Heavenly Sword Review
- Posted September 18th, 2007 at 05:26 EDT by
- 52 Comments
Review Score
- PSU Review Score
- 9.0
- Avg. user review score:
- 9.0
Summary
The environments, cast, characters, storyline, and virtually everything in Heavenly Sword is astonishing. While there are some minor negatives, players should be prepared to experience a spiritual disclosure with Ninja Theory’s latest masterpiece.
We like
- Unforgettable atmosphere combined with ample replay value.
- Beautifully detailed with everything in harmony from animation all the way to the audio system.
- Great combat system complimented by impressive A.I
We dislike
- Enemy models can sometimes get repetitive
- Poor Loading Times.
See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings
Heavenly Sword is quite possibly a gift from Sony to anyone who owns a PlayStation 3 console. It is not what Heavenly Sword is that makes it spectacular, but what it dares to do in the video game industry that makes it remarkable and unique. Never have there been such life-like characters in any game--characters which instill a sense of care from the player through the stories in each of the character’s eyes whether antagonist or protagonist. The presentation is completely remarkable, with support from full motion capture performances and beautiful voice acting. Characters display a very wide amount of emotion, unparalleled to any game. Being the first game to use full dynamic motion capture, Heavenly Sword captivates the players in a cinematic experience that details the best journey ever embarked on.
“It’s just God of War with a chick, right?” is something we've all heard time and time again from many people who fail to assess the value of a game properly, and constantly try to paste past remnants onto future games that transcend the barriers of anything ever seen. Ninja Theory, the developers of Kung Fu Chaos, genuinely wows audiences with their second creation, Heavenly Sword. Heavenly Sword’s ideas were in development long before God of War saw the horizon. In a time when many developers are creating sequels to their established franchises, Ninja Theory is doing something daring and new. The game is a story of revenge and redemption centering on Nariko, our main heroine. Born into a clan who had been guarding the Heavenly Sword for generations and expecting a god to be born to reclaim the sword, Nariko brought disappointment on those who saw otherwise. The clan was now more fractured than ever, and this is the perfect time for King Bohan to attain ultimate dominance.
As the King persecutes the tribe, Nariko becomes the scapegoat for the scarring woes thrown upon the backs of the tribe. In a moment of desperation, she decides to take charge and use the Heavenly Sword to destroy King Bohan and his army, but ends up dead---bewildered by the magnificence of the sword’s power. Different from the common misconception that she is a female version of Kratos, Nariko does not wreak havoc on Gods. She’s not taking any alliances and or trying to conquer Greece.
Anyone who is fooled into thinking this is God of War type game is either seriously dazed in his or her reasoning, or just hasn’t given this game a proper evaluation. Assuredly, as they read on, they will see the heavenly sword is a tough weapon to yield---even for Kratos. Thankfully for players, Ninja Theory realizes that games should immerse the players in an interactive and cinematic experience, rather than just seating them next to the swords handle all to watch droning cut scenes. The game not only immerses you in its realistic and unbelievable cut scenes, but also makes you feel like you’re a part of them. With such beautiful cut-scenes, the enrapturing gameplay will make players drool.
One of the game's principal potency is the combat system, which is beautifully crafted. If you’re expecting a button mashing game, you will be disappointed. The combat system makes sure players have one hell of a time fighting enemies by a three-stance system, which adds some variety to the repetitive hack-and-slash genre. The three stances are Strength, Speed and Range. The speed stance is the default stance throughout the game, and is also the most complex. The strength stance takes advantage of a more powerful weapon to deliver heavy hits at the expense of speed---but it really teaches enemies a lesson. The ranged stance allows you to hit enemies from a distance and will knock them back to keep them a few feet away, but is the weakest stance in terms of raw power and speed. With the three stance combat system, the need to use face controls is completely eliminated. Holding L1 puts you in the ranged stance, holding R1 will trigger the power stance, using neither utilizes the speed stance, which Nariko is in by default.
