Heavenly Sword reviews

Is Microsoft padding the pockets of the reviewers here? Heavenly Sword is a phenomenal game and it only gets an 8? I love God of War 1 and 2, and this game is every bit as good as both of them. It deserves at least a 9... maybe even a 9.5.

Why is it that if a PS3 game doesn't get a nearly perfect review that Microsoft must be paying someone off? Maybe the reviewers were just put off by the shortness of the game and relative lack of replay value.

Furthermore, you cannot compare scores from this gen to last gen because the bar has been raised, hence it's more difficult for games to reach such greatness. I'm not saying I agree with alot, or even most, of the reviews these days, but I really don't believe that everyone is being paid off.

The microsoft comment was an obvious joke, sorry some of you were pulled in by it, and the game length arguement is ridiculous when you give it any thought at all.

How long was Resident Evil? 3 hrs?

How long was MGS?

How long was God of War?

These are some of the greatest games ever made. I'd put Heavenly Sword up with them.

The fact remains that this is a VERY high quality game. It is short. Like any button masher it is a bit repetitive, but it is incredibly immersive. This game isn't a game... it's an experience.

Few games have floored me with their presentation. Resident Evil. God of War. Legacy of Kain (first one). Original Tomb Raider. Maybe a few others, but Heavenly Sword now comfortably sits along side these games.

Anyone who says that its just like God of War obviously hasn't actually "played" the game. If you try to button mash to much in HS you most likely will get slaughtered unless you happen to get lucky and none of the enemies block or evade your attacks which they do alot. It was short but I think its better off short how it was, its better than them adding unnecessary scenes or battles, it was just as if I was playing in a movie; all it did was stay true and on coarse with the storyline without branching out to make it longer. Another thing is their are parts where you can be fighting like 20 people at one time and its like Dynasty Warriers where there is like 500 enemies on screen at one time thats pretty impressive considering its production quality.... even though the bad guys are pretty much the same person for each type of enemy.

I guarantee you that only half the people will actually read this lol

The game score is right MS didn't pay anybody other gaming sites gave it a 9s, stop making these topics just play the game and enjoy it.

The game is too short? Get real, What about Gears of War? That's short, God of War? That's short, shoot lets get too the biggest one, Halo!? That game is VERY short, it just has online added to it. For a reviewer too say a game is too short and take 20 points off the Final Score, Is really pretty unprofessional, and you know what? I agree that people saying microsoft pays gamespot is pretty immature, but I can say that Gamespot has turned into a very Unprofessional website, They are alienating the Playstation fans from there site, but it's cool, they want to be unprofessional and Rate Playstation games on a greater scale than they do Xbox 360 games? Power too them, Why would I care? Im gonna buy a good game reguardless there inability and lack of Professional gamers within the department.

thats your opinion, the games doesnt fe repetitive to me. im enjoying my2nd time through. game deserve a 8.5, if the game would of been 6 more hours long, it probably would hav got a 9.0bam706

hey, it's a great game.... 8 or 9 .. both great game..

the lenght is killing the gameginglejangle

I'm curious, did you paly and finish Heavenly Sword?

well, i think the score is too high.

8 suggests great, and 7's would be a good score for the game, as it is good, definatly not great.

i bet gamespot were wondering whether to give it 7.9 or 8.0, i think they chose the wrong one.

rental, did i complete it?...

no, for obvious reasons.

Is Microsoft padding the pockets of the reviewers here? Heavenly Sword is a phenomenal game and it only gets an 8? I love God of War 1 and 2, and this game is every bit as good as both of them. It deserves at least a 9... maybe even a 9.5.

sufferpilot

rental, did i complete it?...

no, for obvious reasons.

chrisjackson85

What obvious reasons give us details because in all honesty I loved that game.

I could care less what number is assigned to a review...

HS is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played....the action, the story, the cut scenes...all incredible....6 hours? maye if you charge through it, unlock little and don't take your time to enjoy it....games like this beg to be played until you are the master of the system..

the moneydoesnt matter to me, thats why i work. i just feel like it was a great add to my ps3 collection, by the end of the year i will have around 10 ps3 games. next year will be sony year. whats after halo 3 to look forward too, gow 2 mabe thats about it.

i just found it ultra repetative, more than any other game ive played really.

i know some love the game and thats fine, but it just wasnt for me.

