Heavenly Sword

By Tom Bramwell Published 30 July, 2007

Our take on the PSN demo.

By now you'll have read our recent Heavenly Sword first impressions. By now you'll have downloaded the Heavenly Sword demo released on PSN last week. By now you'll have been able to finish it approximately 47 million times. By now you've probably decided it's too short and doesn't really show us anything we didn't know.

There have definitely been complaints. First up, it lasts about five minutes. Second, it's heavy on Quick Time Events, where control is reduced to prompted button-presses as you slide down ropes or leap from tumbling pillars. Third, combat isn't as complex and nuanced as something like Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry. Fourth, the framerate's a bit wobbly.

I happen to rather like it. It's short, but then it's a demo. It's easy, but it's a demo. We already know that the rest of the game - pegged at between 10 and 15 hours long - widens combat to take in Jet-Li-style defensive ranged manoeuvres, puzzles, various boss fights, playable sections involving Nariko's odd little friend Kai, and a wealth of cut-scenes put together with the help of Andy Serkis. If the one in the demo's anything to go by, facial animation, lip-synching and the rest of it are about to take a King Kong-sized step forward.

'Heavenly Sword' Screenshot 1

Fighting atop the pillar she'll later detach, Nariko's overwhelmed with enemies, but quite able to hold her own.

Not that I'm defending the use of Quick Time Events. They're tolerable, but they need to be kept to a minimum unless they're sort of the point, like they are in Fahrenheit, in which case they have to be done well. In the Heavenly Sword demo, you have to hit analogue-stick directions and rhythmically tap the X button in a pair of related action sequences, and you could easily argue that they're merely there to make you feel like you're doing something besides just fighting and watching movies. That said, examples of games that got away with them include Tomb Raider Anniversary and God of War (9/10s both), so let's not panic just yet. It'll be interesting to see how much Ninja Theory adopts them for the real thing.

Combat, meanwhile, could do with a bit of defence. It's not Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry, but then Ninja Theory probably wants to shift some units at retail. The result is something that tapers into God of War's category, if not particularly its orbit, and can be summed up thus: button-mashing works, but experimentation yields simple, effective gains.

Initially you'll be hammering the square and triangle buttons - your main attacks. The combo list is simply these two in rhythmic sequence. For bothering to use them both - and taking it slowly rather than simply pummelling them - you'll get to witness Nariko spinning like a vortex, booting people into the air and then juggling them, winding ferocious blows together with ease, and twirling laterally through the air in a giddy blur of metal and flaming tresses.

'Heavenly Sword' Screenshot 2

Once she gets down to the ground, there's more space and fewer enemies.

(Somewhere off-screen, Hayabusa can be heard snorting with derision).

So alright, yes, that's a bit simple, but it ignores completely the other things you can do. There are two alternative stances, for instance. By gripping L1 as you rain down moves, you'll perform ranged attacks, spinning your chain blades like Ivy out of Soulcalibur on her day off, while R1 brings on the heavy stance, where you'll sacrifice manoeuvrability and pace for force, using the big blade to smash your enemies around the close confines of each arena-like battleground.

There's also the ease with which Nariko can counter, and go aerial. Counters are as simple as timing a triangle-button stab to coincide with an approaching enemy of a certain hue. Those blue, orange and red tints are meant to help you do this, giving you an idea of which stance will block the incoming attack.

Again, the accusation is that it reduces defence to one or two responses. But while this is to some extent accurate - indeed, Nariko blocks a lot of attacks automatically, and can dodge-roll out of the way with right-analogue movements - it also rather misses what seems to be the point of the demo: quickly mastering the spectacular.

Watching Nariko grab an enemy's incoming punch, wrap her leg over his arm, twist him to the ground and snap his neck; or admiring her grab an enemy's leg, lift it up with a twist so his groin's exposed, and then plant a painful kick to boot him 15 feet, it's probably important to remember that these are everyday, vanilla responses. We've not tasted cherry yet.

Because there's no suggestion Heavenly Sword will do all this and nothing more. In which case, being able to counter easily - often resulting in a cool zoom-lens view of Nariko contorting to snap someone's back or neck, or hurl them into an abyss - and segue into aerial combos at the touch of a button could be a boon rather than a bust.

We're also rather taken with the "aftertouch" system. Nariko can use the X button to pick up objects in the environment and hurl them at her enemies, using the (optional) Sixaxis tilt to affect their trajectory with an accompanying camera close-up. I happily played through the demo half a dozen times simply playing with boulders. Call me simple (which is probably on the cards, given today's premise), but I can handle more of that sort of thing.

