Heavenly Sword - 10/10

Since the almighty PS3 was released upon the world, it has been loved and hated from all the gaming media, press etc. One of the reasons for this mixed media response on the console was its lack in quality games, exclusive games. Although the launch line up gave us the awesome Resistance Fall of Man, and Motorstorm which were both more than worthy launch pads for the system, we were also given soft warm lumps of turd for games such as Genji Days of The Blade and Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom which didnt bode well for PS3's exclusive games list. PS3 needed a standout game that would push the PS3's processing capabilites, it needed an exclusive that would visually blow everything out of the water and put anyone who was in doubt of PS3's power back in there pits of despair. The game that does just this, is Heavenly Sword, a highly anticipated action adventure game from Ninja Theory that has wowed onlookers since its first showing at E3 back in 2005. The result up until now is truly something special, something that makes you think how good visuals in games can actually get, and that is the question you will be asking yourself once you've played this grand title, "Can visuals and facial animations get any better?"



When you first slot Heavenly Sword into you're disc tray and play the first level and try out the combos, you will easily become aware that this game is definitely inspired by movies such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and pretty much every chop socky kung fu flick, the motion capturing animations ( thanks to Andy Serkis and the motion studios in Wellington New Zealand) , the chinks of steel swords clashing and just the vibe of kunk fu kickery that you will no doubt taste as soon as you play the game and see Nariko in motion. Its an absolute beauty of a brawler brimming with style.



The game opens with the final moments of Nariko's life (the sexy crimson headed lead character) as the Heavenly Sword she wields is eating away her life and slowly killing her, this intro results in the game being played in flahsbacks before her eventual death, so the whole game is played in the last days before our flame haired heroine is killed, or is she? The aim seems simple for our feisty warrioress, to kill King Bohan ( The ruthless leader of the game ) and his large army whilst protecting her father, Shen and his clan.



The one true aspect that really makes Heavenly Sword such a masterful game experience is the supporting cast of characters and their voice acting talent. You will not find are more likeable bunch of sorts.



Nariko - The hot busty lead character with blood red hair is absolutely gorgeous, whether its her strong willed attitude or powerful figure and spirit, she is one of the greatest video game characters to ever grace a console.



Kai - Nariko's cutesy kooky cat-like sister, she has the acrobatics of a monkey and masters the art of her crossbow with her "Twing Twang" skills. She is one of the most loveable characters thanks to her wide innocent eyes, silly nature and quirky looks.



Shen - Nariko's Father, the old clan leader who assists Nariko throughout the game against Bohans Army all in the purpose of protecting his clan.



King Bohan - The evil leader ( and his pet raven ) who seeks nothing more than to take over of Shens Clan and the possession of The Heavenly Sword. Andy Serkis ( of Golum and King Kong fame ) Does a mesmerising performance as the voice actor of King Bohan, adding humor and a bastard tone to the dominant appearance of the evil head villian. Serkis's performance also makes him one of the most believable bad asses in any game to date.



Roach - Bohans pathetic son, a fat bloated loathsome oaf with slug like body flab and a metal like ****roach shell supporting his back, making him what his name states, a Roach.



Whiptail - The slithery slimey snake slut from the deep oceans, Whiptail is like a shark queen dominatrix type with her split scaley skin, forked snake tongue, aqua reptile like features and whip.



General Flying Fox - Then there is Flying Fox, the wrinkly, skinny, pale, spindly aerial freak who has large bladed wings and a touch of child stalker about him which adds to his disturbing youth fiddler like techniques. He is, in my opinion, one of, if not, The best voice acted character in the game.



Throughout the game, Nariko will be forced to face off in epic boss battles against this bizarre bunch of folk, each battle feels fresh and different as well, making a nice change from the standard flow of enemies. The environments you fight them in all suit the characters characteristics as well, for example, you fight, serpentine lady, Whiptail through a chamber in ankle high water and you battle it out with Flying Fox in what looks like a demonic bird cage.



The fights are fun with various patterns that will require you to hone you're skills and memerise attack patterns, the best of the boss battles would be Whiptail as she pounds wave after wave at you for you to dodge. But nothing compares to the final battle with King Bohan amidst a battlefield with 1000 enemies onscreen at once. It truly is something of epic proportions and sets its own benchmark for future boss battles. Put simply, final fights dont get any better.



The environments that Nariko and Kai trample, also deserve mention, they arent just you're usual boxed in complexes and samey looking rooms. These are huge, and i mean HUGE expansive landscapes, through asian style temples, massive castles, snow caked towns, and gorgeous rainforests supporting stunning waterfalls and pink blossom trees that blow and russle in the wind. Every location really feels alive, whipping banners, huge distant waterfalls all look believable, and thats because they are, for example, you could be on top of huge cliff and see a gladiatorial arena miles below in the distance, you will be fighting through that very arena once you find you're way down there, what you see, is what you can play in and thats what makes Heavenly Sword feel so large in scale to fight through.