It's too short to deserve a 9+, simple as that. I love the game, I reviewed it on a semi-professional level, but dispite my love for the game, I had to take points off because there are issues, like for example its length, that make recommending the game at $60 (or more where I live) problematic. With the Gamespot rating system, I give it a 8.5, but this is Gamespot after all and while some scores can be considered as "off", overall they are harsher than average but mostly fair.BenderUnit22

I'm curious, would you score GoW 1 and 2 below a 9? How about the original Resident Evil? Going by the length rule, Resident Evil deserves a 3/10, but in my opinion it is one of the greatest games of all time. 9.5+. I think its a mistake to judge games based on length. Sure, let it factor in to the equation, but don't make it 20% of the score.

Bottom line is that this is a great game. And for entertainment value alone it is WELL worth $60.

No MS is not paying reviewers, the game is kinda short. But there's something I think most if not all reviews have missed, they dont describe Hell mode. Sure you can beat the game in a few hours, but what about trying to get all 129 unlockables plus beating the game in Hell Mode?

Regardless, the game is a fantastic experience that few others manage to copy

I'm curious, would you score GoW 1 and 2 below a 9? How about the original Resident Evil? Going by the length rule, Resident Evil deserves a 3/10, but in my opinion it is one of the greatest games of all time. 9.5+. I think its a mistake to judge games based on length. Sure, let it factor in to the equation, but don't make it 20% of the score.

Bottom line is that this is a great game. And for entertainment value alone it is WELL worth $60.

sufferpilot

Don't come to the conclusion that 2 points were taken off because the game is short, even if it was longer the game is not perfect, no game is. And while many issues are so minor that they are barely worth mentioning, they are issues and have to be represented in the score, some more, some less.

GoW has more replay value, and halo having online does make it a better value game.stygiansanity

true.

well, i think the score is too high.

8 suggests great, and 7's would be a good score for the game, as it is good, definatly not great.

i bet gamespot were wondering whether to give it 7.9 or 8.0, i think they chose the wrong one.

chrisjackson85

Dumbest thing said on this thread but its your opinion so meh. This game is PHENOMENAL. Had it been shorter there would be no negatives to it. In my opinion, length shouldnt be really taken into account when reviewing a game. It should definately be noted, but it shouldnt kill a game. This title is big on story, Having the game long as hell would just ruin it straight up.

[QUOTE="chrisjackson85"]

well, i think the score is too high.

8 suggests great, and 7's would be a good score for the game, as it is good, definatly not great.

i bet gamespot were wondering whether to give it 7.9 or 8.0, i think they chose the wrong one.

Miguel16

Dumbest thing said on this thread but its your opinion so meh. This game is PHENOMENAL. Had it been shorter there would be no negatives to it. In my opinion, length shouldnt be really taken into account when reviewing a game. It should definately be noted, but it shouldnt kill a game. This title is big on story, Having the game long as hell would just ruin it straight up.

agreed...... it's funny howa game like heavenly sword with so many interesting crazy combos and 3 styles to fight and an additional character who shoots arrowsdoesn't seem as repetitive to ppl as lets say a shooting game which is basically the same action all the time and is for the most part predictable.... it's interesting how most lesser known game sites gave HS an 9+ while the most major ones seem to be centered around the 8 mark.... with some claiming it to have the most gorgeous and amazing visuals on the ps3 so far..... it's also interesting how many places said Warhawk is the best online experience of all time and it got around an 8.5 for the most part.... due to a lack of a single-player... but then a single-player only shooter *cough cough* gets scores around 9.5+ ....... ok maybe shooters and heavenly sword are 2 different genres but shooters are for the most part repetitive... i'm probably gonna get flamed horribly for this but it was just my OPINION... deal with it lol :)

Great points. The truth is that most of the "excuses" for Heavenly Sword getting low marks don't stand up to close scrutiny.

We've already shown that some of the greatest games in history are no longer than Heavenly Sword.

If you are into replay then it has Hell mode.

It is no more repetitive than many top games. In fact, the inclusion of Kai breaks the gameplay up even more than most games, especially shooters.

Graphically, I haven't seen a game come close to it.

The sound is top-notch.

