New videos show why it's Heavenly Sword

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 5th 2007 at 9:00AM }

There's a reason why the game is called Heavenly Sword. Not Mediocre Sword. Not Slightly-Above-Par Sword. Heavenly. There's no doubt that the collaborative work of Weta Digital and Ninja Theory has created some truly stunning and emotive visuals. But that's not all! After the cut, you'll see some intense gameplay against a boss. Those that were afraid that the game might be repetitive need not: it looks like Heavenly Sword is hiding a lot -- and we can't wait to see more as we get closer to its September release.

Tags: heavenlysword

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

doug @ Aug 5th 2007 9:29AM

this game is a must buy for me now

Tha Key @ Aug 5th 2007 9:31AM

I absolutely love the age restrictions on gametrailers' videos; I was born in 1906 and I'm just fiending for my Nariko Combat. But besides that, this game is a most buy and gollum's humor in the first video was totally unexpected.

PSN id: thuggi
Music Page: http://myspace.com/thekeytothelock

The1 @ Aug 5th 2007 9:37AM

The cut scenes look GREAT!!! I just want to make sure the game play is good. I played the SHORT demo and I am not to found of the controls. IMO, they will need to sharpen the graphics too. This is a buy for me in September and I hope its worth it.

Vincent060 @ Aug 5th 2007 9:47AM

I liked the first video. Shows that the game isn't trying to be serious.

ForceUnleashed @ Aug 5th 2007 10:00AM

I just have one serious question for you Andrew Yoon. You said in your article, "Those that were afraid that the game might be repetitive need not: it looks like Heavenly Sword is hiding a lot"

What exactly are you referring to? The fire rocket launcher?

Those videos were more of the same excluding the cutscene in the first one.

And you say that its not repetitive but in every single one of thoes videos all we see is Nariko running around attacking multiple enemies. More "hacking and slashing" if you will. Even with the boss all Nariko is doing is running around attacking the boss with her sword...aka hacking and slashing.

I just don't see your point. I don't see how this game is so radically different from God of War. Besides that little aerial countermove that I've seen her do in a few videos its the same gameplay over and over again.

Nariko is surrounded by lots of bad guys. She starts whooping ass with her sword or the chain blades.

So once again where is the game "hiding a lot". Cuz I didn't see anything new aside from the cutscene and the fire rocket launcher.

Ste @ Aug 5th 2007 10:32AM

@5, ForceUnleashed

When you word it like that every game can be seeing as repetitive. Every fps is "nothing but shooting stuff". Every RTS is "nothing but killing enemy units". Every RPG is "nothing but killing monsters".

What he meant is the game is more than hitting things with an oversized sword. There's startegy involved with killing bosses (see how the player that was, in your words "hacking and slashing" was about to die at the end of the vid?), there's a psuedo-minigames with the cannon (and crossbow, though not in the above vids)- hence showing the game is more than a repetitive hack and slash fest.

marcandrer @ Aug 5th 2007 11:41AM

@ForceUnleased

why do you even come here ? you're a 360fanboy, you always bash the ps3 in every blog I see you.

Heavenly Sword will be a great game and all you xbots know that, thats why you try to bring it down. Who cares if it looks like GoW.. last time I checked GoW was a freaking great game.

Bangbang... @ Aug 5th 2007 12:49PM

The demo does give the impressions that all you do is hack and slash from one area to another. I know that there is more depth to the combo system, but if button mashing will get the job done 90% of the time, then i'll likely go through 90% of the game button mashing.
I know some of you will disagree with me, but what good is a deep combat system if the game never requires you to use it. For example look at ninja gaiden. Button mashers need not apply, as the games very first boss quickly shows you the value of timing, skill, and knowing your move set. Hopefully the demo is just a bad example of the overall game, but i doubt it.

KillarClown @ Aug 5th 2007 1:00PM

this game will be awesome.. i just wish there were more body parts flying around.. arms flying off.. heads bursting off necks 20 feet into the air and then i could jump up and kick it at someone like forceunleashed and knock the asshat out. wooot!

Brian Spence @ Aug 5th 2007 1:54PM

@BangBang

That short demo kicked my ass hard twice just from button mashing, and that was only two little fights on the first level. From what the designers have said, you WILL need to learn the combos to get by. After playing with some of the combos, I've found the demo to be very, very easy, but that's because I'm exploring the depths of the system. I think once we're past the first level, we'll see how there's going to be a total reliance on the combos and fighting stances to survive.

