Reviewed: October 3, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer
Ninja Theory
Released: September 12, 2007
Genre: Action
Players: 1
9
10
10
8
9.2
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
I’m probably not alone in thinking that the PS3 got off to a rather slow start when it released last November. Even now, almost a year later, you can find any of the three (or is it four) available models on just about any store shelf. And while price seemed to be the biggest obstacle for potential consumers, we all know it was a lack of any real system-seller games.
You’ve got to have that first-party support when you launch a new game platform and let’s face it, Resistance and an NBA game couldn’t talk anybody into parting with $500-$600. But now, a year has passed and we are starting to see more games coming from Sony and their stable of developers. Games like MotorStorm, despite being and average racer, caused people to take notice of the system's power, and more recently we’ve been getting some truly impressive titles like Lair and the subject of today’s review, Heavenly Sword.
Easily the best PS3 game this reviewer has played on the system to date, Heavenly Sword mixes up traditional Devil May Cry weapons combat with a unique dual character mode, stunning visuals, and some of the best motion capture work you have ever seen in a video game thanks to stunning performances by Andy Serkis (Gollum, Lord of the Rings). And it’s not just the physical movements but all of the emotionally subtle facial animations during the extreme close-ups.
I’ve heard people call Heavenly Sword a God of War clone, but that is far from the truth. While there are some similarities God of War can only hope to achieve this level of combat efficiency in whatever sequels may lie ahead. The same can be said with Devil May Cry 4 that is just around the corner.
While there is a pretty decent story to be told, the game falls back on the old cliché of starting at the end then retelling the story through gameplay. So within the first 3-5 minutes of the game Nariko, the female lead, lies dead on the battlefield, consumed by the very magical sword she has just used to defeat an entire army. We then join her in the afterlife where she engages in several arguments with her deity, all the while yelling at you through the screen.
We learn that her father has entrusted her with the Heavenly Sword, an ancient magical weapon that can never be used for whoever uses it will be ultimately consumed by it. This doesn’t seem to concern King Bohan who is bent on possessing this sword. He attacks Nariko’s village, and while she repels the initial attack the villagers must flee. Her father gets captured and Nariko chooses to use the sword against Bohan rather than turning it over in exchange for her father’s life. The adventure begins…
Heavenly Sword could have easily fallen into a repetitive trap had it not mixed up the gameplay across the numerous chapters. Admittedly, for the most part you will play as Nariko and you will be wielding the Heavenly Sword, but there are some levels where you have only your normal weapons, and then there are other levels where you get to wield a medieval rocket launcher, or man the wall turrets and fire giant cannon balls out across the battlefield to bring down giant rolling battle barges.
Then there are levels where you get to play Kai, who might appear to be childlike and perhaps a bit “off”, but in reality is quite the agile archer who can literally dance through her enemies and fire a crossbow like a pro. The great thing about playing as Kai, and even Nariko when you are firing the launcher and the turrets, is that any projectile weapon, or even any object that you can pick up and throw can be guided in mid-air using aftertouch.
The square button will throw an object or fire a weapon, but if you hold down the square button you will go into a slow-motion mode where you literally track and control the flight of the projectile using the motion input of the SIXAXIS controller. This takes a bit of practice but when you finally figure it out this can be one of the more rewarding moments of gameplay, and the designers have made sure to included sections and entire levels where you will need to use these aftertouch skills.
But the core of the game is combat and Heavenly Sword supports a robust attack and combo system that is based on three possible stances when wielding the Heavenly Sword. By default (no additional buttons) you are in Speed stance and you will execute lightning fast attacks with the square and triangle buttons. Holding down L1 puts you in Ranged stance where your sword separates and becomes a flail-like weapon dangerously approaching God of War territory. R1 triggers the Power stance where your moves are slower but the damage is greater.
Blocking can be tricky because you don’t have to do anything to block. Literally, doing nothing is how you block. I almost prefer a block button because it is really hard to sit there and watch the incoming attack and force myself not to react. The one thing you do have to watch for is the colored aura around the attacking enemy which will indicate their attack stance. You must then match their stance with your own (R1, L1 or nothing) but still not hit any other buttons. Once the block is made you then have a short instance to begin a counterattack with the triangle button, resulting in a powerful counter and deadly cool animations. This system is totally key to the final boss fight.
Blocking and countering aside, you will beat on thousands of enemies and slowly build up your Superstyle disc (meter). There are three sections to the superstyle disc with each section representing a certain finishing move based on the stance you are in when you press the circle button. This gives you a total of nine superstyle moves based on when you trigger them and in what stance. These moves almost always result in the death of the main target and usually some surrounding collateral damage as well.