The acting is as good or better than anything before it.

The motion capture and facial movement is the best I have ever seen. No contest.

I feel like alot of peopel played the demo and based their reviews off of that. The demo sucked.

Great points. The truth is that most of the "excuses" for Heavenly Sword getting low marks don't stand up to close scrutiny.

We've already shown that some of the greatest games in history are no longer than Heavenly Sword.

If you are into replay then it has Hell mode.

It is no more repetitive than many top games. In fact, the inclusion of Kai breaks the gameplay up even more than most games, especially shooters.

Graphically, I haven't seen a game come close to it.

The sound is top-notch.

The acting is as good or better than anything before it.

The motion capture and facial movement is the best I have ever seen. No contest.

I feel like alot of peopel played the demo and based their reviews off of that. The demo sucked.

sufferpilot

i feel like it was underrated..... gamestop said it was like a summer action flick that was alot of fun but ended too fast.... that problem is resolved by playing the game again... sure there wont be as many surprises but still by saying it ended too fastbutit was like a summer flick is like saying i loved it so much but i still refuse to play it one more time.... lol

Anyone who says that its just like God of War obviously hasn't actually "played" the game. If you try to button mash to much in HS you most likely will get slaughtered unless you happen to get lucky and none of the enemies block or evade your attacks which they do alot. It was short but I think its better off short how it was, its better than them adding unnecessary scenes or battles, it was just as if I was playing in a movie; all it did was stay true and on coarse with the storyline without branching out to make it longer. Another thing is their are parts where you can be fighting like 20 people at one time and its like Dynasty Warriers where there is like 500 enemies on screen at one time thats pretty impressive considering its production quality.... even though the bad guys are pretty much the same person for each type of enemy.

I guarantee you that only half the people will actually read this lol

blackldragon

I agree about the button mashing part, as in heavely sword you need to time your button presses with her actions, if you just mash the combo you will find she wont finish a combo on doing 2 our four move's for example.

The combat is great and well done, one of the best if not the best combat system in an action adventure game.

But this game is allot like god of war(and yes i've played it,am only 3 hours in but it has allot of simialr mechanic's and feature's of gow) first off nariko has two sword's on chains(gow) there's quick time sequence's(gow) story is slightly simialr in the way it's told ie the story is told through flashbacks with nariko seemingly dying at the start(dont mention what really happens i have not finished it) just like god of war, there's even combo's that are nearly identical to some of kratos combo's ie the square,triangle,triangle, triangle when falling combo where nariko is spinning verticaly through the air just like a god of war combo.

This game borrow's quite heavily from god of war(a good thing imo, if your going to borrow from a game what better than gow)with it's own unique elements, this game could easily be a spin off of gow called godess of war.

In this genre it's quite easy to pull a parralel to other game's, you will find that gow has elements from dmc(like having to defeat enemie's before red force will open to continue,collecting red orb's etc).

IMO it's ok to take great elements from other game's and add your own great element's. Not every game can be compleltly original.

But it's wrong to say anyone who says this is like gow has not played it as clearly it is like gow, just because it has a better combat system doesnt mean everything else is different, and also you cn easily play gow without button mashing if you learn the combo's infact you will be better at the game, heavenly sword can still be played with some success button mashing, but if you want to get good at the game and enjoy it more i'd say spend some time learning the combo's, i spent over an hour just practicing the combo's and now i basicly no them off by heart, but if you do button mash in heavenly sword it will be difficult to build up combo's and earn new combo's as as soon as you get hit you lose your combo.

You need some paitents to do well at hs imo, i wait for an attack then counter it do a combo then kill them when there down, wait for another attack do a different combo, and i mix it up a bit with different stances.

But i think your also right that if you do button mash you could find it get very difficult later on when enemie's start attacking in wave's and switching upthere stance's, im at the point where i can easily switch block stance at the right momen to get a power counter, this when when you really start to pull off some cool looking move's and by button mashin i doubtbutton mashers willever see these move's, and dying allot as traight up button mashing you wont be ready to block.

I love how the blocking works it makes it interesting.

Heavenly sword is a very good game and so far i think gamespot reviews seems right, but im only 3 hours so my score could drop a little or rise a little depending on how things go, but no matter what it's a very good game, i love the kai levels, i really enjoyed directing the arrow's into enemie's heads, at one point i decided to shhot her farther to see what happened and of course he died and i had to start again.