What really shines for Heavenly Sword is the strong influence on combat, there is so much variety in the moves that Nariko can pull off. You're weapon is the Heavenly Sword, which can transform into three different structures openning up more variety for different attacks. When using each style from the sword, it puts Nariko in three different stances from, heavy, range and speed. Its a superb way of mixing up the combat, for example if you are up against weaker enemies who are closing in on Nariko you can use range attacks, which has the sword transformed into two blades on chains and leaves plenty of opportunity for aerial combos with its whirlwind like attack, power attacks are more fitting for use against bigger enemies. There is no jump button, but that shouldnt pose as a problem as most of the range attacks have Nariko jumping around anyway. The inclusion of an auto block button is also genius, as it takes away the stress of pressing another button while trying to perform that certain crotch crushing move, which you will find nariko doing alot of. What makes thes combat so spicy is the animation of the kills that nariko performs, most of her finishing moves involve destroying some poor blokes groin, breaking there bones or throwing them around like rag dolls. You will possibly dribble at how beautiful the combat flows while our red headed maiden leaves all in her wake in a ballet of spine dancing combat. Just dont go expecting sliced and diced decapitations, and barrels of blood and guts. Thats not what the combat is about. Its about enjoying the style, being wowed and continuously surprised by the style of each move as Nariko takes the enemies through a dance of death.



Nariko isnt the only playable character you will be acting through this epic adventure, Kai will also join her in the journey, but her approach in gameplay is much more different to Nariko's, less hectic but just as fun. The Sixaxis motion sensor really plays a big part in Kai's missions. Most of her levels involve her taking out enemies from a distant with her Crossbow, when firing a crossbow, you must direct it using the motion sensing tilt function to snipe that distant archer. Another neat touch to this Twing Twang feature is if you direct an arrow through a fire it will ignite that arrow which if aimed at explosive barrels can take out large quantities of enemy soldiers. It never gets tiring watching you're well aimed arrow bury itself into the face or kneecap of a ****y ongoing enemy.



Its not just crazy Kai's twing twang that involves around the motion sensing either, during the game, Nariko will turret large cannons, once fired you use the motion sensing to direct the cannon at distant enemy catapaults and hordes of enemy soldiers, you will never get tired of watching literally 100's of enemies been blown skywards from you're cannons impact. There truly is nothing like it, it is incredibly fun and addictive to play with such draw distance using a motion sensing aimed cannon. If this part of the game was a game alone, it would be worth playing, that is how damn fun it can be.



Visually the game smashes everything currently available. You will not see better facial animations in a long long time atleast until MGS4 arrives. The cut scenes are cinema like, its like you are watching a movie. The emotion in nariko's eyes, the way every detail and skin pore come to life in the characters is simply breathtaking in every sense of the word. They even makes eye watering titles such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma look pancake flat, and thats saying alot considering the visual splendour that had on offer. So to sum it up from a visual standpoint, nothing really touches Heavenly Sword, it looks THAT good!



From an audio side of things, the music is just beautiful treatment to the ears, almost like you are listenning to whale music, its relaxing and really suits the asian theme of Heavenly Sword, and as for the voice acting, well every character is acted spot on, Anna Torv does a sublime job for Nariko's character and Andy Serkis's talent in Bohan is nothing short of steller. Flying Fox was also a prime example of how brilliant the acting is. If there was a soundtrack for Heavenly Sword, i would no doubt buy it.



The only slight niggle you will find with this godsend of a video game is its longetivity, which isnt very long at all, about 7 hours actually, but this short lifespan can be overcome by the approach and pace in which you play the game, i personally went through it slowly, collecting all the glyphs before moving on to the next chapter, taking this approach really helps expand the games length plus there is a plethora of disc content from behind the scenes production diaries, anime cartoons as well as art and videos you can unlock from collecting glypths throughout the game.



But at the end of the day you have to look at Heavenly Sword for what it does give you, not for what you wished or wanted it to give you, and that is 7 hours of gameplay, and trust me, it will be the best 7 hours of videogame bliss you will ever play. It may be short, but whats on offer here within the hours is simply awesome. I'd prefer a masterpiece that went for 6-8 hours over a descent game that went for 15 hours. Its quality over qauntity and in my opinion it has worked out perfectly.



Overall, take what Heavenly Sword gives you, review the actual game instead of the hype. This game should not be missed by any PS3 owner, with action so stylish it would make jackie chan grin and chuckle, visuals that will leave you foaming at the mouth, some of the best cast of characters in any game to date and overall production values that match those of movies. Its simply a game that cannot be missed. All hail Nariko and the Heavenly Sword and bring on the sequel!

Submitted by callan5 25/09/2007 19

Join MyPS3 to vote for your favourite story!

More Info:

Heavenly Sword

Other Reviews:

• longarms Review 9/10 by longarms
• callan5 Review 10/10 by callan5
• Luke4123 Review 9/10 by Luke4123

Related Videos:

• 
  Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08
• 
  Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, The
• 
  Rockband 2
• 
  Lord of the Rings: Conquest

• 
  Lost Planet Extreme Conditions PS3 demo
• 
  Parody GTA IV
• 
  New LittleBigPlanet trailer
• 
  Elveon Trailer

• 
  30 185
• 
  26 94
• 
  29 82
• 
  52 58
• 
  23 47
• 
  9 44