Heavenly Sword (PS3) Thought and Impressions
I recently picked up this heavily hyped Playstation 3 action adventure (again I didn't read any reviews) and my first impressions were not good. While the game looked gorgeous I found the gameplay to be very slow compared to others in the genre (Ninja Gaiden and God of War). However, after a half our or so, my negative thoughts began to wane and I began to appreciate Heavenly Sword for what it is; a cinematic adventure.
Make no mistake about it, Heavenly Sword boasts some of the most gorgeous vistas and characters ever seen in a videogame. The story takes a couple of missions to get going but once it does it will have you hooked. There are a lot of in game cinemas and they are all worth watching. Heavenly Sword tells a fairly basic tale, but it does so with the style and panache of an epic major motion picture. I’m sure by now you’ve all heard about the extensive motion capturing done by Ninja Theory, lead by Hollywood’s Andy Serkis (Gollum, King Kong). This gamble pays off big time, because the acting in this game is simply astonishing. My jaw constantly hit the floor at the level of detail found in the games characters.
This is another Sony exclusive that features some great orchestrated music. While not as good as Lair’s soundtrack, it certainly fits the mood quite nicely. The game uses tons of Eastern flavored guitars and string arrangements to tie into the setting. It’s very pleasing to the ear.
I must point out the standout performance of the main character Nariko (Anna Torv). The Heavenly Heroine is graceful, beautiful and simply put, the best female lead in a videogame ever. She is well acted and you can really connect with her thanks to the great performance of Torv. Andy Serkis also dials it up a notch as the game’s villain, King Bohan. If you enjoy a cinematic story you will no doubt love Heavenly Sword’s narrative.
The gameplay in Heavenly Sword is very unique for the action adventure genre. Basically once you wield the titular sword you have three stances. By holding L1 you have a “ranged stance”, holding R1 puts you in a “power stance” and simply attacking is the default “speed stance”. Heavenly Sword is all about stylish combat. Your enemies know how to block/defend and you will need to use all three stances to break blocks and mow down swarms of attackers. There are times when up to 10 enemies will attack you at once. You need to be on top of your game if you are to succeed. To help you out you have special moves that are charged up for performing well. The battles are fun and while some can be won by simply mashing, others will require skill. It’s a nice balance for the default setting (a harder Hell mode can be unlocked).
The game isn’t all hack n slash. There are a variety of different stages and you even control Nariko’s adopted sister Kai. Kai wields a badass crossbow and after you shoot you can control your arrows with motion or analog controls. Skillfully guiding an arrow through a torch and into a bunch of explosives, resulting in a dozen dead enemies is very satisfying. Kai’s levels are just as fun to play as Nariko’s and I like the change up in gameplay.
The pacing of the game and story is lightning fast and you can find yourself cruising through the chapters. Putting the game down is very hard to do. The game can probably be completed in anywhere from 6-8 hours. Luckily the last few levels are very challenging and very rewarding to play through. Also the final boss battle is simply exhilarating to play through. I really enjoyed the final Act of Heavenly Sword.
I personally love every character in the game. Although I must mention the excellent boss character’s from Bohan’s Army. These bosses will make you run through a gamut of emotions. You will feel everything from anger to empathy for these quirky characters. The boss battles are very reminiscent of the epic/unique Metal Gear Solid Boss battles. Its fun figuring out there attack patterns and the cinemas really bring the battles to life.
I can’t recommend Heavenly Sword enough. Playing through the game unlocks tons of features and new attacks. After beating the game a “Hell Mode” is unlocked for battle-harden veterans. The Blu Ray disc is jam packed with animated shorts, making of videos and art work. You will want to play through each level to perfection to unlock all of the goodies the game has to offer. I love the action and I love the cinematic presentation, Heavenly Sword is the real deal. Good stuff and must buy for action lovers.
On Deck: Warhawk (PS3), FolkLore (PS3)...expect impressions in a few weeks for these games.