Everone who likes these sort of games should check out heavenly sword.

Is Microsoft padding the pockets of the reviewers here? Heavenly Sword is a phenomenal game and it only gets an 8? I love God of War 1 and 2, and this game is every bit as good as both of them. It deserves at least a 9... maybe even a 9.5.

sufferpilot

i honestly dont beleive you played it lol.

the moneydoesnt matter to me, thats why i work. i just feel like it was a great add to my ps3 collection, by the end of the year i will have around 10 ps3 games. next year will be sony year. whats after halo 3 to look forward too, gow 2 mabe thats about it.

bam706

I agree i think next year is going to be a great year for sony, mgs4,killzone2,ff13,infamous(i only named a few ps3 games as i assume you already know of them).

But i disagree that 360 has nothin other than halo after this year, there's fable 2, alan wake,too human,halo wars,ninja gaiden 2,Banjo-Kazooie 3,Dead or Alive Code: Cronus,GTR,Huxley,Left 4 Dead,Marvel Universe Online,Splinter Cell: Conviction,gears of war2,gears of war 3.

It's clear 360 has allot more great game's coming, do you think ms just want to do well for two years then just forget about the console.

Just beause the concentrated on games coming in 07 at e3 doesnt mean theres nothing else.

And theres plenty more games that basicly are un-announced, or we no nothing about for both systems.

Thats why i own both because they both have great games coming(announced and un-announced) for the rest of the console's life cycle's.

[QUOTE="BenderUnit22"]It's too short to deserve a 9+, simple as that. I love the game, I reviewed it on a semi-professional level, but dispite my love for the game, I had to take points off because there are issues, like for example its length, that make recommending the game at $60 (or more where I live) problematic. With the Gamespot rating system, I give it a 8.5, but this is Gamespot after all and while some scores can be considered as "off", overall they are harsher than average but mostly fair.sufferpilot

I'm curious, would you score GoW 1 and 2 below a 9? How about the original Resident Evil? Going by the length rule, Resident Evil deserves a 3/10, but in my opinion it is one of the greatest games of all time. 9.5+. I think its a mistake to judge games based on length. Sure, let it factor in to the equation, but don't make it 20% of the score.

Bottom line is that this is a great game. And for entertainment value alone it is WELL worth $60.

GOW was around 12-15 hours long.

And you cannot really compare reviews of today with reviews from playstation 1 days, the bar for reviews has risen so much over the years, for example games like perfect dark zero would have never scored a 9.0 if released today, but at the time it was a good game(maybe not a 9.0 imo,more like7.5-8.0) but back then the ony thing to compare it too was xbox games, so graphically it was better than naything from last gen,technicaly,and had a good multi-player, but compared with games now it be luck to get a 6.5.

Back in the sega days sonic the hedgehog was reviewed highly that game can be completed in an hour rushing through it.

It's not really a fair comparison.

And yes length is imprtant, 6 hours for $60 with little replay value is basicly $10 an hour, imo it's worth it as i like building a collection and i will play it again on hard, im really enjoying the game.

Length should definitly be taken into account while reviewing a game, if a game was rated 9.5 and had amazing gameplay graphics etc but was only 2 hours long and the reviewers didnt mention it or take it into account and you bought it would you be happy, no.

Length add's to value(when its quality is high) if you paid 10$ to see a movie that only lasted 30 mins im sure you wouldnt be happy.

I dont know why people are complaning, for one it's just a profesional reviewers opinion, 2, 8.0 means very good, and finally if you think the game is awesome and well worth the money why complain about a sites review go write your own and let people know what you think of the game through your review.

The way I look at it, it could have used like 3-4 more hours of campaign and it would be a guaranteed AAA.

There was nothing really wrong with the game, but I think 8/10 = 80% of a perfect game.

The review was very positive, look at all the medals GS gave it. This game would have been a 9.0 last gen, but hey, this is a new day.

I am absolutely blown away by what a "AAA" experience the game is (it's like participating in a movie), even if it didn't receive the appropriate grade from GS. A sequel should be forthcoming, and I can imagine it will be unbelievable.