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| | Title:
Heavenly Sword
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System:
Playstation 3
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Genre:
Action-adventure
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Publisher:
Sony
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Developer:
Ninja Theory Ltd
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Release:
November 17, 2006
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Rating Pending (RP)
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This year at E3 Sony was showing off some of their PS3 exclusive titles in the form of limited demos. If anything these demos showed the PS3 is well on its way to becoming the next big console from Sony. Certain demos were understandably more impressive than others. At the top of this list is a game known as Heavenly Sword. A third person combat title, Heavenly Sword played with a surprising amount of polish and style. In some ways it stood tall next to the current king of third person combat, God of War. While there were some very blatant rip-offs from God of War, Heavenly Sword also brought a few new approaches to old ideas. For the limited time it was played Heavenly Sword felt fresh and fun.
The only level shown on the floor E3 demo was an arena location. Players took control of the main character, a beautiful red-haired female dressed in white flowing garments, and armed with a deadly bladed weapon. Combat was the main focus of the demo. Waves after waves of enemies continued to pour into the arena floor as the leader of the enemies paced and watched the fight transpire. Graphically, the game was impressive. Whether it was the sunlight coming in from the broken roof, the detailed character models, or the flashy attacks performed by the main character, nothing looked drab or uninteresting. But surprisingly, Heavenly Sword did not blow any other game out of the water. There was nothing on the screen the Xbox 360 couldn't handle. It is not that Heavenly Sword wasn't beautiful; it just doesn’t currently live up to the high expectations placed on Sony by gamers thanks to over-the-top gorgeous videos from last year's E3. People expecting graphics at this level are no doubt going to be disappointed. But also realize this is Sony's first unveiling of the PS3 hardware. And if the Xbox 360 games from last year are any indication, the PS3 games will improve considerably before launch.
Being that the demo was mostly focused around combat, a lot of fighting options were available to try out. The two main attacks were mapped to the square and triangle button. The square button unleashed a lighter quicker attack while the triangle was reserved for a slower more powerful assault (much like God of War). There were also two "styles" players could choose between by hitting the L1 and R1 buttons. One style was focused on speed where the other dealt more with powerful strikes. The visual representation of which "style" the player is actually in is handled by the weapon the red-haired female wields. In the faster "style" the blades are separated and are flung around quickly while attached to chains. In the slower, more damage oriented "style" the two blades are brought together to form one powerful sword, which could launch enemies straight into the air with one upward swipe. Fleshing out the combat system was the circle and X buttons. The circle button dealt exclusively with grabbing opponents while the X button handled interacting with the environment (tossing objects). Grabbing an opponent was as easy as standing by them and pressing circle. Depending on which direction the thumbstick was pushed a number of different throws could be performed on the enemies. Each throw was not only effective but a blast to watch. One throw consisted of sticking the blades into an enemy and whipping them around the room. Another throw had the red-haired female wrap her legs around an opponent and "backflip toss" them across the arena. If these throws weren't enough, additional special moves become available once enough enemies are killed without the player taking any damage. This special move is mapped to the circle button as well. In the lower left hand corner of the screen is a HUD with several red orbs. The more orbs that are glowing, the more powerful the special move becomes. Skilled players who can fill the all the red orbs will be rewarded with a truly deadly maneuver. Unfortunately, no one was good enough to pull this off.
One of the new approaches to an old idea Heavenly Sword was introducing was throwing objects. When approaching an object (barrel, sword, metal hat), players had to push the X button to pick it up. Pressing and holding the X button tosses the object. But instead of simply letting the weapon fly off screen the camera whips behind the object and gives players a small amount of control as to where the object goes. With enough practice players will be able to take out the most powerful enemy in a group. Barrels, swords, and even metal hats that bounce off the stone wall of the arena were all up for grabs in the demo. Admittedly, the tossing mechanic was somewhat clumsy and did lead to unnecessary damage being taken. While tossing an object the red-haired female stands completely still and is unable to defend herself. But that is not to say she doesn't have anyway to defend herself when not tossing objects.
There are two main ways players can defend themselves in Heavenly Sword. Again one is unique to the game while the other is more or less a copy. Players can either dodge attacks using the left thumbstick or counter-attack by hitting the triangle button at the correct time. The dodging with the thumbstick is very similar to God of War's dodging system. While not terribly creative the dodging works very well since almost no damage is taken when dodging. The counter-attack option, while riskier, is far cooler and original. While in combat, whenever the enemy attacks for a split second there is a flash around the area of their weapons. If the player hits the triangle button when this flash occurs the red-haired female will perform a deadly counter-attack move. What is interesting is there are different levels of counter-attack success. Hit the triangle button too early or too late and the damage dealt to the enemy won't be as high or as "flashy". Slam the triangle button exactly when the flash occurs and players will be rewarded with some amazing reversals.
After all the waves of enemies were dealt with using numerous combinations of attacks, tosses, dodges, counters, and special moves the leader jumped down into the arena. This was effectively the "boss battle" of the demo. The leader was considerably more difficult to fight. Once enough damage was dealt the enemy, the final sequence began. Of all the homage to God of War found in Heavenly Sword this was probably the most blatant. The final sequence consisted of hitting certain buttons when they flashed on screen. Heavenly Sword did try to be different by adding in the D-Pad, but one couldn't help but think "God of War" as the sequence played out.
As a whole Heavenly Sword has potential. The graphics are great, and the combat, while very God of War-like, is a blast to use. The savings grace so far for Heavenly Sword is that the gameplay (the red-haired female’s weapons, the dodging, the button sequences), has enough variations and new approaches to the combat to make it feel different (tossing objects, counter-attacks). Hopefully, the team behind Heavenly Sword adds more unique aspects to the game before it launches and stops taking ideas from God of War.
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