I'm totally psyched for this game. I wanted to avoid these videos, since I don't need anything to spoil the final game for me. I clicked anyway! Just couldn't resist!

MYPS3KilledMy360 @ Aug 5th 2007 2:00PM

doesnt the first five minutes ofevery game looks repetitive example every RPG, DMC, NG sigma, GoW at the begining of all those games it looks like more of the same no big surprise. So when you complete 50% of the game come back and tell me how terrible the game is. O i forgot your not getting it.

Jeff @ Aug 5th 2007 2:27PM

Who said you could button mash? If you button mash the enemies WILL kick your ass. Besides this is going to be the first game on the PS3 that is kick ass. Ninja Gaiden Sigma, while a great game, is a remake so it doesn't 100% count.

BANGBANG AND FORCEUNLEASHED LEAVE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ForceUnleashed @ Aug 5th 2007 2:33PM

Lol thanks to the people who actually made a reasonable reply to my question.

And Jeff you're clearly so desperate for a ps3 game that you'll buy anything. Which is fine. But don't like to yourself that the game isn't what it looks like.

I was just making a point. No flaming. Just open honest inquiry. Not to mention I made very valid points.

Good Day

MisterL @ Aug 5th 2007 3:25PM

I love that evil character with the blade wing thingies on his back! This game rocks for that one character alone. He reminds me of Dr. Evil, is it just me?

phattie @ Aug 5th 2007 3:32PM

Im gonna hold off for some reviews and user videos... the demo didnt do it for me. I guess i was expecting NGS or God of War style combat... maybe its just different and you would have to get used to it.

Still gonna hold off though... now if they did an anime of HS i would totally dig that.

secret @ Aug 5th 2007 4:03PM

The guy with iron wings on this back reminds me more of that skinny guy in one of those old Bruce Lee films. In those filmds, he's the guy that was wearing the dark rimmed glasses and who taunts his opponents and then cowers behind his evil boss in fear. A kind of evil version of Mr. Burn's assistant -- Smithers.

Is that fish woman with the snakelike tongue hottest female in the world or what? Talk about creating the most beautiful female body ever. I know most people must feel the same way, but no one has even bothered to mention it. Good lord...

secret @ Aug 5th 2007 4:03PM

secret @ Aug 5th 2007 4:18PM

Mostly, I like Ninja Gaiden Sigma because it's able to make me feel like a badass. They've created a believable world in which a player feels like the alpha male, the top dog, the true boss of that world, despite some very powerful Fiends trying to stop your progress. It's like being in the workplace where you start off as a newbie and people are trying to force you out or sit on your head. Then, as you get better over time, you end up walking around like you own the place. Same with Ninja Gaiden Sigma, though the coworkers in this workplace are fiends, with Doku as the company's sneaky and ill-natured vice president.

Heavely Sword is worthy of a buy if the controls / gameplay are decent because the graphics and storyline are good enough to draw me in. Just by watching the cutscenes alone, I care about the characters and want to know more about them. I'm surprised by this because video game characters rarely make me curious like that. It's really a breakthrough in gaming. Good writers, good artists, good actors. Wow...from what I've seen so far...

secret @ Aug 5th 2007 4:53PM

The one thing I dislike about this game is Nariko's blocky red hair. I'll be looking at her and her hair 100% of the time and would hope that she would look as good as almost everyone and everything else in the game, especially if she's the heroine that you're trying to identify with.

By now, Nariko's long red hair is pretty much her trademark or signature feature. We'll be staring at it and her 100% of the time throughout this game. It seems smart then to make sure that the hair in gameplay looks good rather than the sharp and clunky construction paper that we're seeing right now.

One of the reasons why I love Ninja Gaiden Sigma is the fact that they modeled Ryu Hyabusa so well. He looks so real and believeable and ideal with almost no pointy polygons in sight that it's easy to immerse yourself with him and even want to be him.