'Heavenly Sword' Screenshot 3

Once enemies are dead, you can grab their swords and throw them. It's clunky, but could become cool.

On top of that, there's the pinnacle of Nariko's arsenal, the Superstyle moves. As you fight, the little spots in the midst of her health bar in the top-left of the screen start to glow red. There are three, and each represents another level of Superstyle. Filling up more means the difference between a beautifully unpleasant big-sword to the groin killing sequence - once again framed-up gratuitously by the invisible cameraman - and a violent, wide-reaching chain attack that takes out half the enemies in the area.

Elsewhere, the wistful aura that Ninja Theory's seen fit to conjure in cut-scenes has taken a backseat to complaints about the fact it's only in 720p, and slows down on top of the cliff. This is entirely to ignore the way that Nariko's lips quiver as the narration contemplates the suffering of her father, or the developer's breakthroughs in marrying facial movement to speech convincingly. Or the fact that Kai is the most convincingly animated head-case our addled brains can remember. Good face-paint, too.

It's true that you begin as the game struggles to articulate itself - so many waterfalls cascading into the gorge, mingling with wafting blossom, Nariko's dancing locks, swaying flowers and acres of scenery and causing a bit of a logjam in the RSX department. But as you proceed into battle it flattens out in the right area, animation is consistently logical to the point of being able to pick out incoming attacks in a seas of limbs, and it's all drawn up to a rumbling soundtrack that never over-reaches, twinkling occasionally.

'Heavenly Sword' Screenshot 4

An older shot of Nariko's face. When you see her in-game, she really comes to life.

Granted, we've seen games that are as impressive to behold, but they weren't exactly slouching among the also-rans when they were.

Overall, though, whether you appreciate the demo or not seems to be a question of where what we're seeing fits on the game's scale. You can argue all day about how it sits within the context of its peers, and it's hard to fault a lot of the reasoning. But looking beyond that, as Ninja Theory surely must have been, and viewing this as a precursor to their bigger picture rather than the endgame, there's reason to be cheerful. Or at least cautiously optimistic.

Either way, with just over a month to go and a new preview build set to rain down soon, it won't be long before Ninja Theory's work has to stand up to a sterner examination, and we'll be waiting. Bring it on, Gollum.

Heavenly Sword is due out exclusively on PS3 in September.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (100) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Caimbeul #1 5 years ago

    My take = Short

  • morriss #2 5 years ago

    My take = 720p only 'True HDlol'.

  • drumbaby #3 5 years ago

    I enjoy playing it again and again, but would have liked to have seen a few different gameplay facets other than the hacking.

  • kangarootoo #4 5 years ago

    I didn't even notice that it was only in 720p. Is that something that really seriously matters to people?

  • morriss #5 5 years ago

    My 'real' take is here.

  • morriss #6 5 years ago

    @kanga: If your TV only displays 1080i and 720p scale 'down' and not horizontally because of the PS3 being the 'only' HD device on the market not to do it, thus resulting in all Sony games being played in 480p then yes, it becomes something you'll care about.

  • Artemis_Matsas #7 5 years ago

    The demo is too short, but it sold the game to me :)

  • afray #8 5 years ago

    My take = 20% of gross

  • Der_tolle_Emil #9 5 years ago

    I saw footage of it in the latest 1up show. Haven't played the demo as I don't have a PS3 but the games looks fun. They also showed quite a bit of the cutscenes and the voice acting and the acting is indeed one of the best I have seen so far in games.

  • Steroyd #10 5 years ago

    I have a question how the fudge do you do air combo's I've only done it twice ever... and i've been flicking my controller up like a prat.

    Come on Jump Nariko, Leap Woman. *flick* *flick* *flick*

  • Steroyd #11 5 years ago

    Incidentally, Lair got a dreadful review in EGM this month - 6.5 and 5.5 out of 10 from the 3 panelists.

    Didn't Blue Dragon also Bomba?

  • Darren #12 5 years ago

    It's definitely a game I'm interested in provided the learning curve is gentle and the game isn't as teeth-grindingly difficult as Ninja Gaiden was. God of War and its sequel are more my level of difficulty (on Normal or, ahem, Easy!) so I'm hoping Heavenly Sword is equally as forgiving but I couldn't really tell that from the demo as it was too short and it's not clear how far into the game you are.