There are a few downsides to the game. You can never really get involved or interact with the environments to any real degree. Kai can take cover behind some objects, and Nariko can pick up and throw some objects, even dead enemies, but it would have been nice to do more than just hack and slash. The levels are large and gorgeous and full of untapped possibilities. Sure you can flip a switch or climb a ladder, but that's about it.
Fueling even more comparisons to God of War are the Hero Sequences. These seem to have become the mandatory gimmick for every game released in 2007. Not that I’m complaining mind you, some of my favorite cinematic moments in Heavenly Sword involved leaping up the side of a cliff to unlock a gate or performing some extremely cool finishing move in a boss fight. These moments really test your reflexes and your knowlege of the button symbols.
Each section of each chapter is scored using a glyph system that factors in stylish kills as well as cracking open purple urns scattered around the levels. These urns also contain health so keep your eyes open and collect them all. The maximum score for any section is three glyphs and you can use these to unlock bonus items in the extras menus. Oddly enough, most of the stuff you can unlock is already available as free downloads on the PlayStation store.
I used to think Lara Croft was hot but she’s got nothing on the fiery red head in this game. Nariko is easily the most attractive female character in video game history, and not just because her outfit consists of a few streaming pieces of strategically positioned fabric. The camera gets in very close; so close you can almost see her soul. The facial features, skin textures, thoughtful, yet piercing eyes, and a mane of writhing red hair that would make Medusa envious all combine to create a totally hypnotic heroine.
King Bohan is my second favorite character in the game, again, mostly because of the subtle facial animations and detailed expressions. Then you have all these ultra-cool villains like the snake lady and the bird man (sorry, I didn’t want to look-up their names) and even the massively fat son of Bohan, who you actually start to feel sorry for. These characters are so rich and alive that you will look forward to and relish every cutscene and interaction.
The levels are massive, which does create some framerate issues when panning across wide-open areas like the waterfalls. But once you settle in for actual gameplay the camera gets closer and things maintain a constant 30fps. The movement of Nariko and Kai is flawlessly human and even a bit dance-like at times. And once Nariko starts busting out the combat moves, just stand back and watch her in all her blazing glory.
Talk about an epic soundtrack, Heavenly Sword delivers a orchestral score complete with full instrumentation and even some vocal accompaniment that will have you thinking you’re at the movies. The range is all over the place from subtle and environmental to upbeat and fanciful to tribal and oppressively militaristic. You can always be sure the music will match the scenery and the action.
The voice acting is flawless, ranking right up their with the dramatic performances captured by Andy. Andy also does the voice for King Bohan which is probably why that performance of voice and facial movement seems to gel the best. Kai has this creepy yet charming voice with an underlying wisdom that betrays her innocence and Nariko is probably one of the most dominating female presences, vocally speaking, in gaming history. Kudos to Anna Torv for putting the perfect voice to the perfect woman. She covers the gamut of emotions from anger and betrayal, to sorrow and despair.
Sound effects are powerful and come at you from all channels in this fantastic Dolby Digital mix. Every clash of blade on blade, every shattering urn or swooshing arrow or exploding barrel has a unique sound that is perfectly positioned in the game world and in your own virtual 3D listening environment. The sound mix literally puts you inside this game.
Most gamers can probably finish Heavenly Sword in a day or two, probably 10-14 hours. There is a great checkpoint system in place so you won’t have to repeat much if and when you die. Some of the boss battles can be challenging but they all have their secret weaknesses and once you learn how to exploit them they aren’t that hard. The Hero Sequences are a bit more frustrating as they are rigidly timed with hardly any room for error or reaction time, so you will get to repeat these until you learn the sequences.
There is no multiplayer and the only real incentive for replaying the game is to max out those glyphs for each section. Then again, since you can download most of the bonus material for free without even owning this game, that extras menu probably isn’t as tempting as it could have been.
Heavenly Sword comes mighty close to beating out God of War as my all-time favorite hack-n-slash action game, but I still have to give the nod to Kratos. Nariko definitely wins for style and grace, and the game certainly wins in overall visual quality, but God of War just had more interesting environments and boss battles and a much deeper and more involving story, plus I love Greek mythology.
I really got into the fighting and the three stances really helped to mix up what could have become a very repetitious game. I also enjoyed the color-coded counters but I really would have preferred a block button. And I really liked the aftertouch moments, which is probably some of the best usage of the SIXAXIS controller since the system launched.
Heavenly Sword is just a fun and beautiful game, with great action and amazing cutscenes that shatter the current boundaries of motion-capture technology. It’s not only a showcase title for the power of the PS3; it’s my favorite game on the system to date.