combos needs a jump button to make the action flow smoother, but for some reason the developers felt otherwise.
The highlight of the game is the environments you’re traveling through and battling on, which are huge and beautifully detailed. Nariko will fight in massive castles, war-torn grounds and towering structures. Ninja Theory sparred no expense making sure that you are immersed in this world. There are moments when Nariko will be fighting a swarm guys in the foreground, while in the background you’ll see another legion of swordsmen running out of the fortress in the far distance towards them to jump into the fight. While the environments look fantastic, the actual character animation didn’t blow me away as much as I thought it would. Nariko looks almost like a paper cut-out at times, and though her bright red hair has been animated down to the last strand, it still didn’t come alive; especially after viewing the amazing cut scenes, the actual gameplay (while visually fine) still made me desire more. There are moments when the graphics do shine; such as when Nariko is running across a rope bridge that is falling apart and you’re using a series of button prompts to help her navigate across. This is when the power inside of the PS3 stands up and takes a bow.
Gameplay at times feels very repetitive because basically you’re fighting the same types of swordsmen over and over again, mixed in with various boss battles, which though are well done, have been better executed and more brutal in other games. Once you’ve figured out what types of combos work for you (and there are plenty to unlock) you’ll probably just keep using the same set continuously to bring down your foes. To mix things up, there are areas where you’ll play as Nariko’s sidekick, Kai, a strange young girl who acts like she’s strung out on meth, and gets off on shooting arrows into soldiers in her own little sniper mode side missions.
Even though this is the biggest game to come out on the PS3 thus far, it’s still not the “Oh My God!” killer app we have been told it was going to be. For one, this game is really short and can be knocked out in a matter of hours by more experienced players. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, because there are many great games which were short, such as Gears of War, but with the exception of a couple of stand out moments, after you finish Heavenly Sword you may still feel a little unsatisfied and wish there was more. Then there’s probably the biggest flaw of the game, which is that it’s hard no to size it up against God of War. You can feel Kratos’ presence breathing all over this game like a haunting ghost.
graphics
This game definitely delivers in terms of eye candy on many levels, offering spectacular cut scenes that are as good, if not better, than the cinemas offered in a Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Solid title. The levels, though not enormous, are immaculately detailed, and while Nariko’s character animations are very well done, she does appear to be a little stiff at times. Also, there are moments when the frame rate will become choppy, especially when Nariko moves from one view and a new angle of action is displayed. I want to also note that the close up of Nariko’s face on the menu selection screen is so realistic and perfect that it becomes hypnotizing if you look at it long enough. It even gets a little creepy when she stares directly at you.
sound
The voice over work is top notch with credit going to Andy Serkis as King Bohan, and Anna Torv who provides the voice of Nariko. The sound effects are also well done to fit the action, but it’s nothing more than swords clanging and soldier’s screaming “Kill her!” repeatedly. The music stands out offering a theme that draws you in to the setting so that visuals and audio blend together nicely.
replay value
There are only six to seven hours of gameplay at the most. Depending on how good you are at the game, it may be less. Heavenly Sword does not offer online play, but there are plenty of extras that are readily available and some that must be unlocked, which include a making of feature, artwork, and an animated series that goes deeper into the back story of the world of Heavenly Sword.
bottom line
In the end Heavenly Sword gets a lot of things right, but at the same time it leaves a lot to be desired, which is a major problem with over-hyped games. If you have an HDTV it is a big plus, because this is the game to flaunt in front of your non-PS3 owning friends. Like MotorStorm, Heavenly Sword shows what the PS3 is capable of when the developers understand what to do with the tools under its hood, and makes you very anxious to see what the upcoming Killzone and Metal Gear games will be like, since they’re exclusives and won’t be given the sloppy seconds treatment that most PS3 games get. Yeah, at times Heavenly Sword does feel like one big episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, but it definitely belongs in your collection.
Review by: Johnny McNair
Posted: 10/07/2007
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Gameplay:
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8.5 |
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Graphics:
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9.5 |
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Sound:
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8.5 |
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Replay Value:
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7.5 |
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Bottom Line:
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8.5 |