    As for the QTE sequence in the demo, I liked it, it was cool and added an element of interactivity to what is effectively a cutscene. I loved the QTE bits in the God of War games too, particularly the boss fights which were made more interesting by them.

  • kangarootoo #13 5 years ago

    @morriss

    I'm not sure I quite understand. My TV doesn't display 1080p, it only displays 1080i and 720p. Now when I played the demo I'm pretty sure it wasn't in 480p.

    If it was running in 720p, it looked fine to me. I can often only really tell the difference between 720 and 1080 when I am actually LOOKING for the difference (in other words, my gaming enjoyment suffers not one bit and whether 720 or 1080 is in effect never crosses my mind).

    So what is it that I am supposed to have seen?

    Is what you are talking about the issue that the PS3 has with certain old HDTVs? As I recall, it was an inability of the TVs in question coupled with the limitation of the PS3 that causes the 480 res to be used. I can't remember the exact details, but I don't think it was what you might call a widespread problem.


    On a more general note regards the demo being short. From a player's point of view I totally agree that it is a pity as it doesn't really allow you to get the best idea of what the game combat may really be like.

    But from a dev's point of view I totally understand that they have a game to finish, and truthfully we as gamers really would actually prefer in the long term that they make the final game as good as possible rather than spend an excess of valuable time on a demo.

  • Steroyd #14 5 years ago

    I couldn't really tell that from the demo as it was too short and it's not clear how far into the game you are.

    The heavenly sword guy Taneem Antianodote (whatever) said it was the level right after the tutorial, something about wanting people to just jump in and hacky hacky than go through the tutorial.

  • Darren #15 5 years ago

    @Steroyd - Yeah, EGM gave Blue Dragon 6.5, 7.5, 6.5 I think, which is really worrying.

  • Salvia #16 5 years ago

    "Oh, and the lip-syncing is non-existent in the foreign versions of the game. "

    Yeah I noticed something similar in the Kazakhstan version of the Departed. Leo DiCaprio didn't bother to mime the dubbed language track.Slack! *rolls eyes*
    Edited by 1 at 30/07/07 @ 14:31

  • Steroyd #17 5 years ago

    I wouldn't look too much into that, EGM always give low scores what's more important is what they said about it.

    And Ratchet and Clank, and Uncharted.... >:[
    Edited by 1 at 30/07/07 @ 14:33

  • morriss #18 5 years ago

    @kanga. My TV doesn't display 720p, it's 1080i 'only'. Sony first-party titles are 720p only. The 360 for exapmle, when faced with a situation like this just auroscales the image to 720p, the PS3 doesn't, it downscales it to 480p.

  • kangarootoo #19 5 years ago

    @morriss

    Ah, now I get you. That does actually sounds like a big pain in the behind. Maybe selling your TV on ebay and getting a replacement (I totally recommend Samsung for a decent economical HDTV) is the best option for you.

    I realise it would be better if the PS3 could upscale internally, but I don't think that will happen anytime soon.

  • Darren #20 5 years ago

    I think (or, rather, hope) that it'll only be a matter of time before Sony adopt the same approach as Microsoft and allow all PS3 games to be upscaled to 1080i/p. The Xbox 360's Xenos GPU does all the scaling so I don't see why the RSX or Cell cannot do likewise on the PS3.

  • Steroyd #21 5 years ago

    erm... Ratchet does have Jump....

    Maybe your talking about Uncharted not having jump?

    Well if you go by review scores off one source I can easily turn Folklore into a must have title....
    Why are you so quick to downplay the PS3's holiday?

  • morriss #22 5 years ago

    @kang: I bought it in late 2003 for £2200. I'm not going to sell it just yet.

    As I said I've no problems with any other HD device including the 360. I'm not getting a new telly because Sony can't implement a scaler.

    Also, to get an idea of how widespread the problem is, Google "PS3 1080i". :)

  • sn3jk #23 5 years ago

    theres no jump button.

  • nick_f Verified Senior Producer, Microsoft #24 5 years ago

    This article reads like Eurogamer making excuses on behalf of Ninja Theory.

    "Remember, children of the internet, the game's not finished!"

    Harumph.

  • RexRunti #25 5 years ago

    OK, first of all let me say this is the game I want a PS3 for. Secondly I haven't played the demo. But when the highest praise this game gets is "amazing cutscenes" I star to worry. I'm not going to buy a game for it's cutscenes I'm going to buy it for the game. Also it doesn't sound like it's living up to the promise of "every game at 1080p and 60Hz".