Unlike most fighters, the combat is more gratifying. ... (continued on next page)
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Comments
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Harlequin1987
- 1:05am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 1
grea game got it today nice animations just alround nice! one of the best on the consol the now
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mystik4l06
- 1:50am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 2
oh Fawk u ninja "Heavenly Sword’s ideas were in development long before God of War saw the horizon."
it was in the works yes i agree but soon after GoW 1 was announced in late 2003 and a trailer was showned they took ideas and such...HS was only consisted of speed and power styles...not no range style until GoW was shown..
http://kotaku.com/gaming/seeing-red/heavenly-sword-from-xbox-to-ps3-284674.php go to this link and u will see the difference on the 2004 vid which was mid 2004...and GoW was announced LATE 2003...plus the whole era was different so fawk ninja....good game overall but next time be original...they always praised GoW to throw ppl off the fact they took most of the ideas frm that game and just switched it around and added a lil bit of spice to it....be original seriously
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GoldenEwok
- 2:12am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 3
actaully god of war had been in dev for about 3 years before heavenly sowrd even saw the let of day at e3 2005
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MrGunhappy
- 3:23am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 6
Good I loved the cinematics, gameplay, and content, but why does it give two scores 9.0 and 9.5.
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Jbthegreat
- 4:27am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 9
I rlly dnt like reviews from psu. They didnt even mention in the con section how extremely short the game is...still this game is amazing
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wiggsj
- 4:55am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 10
AWESOME GAME!! I have about 6 hours in not sure how close to the end I am but I have replayed sections already just cause there cool! LOVE the cannon scenes blowing up 100's of guys at once crossing athe river how cool is that? It is the best PS3 game to date---NO DOUBT!!
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sorrow880
- 5:17am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 11
Out of all my ps3 and 360 games that I've bought this year, Heavenly Sword is the best without a doubt. I honestly was shocked by this game after reading the IGN review (For once, I completely agree with Play magazine that gave it a 10.0). My expectations were low so I was blown out of the water when I actually played it.
Thanks to Ninja Theory and Sony for a game I will never forget. AAA
Note: For those asking, this game took me around 9 hours to complete, but was worth every penny I paid. For those who own a ps3, it's sacrilegious to not own this game.
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Mecha_Daddy
- 5:25am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 12
After playing this gem I think some of the reviewers out there must've been payed off or just don't like action games. This one is impressive.
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TofuOnoPhD
- 6:04am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 13
@mystik4l06 I believe you are looking at this all wrong. It is a completely unique idea. Maybe you should grab yourself an beer and calm down. Take Heavenly Sword for what it is, not what it was.
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Sniperwithacause |
Sniperwithacause- 6:31am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 15
Heavenly Sword really is a must own!! I haven't seen anyone talk about it yet, but the way they allowed u to use the SIXAXIS was simply amazing, the best use of it in any PS3 game to date!!
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gijoedude
- 6:46am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 16
I just finished the game. It took me more like 14hrs. I think the 8hr estimate in some other reviews must be for hardcore gamers. It takes time to learn all the moves, fight effectively, and figure out how to defeat the bosses instead of just button mash you're way through the game.
The game is very good. It offers a cinematic experience for the gamer. The replay value is moderate. I am playing some sub-chapters again to get more points to unlock content.
I really enjoyed the fight system in Ninja Gaiden Black and was hoping HS would come close to it but it doesn't. At times it had collision detection problems during fights. One time Nariko was pounding a guy to death except she wasn't on top of him. She was pounding empty space and the bad guy was on the groud to her right with his "getting hit" animation running. Was an odd bug but the game seems to have a few of these.
I think the game is very cool though and I think the after touch feature is awesome. When you have to use the tilt sensor on your controller to guide the arrow into an enemy you feel like you really earned it when it makes direct contact because it's definitely not the easiest thing to do.
I think anyone who likes RPG fighting games will enjoy it. Some of the action is just incredible like taking out an army of men and catapults with a canon. There are literally hundreds of enemies on the screen and they look believeable not like some other games where it looks like they're just carbon copies of each other standing lifeless there.
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DeadOnArrival06
- 7:40am EDT - September 18th, 2007
- 18
Even though the game is short, it is an amazing game that is needed for any PS3 collector!
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