Hopefully, I'm just nitpiking on what I feel is a small but possibly devasting game design weakness that won't disrupt my enjoyment of the game because I will buy it, unless all the magazine reviewers give it a low score. So far, everything looks good, just wanted them to increase the emphasis on the Nariko model a bit the way Team Ninja did for Ryu Hyabusa. But everything else is top notch from what I can tell.

mgff @ Aug 5th 2007 5:23PM

@ ForceUnleashed

I don't know why you're arguing about this game. It looks awesome. We haven't see a 90 percent of it, that's what Andrew may be meaning when he said that it may be hiding a lot (plus the brilliant cutscenes and the gameplay behind each boss, or the rest of the game itself). It's not hard to understand.
It is precipitated to say that the game is repetitive after playing 5% percent of it and see one thousand videos of the same scenes.

Titty Pink @ Aug 5th 2007 5:42PM

Is it me or does Nariko look like Beyonce Knowles?

Naaiif @ Aug 5th 2007 8:05PM

Awesome videos, i love King Bohan's son, the huge obese disgusting ogre thing. He starts laughing when they all laugh and then mutters

"I like laughing"

Oh man this guy is so stupid it's funny, i can't wait for some more put downs from Bohan. He's just gonna take the piss all game hahaha.

Overgauss @ Aug 5th 2007 11:46PM

Will not buy without 1080i.

Overgauss @ Aug 5th 2007 11:48PM

In other words 480p not for me.

ryan @ Aug 6th 2007 12:15AM

anybody else laugh at like, everything in that cut scene? i'm reminded of Skeletor and Power Ranger Villians when i watch that scene.

i liked God of War and it's button sequences, the combat wasn't as good as Ninja Gaiden tho. in my book Ninja Gaiden will always be the #1 action game.

and yes her hair is a pile of animated twigs, writhing and floating within an infinite breeze. in other words it's distracting.

oh, and the framerate sucks.

Dahk @ Aug 6th 2007 1:10AM

Jeez. Respect ForceUnleashed for his thoughts. You don't FORCE someone away especially when someone finally brings a valid argument to the table. Shizen.

In any case, the concerns of a hack and slash are still applicable, because the game hasn't come out yet. I've played the demo hack and slash wise, and I sitll did fine. Its not super strategic or anything, though you can make it be.

Anyway, the demo was an early build and is apparently not very much like any of the latest builds.

In any case, the reason I wanted to make this comment in the first place was to talk about the "Heavenly Sword". If the origin is derived from a chinese background, there used to be this fiction novel by the name of "Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre". This is of course a direct translation and sounds much better in chinese.

Basically that novel in terms of chinese folks, is sort of akin to Harry Potter of the Western Culture. It has an awesome story line with whicked art and history and whatnot. I'm just not sure this game pertains to that exact story, but in any case, if it is, then y'all in for a whicked ride =).

Kiros Skye @ Aug 6th 2007 1:11AM

This game bought me with the demo. Being honest I hate hack and slash games. It seems repetitive. But I love this game. I dont know why but I do love it. These videos did nothing but make me love it more.

secret @ Aug 6th 2007 3:05AM

Is it just me, or does that fishlike lady pretty sexy? No one's mentioning about it, but it seems so obvious...

never$$hort @ Aug 6th 2007 1:57PM

How can that dude say that this game is half-assed after looking at these clips???

arcthemonkey @ Aug 6th 2007 6:05PM

As nice as it is for ForceUnleashed to glorify his own comments, and validating them with nothing more than a self-stated validation, I really don't think you're looking at this right.

Now, it's great for the people who played the demo and just button-mashed through. Sadly, it appears that I'm not quite so effortlessly superior. I've never died on the demo, but to say it's a hack and slash is, quite simply, incorrect. I don't see how people figure Ninja Gaiden is somehow vastly superior, but if anything, I find them profoundly similar. As has been said, the video of the boss fight? Whoever was playing was losing - and badly, at that. Blocking, dodging, combos, and more are all intrinsic to Heavenly Sword. I'm really curious as to know what you, ForceUnleashed, in your effortlessly valid opinion, think makes an example of a good action game? I don't think it will take much effort on even the least logically inclined person's part to dismiss that game as a mindless hack and slash apparently without value, as well.

I would like to point out, on an unrelated note, that the animations in that cut-scene got me excited. Like, "Holy crap my parents bought me a lamborghini" excited. I was somewhere between being hysterical and stricken comatose by the unrestricted majesty that was the animations. Every other game is garbage to me, now.

Also, as for Nariko's hair, I never liked it, either, until I played the demo. It doesn't actually look so stupid in action, in high def. Dunno, maybe it's just me.