  • bdc #26 5 years ago

    I shall chime in with that this demo is from a build shown 15 months ago

  • Santino #27 5 years ago

    Honestly Mr Runti i strongly advise you to track down somebody with a ps3 and a copy of the demo if this was the game you most want the system for. I've let a few of my mates play the demo, two of which were really excited about this game, and the all came away disappointed with various elements, notably the combat and 30fps (often sub 30), this isn't to say you will too but you should definitely try it first. Personally i definitely won't be buying this game now, judging from the combat and reliance on QTEs i dont think the game will stand up to other offerings from the genre, including last gen. I can't help but have the feeling that if this game wasn't an exclusive there wouldnt be a fraction of the hype there is.
    Edited by 1 at 30/07/07 @ 15:11

  • Tricky #28 5 years ago

    Bloody hell, Rhianna Pratchett. I used to go to the same school as her - often wondered what she was up to these days.

  • Salvia #29 5 years ago

    "it's just that they used professional, movie studio effects teams to do the animation. "

    Wrong!

  • T4RG4 #30 5 years ago

    "I shall chime in with that this demo is from a build shown 15 months ago"

    What fools would release something so old? Oh how easy it is to spend big bucks on game dev... 6/10 at best (unless reviewers are swayed by cut scenes). And yes, this preview smacked of letting people down gently. Pan it! :)

  • SBfistfun #31 5 years ago

    b..b..but teh power of teh cell!!!!

    /logs on the spot

  • teabagger #32 5 years ago

    Armchair developers.... *sigh*

  • Atropos #33 5 years ago

    Played the new preview build, love the game. Combat gets ever more satisfying the further you get. Would like a jump-button though.

    No other great Ps3-titles in the pipe-line? Uncharted, Uncharted, Uncharted! I'm telling you, this game will rock.

    Oh, and lair is pretty... but average. Like a sub-Crimson Skies with a crappy faux-epic fantasy-storyline.

  • lambtron #34 5 years ago

    "pretty... but average. Like a sub-Crimson Skies with a crappy faux-epic fantasy-storyline."

    I'm sure they'll be eager to put that quote on the box ;).

  • captain_cupcake #35 5 years ago


    Oh, and lair is pretty... but average. Like a sub-Crimson Skies with a crappy faux-epic fantasy-storyline

    Cutting through the spin? ;)

  • T4RG4 #36 5 years ago

    teabagger - The public know when something isn't that great. This certainly looks to be somewhat of a slight let down for many.

  • Hughes. #37 5 years ago

    Hooray for Mugwum! Probably the most sense I've seen written about this anywhere.

    I'd give the demo 8/10, that's marked down for brevity.

    Still a must buy for me though, even though I'm not a fan of QTE stuff. I tolerated it in Resident Evil 4 (where it was not well integrated), Tomb Raider Legend/Anniversary and GoW2, so I can tolerate it in this for the pretties, and for the aftertouch arrows/cannons/bazookas, which look great.
    Edited by 1 at 30/07/07 @ 16:26

  • septimus #38 5 years ago

    @SBfistfun

    Seriously, it's not funny or original anymore. Can't you come up with anything new?

    Hey maybe you could go to 360 articles and say XBOTS or Red Ring of Death every other post. Or even better, the Wii has a funny name, run with it!

    /sarcasm.

  • SBfistfun #39 5 years ago

    "Hey maybe you could go to 360 articles and say XBOTS or Red Ring of Death every other post. Or even better, the Wii has a funny name, run with it! "

    ooh thanks for the idea

    /responding to pleb off, Ignore on

  • InterMeLocal #40 5 years ago

    "I shall chime in with that this demo is from a build shown 15 months ago"


    ...No chance. No one in their right mind would create a demo of your work that is 15 months old.

  • smoothn00dle #41 5 years ago

    I hate short demo.. suspect the game is not ready for prime time yet. The low frame rate is worrying sign. If this shot demo has low frame, the full game won't be smooth.

    I heard at the shop, gamers can pick up the whole ACT2 on DVD, is it true?

  • Canadian_Mike #42 5 years ago

    OK, im going to tell you exatly what was said above me without even reading the forum posts.....

    "well now im not going to buy it since (after playing for 5mins) it's just qt event's", or "what, no jump? I'm not buying it".

    ...lets not forget the xbot cry, "it can't touch Ninja Gaiden's combat" and now since it's being release on the 360, Devil May cry as well.

