A real work of art, even with its various flaws intact. A must buy for the PS3.

User Rating: 9 | Heavenly Sword PS3
The story of Nariko and her erstwhile companions unfolds majestically in this action beat-em-up by developers Ninja Theory. Given the fact that the game’s development has been as long and diluted as that of its heroine, it’s a wonder and an accomplishment that the title contains so much character and style. Originally the game was scheduled as a title for the original (and now defunct) Xbox, and after several years and many changes of hands it eventually came to rest its head in SCEA’s lap. Pegged as a holiday flagship title for the PlayStation3, Ninja Theory has been bound and determined that Heavenly Sword would receive the “4 star” treatment in order to show off the amazing capabilities of Sony’s most powerful system. And, for the most part, they have succeeded. At first glance Heavenly Sword virtually oozes with style and polish. Its visual design sets it apart from most other games, featuring the exotic and fierce beauty Nariko with her signature long (read LONG) scarlet hair. Obviously, this is no God of War. The game backs up this panache with some of the most amazing motion capture animation ever seen in a game, brought to us by the accredited WETA Workshop team (ala the Lord of the Rings flicks, not to mention King Kong). The character models move about in a smooth, realistic fashion that fools the eye with its complex simplicity. The facial modeling is even finer, featuring a breathtaking range of emotional expressions that are almost eerie in their humanity. In addition to the modeling, the vistas in Heavenly Sword are vast and epic, and with the exception of a few camera control issues were every bit as lovely as the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the animation suffers from frequent frame rate issues at strange, innocuous times that mar the beauty of the title and prevents the true immersive experience that was so close to realization.
The control scheme of Heavenly Sword is a nice blend of simple hack-and-slash commands mixed with a fairly deep counter and stance system that held up well throughout the game. The only gripe here is that although there is a dash button, the team did not implement a jump. No matter what the title, all action adventure games should have a jump button. I know there are millions out there that would agree with this point. Also, the sections featuring Kai, Nariko’s creepy but loveable friend, could have been a tad less repetitive, even though they did provide a welcome break from Nariko’s insane acrobatics every now and then. Speaking of repetitive, the only other gripe with the combat system is that the enemies are all the same. From the very beginning of the game to right before the final boss fight, the enemies all fall into a scant 3 or 4 categories. It really would have been nice if they would have added different types of enemies through the game, or perhaps took a cue from God of War and implemented more frequent boss battles with gigantic enemies. The boss battles that are present, however, are admittedly fun and full of character—which brings me to the best part of Heavenly Sword.
Dramatically directed by the incomparable Andy Serkis of Golum and King Kong fame, the voice acting in Heavenly Sword is truly top notch. The main characters are acted convincingly and beautifully, but the real show is with the villains. From the sensually serpentine fish-lady Whiptail to the hilariously terrifying Silver Fox (who sounds a bit like the Monarch from the Venture Bros.) the villains are voice acted with an over the top, campy theatrical flair all led by the voice of King Bohan, spectacularly acted by Andy Serkis himself. In testament to this catchy, absurd genius, after watching me play the game my entire household non-stop quoted villainous lines for a week afterwards (especially Silver Foxes’).
All in all, Heavenly Sword is an addictive romp featuring groundbreaking graphics with an amazing production and directing team that pulled in theatrical elements for the truly Hollywood-like quality of a film production. The story is admittedly a bit flimsy, but the style of the game, the full-bodied characters, and the fleshed out back story (told in well crafted little anime style unlockable sequences) helped to blanket the clichéd plot. The length of the game is also a bit of an issue here—at around 7 hours long, it’s hard to justify a $60 price tag. To its benefit every chapter can be replayed in hopes of achieving a higher score to access the game’s myriad unlockables, but unfortunately the majority of the unlockables are already freely available on the PC. Beating the game also unlocks a Hell mode, which might appeal to some gamers. All its flaws notwithstanding, Heavenly Sword is still an amazing game that is as fun to watch as it is to play and should definitely be considered a must by title for the PS3 this holiday season.