Being one of the first seriously hyped, PS3 exclusive games released on the console, Heavenly Sword has a good deal riding on it's shoulders. The demo was called "the best demo of all time" on various show floors months before the game's release. Heavenly Sword follows the adventures of Nariko, an amazon warrior defending her people and land from an evil warlord named Bohan. Along the way, she encounters a powerful artifact that becomes the focus of the game - and her main means of dispatching Bohan's cronies. Although the plot to action games is usually an afterthought, Heavenly Swords makers draw you in with an extremely cinematic presentation, excellent voice acting, and beautiful production values all-around. They succeed. You end up paying more attention and getting drawn in to the characters struggle, while still keeping the action fast, fun, and intense. Much has been said about the gameplay - in my mind a cross between Ninja Gaiden and God Of War, but while the combat may borrow elements from those games, it has a unique flow that seperates it from those titles. The stances add variety to your attacks and different combat strategies, while powerful moves called "Superstyles" that instantly kill your enemy with a brutal series of attacks (complete with dramatic music and a swooping camera close up) - are your incentive and reward for stringing together massive combos. It's a system that works well, without being too demanding or annoying for the average player. Let's us not forget one of Heavenly Sword's biggest selling points: Presentation. Showcasing the power and Blu-Ray capacity of the PS3, this game will consistenly have you stopping to just stare at the scenery. The sound is also amonst the best you will ever hear in a videogame - from the perfectly samped bone-crunching sound effects, to a movie quality musical score, it deserves to be played on a nice sound system. Did I mention the incredible voice acting and amazing cinematics that tell the story throughout? The only problem I can see people having with this game is it's length. I beat it in 3 sittings, probably a total of 8 or so hours. I felt like it was a perfect length for this type of game. Any more would've felt repetitive and long-winded. Any shorter, and the roller-coaster ride wouldn't have been worth the price of admission. As it stands, Heavenly Sword is a great game that every PS3 owner should give a try, and stands as a testament to the potential bright future for Sony's much-lauded next-gen strategy.
Much has been said about Ninja Theory's action-adventure starring the fiery red-head Nariko. Called a shameless God of War clone with roots going back to the days of the original XBox and reviews both amazingly positive ... Read Full Review
Heavenly Sword was without a doubt one of the most highly anticipated PS3 titles since it was first shown way back at E3 05. It was meant to show the PS3's graphical prowess and be one of the big system sellers for the ... Read Full Review
