As we found in our recent interview, Heavenly Sword is heavily inspired by the wuxia film genre, which includes such films as Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. To this end, the story and presentation in Heavenly Sword is a resounding success, as it captures the epic dramatic feel of such movies particularly well. Set in the fictitious Ancient East, a prophecy is told where a clan is meant to be led to salvation by a mighty deity/warrior. This warrior is meant wield a sacred blade known as the Heavenly Sword. Unfortunately, the prophecy seemed to go belly-up when a girl, Nariko, was born and the clan were left in despair.
Upon growing up, Nariko and her clan are faced by the threat of King Bohan and his army. King Bohan, a maniacal mass-murdering dictator, has taken it upon himself to ‘cleanse’ and ‘unite’ the known world. For whatever reason, it seems that he needs the Heavenly Sword to fufil this. In order to stop King Bohan and save the clan, Nariko takes up arms with the Heavenly Sword, even though it is known that the sword will eventually take the wielder’s life. Through out the story, the players are treated to one of the most colourful and deepest set of characters ever conceived in a video game. Andy Serkis brilliantly steals the show as King Bohan and the rest of the actors are just as astute, ranging from the freaky Flying Fox to the charmingly weird Kai. For fans of the genre, the story is excellent as it strikes well between the themes of revenge and redemption. Heavenly Sword sets a new level for cinematic presentation within a game.
Nariko gives a taste of heaven before sending you to hell.
To complement the cinematic presentation and direction, Heavenly Sword is a gem of a looker. Simply put, it’s one of the best looking games out there, not just technically but also artistically and in terms of direction. The environments in the game are incredibly luscious, vibrant and full of colour and life. There isn’t a huge variety but the scope is enormous. Nariko and all of the main supporting cast are built and animated superbly, and it’s particularly interesting to watch as Nariko’s long flowing hair moves behind her. Certainly, Heavenly Sword belongs in high-definition. If there are a minor couple of downers, which become more noticeable as graphics become more ambitious unfortunately, it’s that the animations can be delayed slightly and that there are a few too many identical (and not that great looking) enemies and NPCs. Still, the game performs incredibly well, especially with the amount that's happening on the screen at any one time. The frame rate is amazingly smooth, with minimal slowdown. Also, to get the most out of the game, a really good TV set is needed.
In terms of audio presentation, it almost does just as well to compliment the stellar visual performance. The voicing in the game captures the perfect emotion for each of the characters, so when you put it together with the visual quality and direction, you get real emotion and depth from the characters. The sound effects do extremely well to keep up with everything that’s going on at once and are of the highest quality. The soundtrack manages to be quite epic as well, though there are times where it slips into being Medieval rather than Ancient East. It does detract from it a little bit sometimes. Overall though, all the elements of visual and audio presentation and direction come together to compliment a great story and to make for one of the best presented games of the year.
OK, so the game looks and sounds pretty damn good, but how does it play? Well, a lot of corners have been calling this game “God of War with a chick”. To an extent, the inspiration is rather obvious, but on the other hand, Heavenly Sword mixes up things differently enough to stand on its own. While there is a heavy emphasis on clearing through hordes of enemies, there are a few quaint gameplay additions that add variety to what would otherwise be potentially repetitive. For most of the game, you’ll be playing as Nariko while wielding the Heavenly Sword, but you’ll also do a few other things, as well as play as Nariko’s adopted sister, Kai.
Somebody's gonna get hurt real bad.
The combat has been compared to God of War but when you dig beneath surface, you realise that the former is more about brute power while Heavenly Sword is more about finesse and tactics. Sure, Nariko handles similarly, but the enemies in Heavenly Sword actually block a fair bit (though are otherwise, rather dull). So you need to think about the best way to break the block, horde off the masses and stay alive, rather than smashing your way through. Heavenly Sword is a tad more technical than a typical slasher and as your combo list grows, you’ll have more options for getting around trickier enemies.
You have three stances: speed, power and range. The default stance is speed and you’ll spend most of your time in this stance. It’s the best all-round. The range stance is triggered with the L1 button and is good for warding off crowds and initiating aerial combos. The power stance is triggered with the R1 button and is powerful but slow. Each stance has their own set of combos and depending on your actions, they can be chained together almost seamlessly for some pretty funky moves. The attacks are governed by square and triangle, while ‘superstyle’ attacks can be charged with combos and initiated with the circle button. They manage to take out many enemies at once on the highest level. You’ve also got a roll mapped into the right analog stick, which works but doesn’t quite hold up as well as you’d like. It’s really exposed in the back end of the game, and is the least polished aspect of the combat.
Hold on, we haven’t mentioned a block button. That’s because there isn’t one. Most games that have tried an auto-block have fallen apart but Heavenly Sword pulls it off extremely well. Enemies' attack patterns (speed, power, unblockable) are colour-coded so you know what position you need to be in. It can be a bit hectic and can get a little complicated later on but this system manages to work really well. That being said, there are inconsistencies within it, sometimes good, sometimes not. Furthermore, by using these colour codes, players can predict how to counter. With the right timing of the triangle button, you will pull off a counter. The better your timing, the more effective your counter. The counter system comes off pretty damn well too, and it becomes crucial to your success in the game. The combat system is very good, but the only thing from stopping it from being mindblowingly awesome are some restrictions that are similar to the Prince of Persia titles. That is, not being able to hit guys, even though they may seem like they're open.
Andy Serkis steals the show.
Apart from a number of quick-time events that punctuate the gameplay at reasonable intervals, Nariko can pick up a numerous amount of objects. Dropped weapons and enemy corpses can be thrown back as offensive weapons or to solve gong puzzles. Nariko also takes control of bazookas and cannons. By holding down the attack button after throwing or firing, you go into ‘aftertouch’ mode. Here, you’ll guide the projectile with the sixaxis to help improve your shot/throw. It takes a little getting used to but it works really well and intuitively. This will be particularly necessary for some minor puzzle solving. When you play as Kai, who wields a rapid-fire crossbow, aftertouch will again be necessary in combat and in puzzle solving. Kai’s sections are a good diversion (if only for the humour – keep your ears open for the ripper line) and even though the aim is a little twitchy and restricted, the aftertouch makes up for it.
Heavenly Sword will likely initiate a lot of debate. While the story is excellent and the gameplay is good, the game can be wiped through in around six hours. It’s a very entertaining and varied six hours, and it certainly doesn’t drag, but the mere fact that it can be finished in two afternoons will prevent some purchases. The unlockables, particularly the robust back story animations, will keep some going more than others. That, and we’re very disappointed that Sony has gone above their usual retail level. It may only be $10, but it’s the principle of the matter. However, Heavenly Sword could definitely be considered a must rent, if in the very least, to give the system a really good work out. The fixed camera is also a bit of a concern, but it's workable or just fine 90% of the time.
When push comes to shove, it may be found that Heavenly Sword, while a great game, doesn’t quite do enough to be an absolute must-buy. Still, it has a fantastic story that is arguably better than most within the genre and has a remarkably deep set of characters and back story. Button-mashers will be given a rude awakening, as the combat rewards finesse and timing. The counter system works particularly well, though there are times where the combat is exposed and feels restricted. Thankfully, there is enough variety and minor innovations to make up the numbers. Not to mention that the game looks and sounds brilliant. While it may be short it is certainly satisfying and still ends up as one of the better exclusive/action games on the PS3, action games of 2007 and one heck of an experience, so long as you can accept that this is not Goddess of War. Not to mention, a great first up effort from Ninja Theory. Definitely a must rent for PS3 owners.
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