    Then there's the obligatory dipshit with the, "oh! it's in 720p? Well my TV is this and that...Sony why, whine whine whine"

    right? right? So Fuckin predictable. *rolls eyes*


    Edited by 1 at 30/07/07 @ 17:08

  • MrsPacMan #43 5 years ago

    Hah ha haaa, the great hope for PS3!! Pah

    Oh and Lair's shite as well, lol
    Edited by 1 at 30/07/07 @ 17:09

  • decibel #44 5 years ago

    Canadian_Mike, your point being? That people are complaining about something that's rubbish? Well whoopdeefucking do!

    Your amazing predicting skills are truly ground-breaking.

  • Canadian_Mike #45 5 years ago

    i guess you were one of them ROFLMAO

  • Les #46 5 years ago

    Liked the demo. Very short but nicely done. If in the finished product the technical issues are straightened out and there's some variation in the gameplay, I'll definitely consider buying it.

    With regards to Lair, wonder wether EGM did review the final version of the game given that it was only finished last week (according to the PS blog) and EGM came out at the end of last week, if I'm not mistaken... But anyway, that alone surely won't account for such low scores. Probably because of the controls is my guess, they complained about that already on 1up.

  • Canadian_Mike #47 5 years ago

    DAMAGE.INC.
    30-Jul-07 17:17:39

    Its had a very troubled development this one, bad sign. this is not going to sell the PS3 no way.
    ignore poster

    Who the fuck are you? Yoda?

    Put up a link, or shut up. LOL

  • Guff-Pipe #48 5 years ago

    Both Lair and HS were made backwards from day 3 of development. Thats the fundemantal problem. This lead to a "lateral sixaxis" problem with the main GPU. A 360s GPU is spherically round and the PS3s is mostly square so a load of teraflops can get gnarled up in the "bloody bottleneck" (barney 7.8) which is a problem.
    Hope this helps.

  • bonoboy007 #49 5 years ago

    Im hearing alot of people saying that the game is choppy but i have not seen this issue, is this more of a tv refresh issue and have u got ur ps3 ticked to output 720p

  • Goodfella #50 5 years ago

    Unbelieveable. Sony release an old and extemely short demo and lo and behold the internet 'experts' (that's most of you who posted here) somehow know the finished game is 'shite'.

    Tossers.
    Edited by 3 at 30/07/07 @ 17:55

  • bonoboy007 #51 5 years ago

    The game looks cool and i bet all of u have played it more than 10 times, yes it may be short but it is a demo. What more do u people want do u not remember the days when u had to buy a £5 MAG to get a demo?

  • The-Bodybuilder #52 5 years ago

    >"That said, examples of games that got away with them include Tomb Raider Anniversary and God of War (9/10s both), "

    SHENMUE SHENMUE SHENMUE.

    Shenmue did it first (dragon's lair doesn't count, as it was a quick-time game) and shenmue 2 did it best. Respect the mue.

    As for this. I forsee a 7-8. Production seems high, but the gameplay may be a bit simple.
    Still more promising than KZ.

    But I'm a sucker for action-adventure involving swords. So I've got a keen eye on this baby.
    Edited by 1 at 30/07/07 @ 18:17

  • T4RG4 #53 5 years ago

    "Its had a very troubled development this one, bad sign"

    Yes, agreed here. I've met a lot of people that work/worked there and they bang on about design (especially lead) being pants. Not too easy to create a great game when one or two people let it down is it? God knows its hard enough when everything goes to plan :/

  • Fatnick #54 5 years ago

    In some ways demos can can be really unhelpful. You'd feel a bit silly if you missed out on the next GoW/NG on the back of a easy 5 minute demo...but you should equally feel silly if you ignore the shortness and easiness of the demo and end up buying a game which is short and easy.

  • Eighthours #55 5 years ago

    Unbelieveable. Sony release an old and extemely short demo and lo and behold the internet 'experts' (that's most of you who posted here) somehow know the finished game is 'shite'.

    And yet you somehow know the finished game will be amazing. Wow.

  • Les #56 5 years ago

    "I've met a lot of people that work/worked there and they bang on about design (especially lead) being pants."

    If that were a measure of quality there wouldn't be any good products...

  • Ihya #57 5 years ago

    Headbog, your name is spot on. Congratulations at least on getting one thing right!

  • Rash' #58 5 years ago

    Learn the principles of the combat and the demo opens up. Looking good, to me.

  • Les #59 5 years ago

    "And yet you somehow know the finished game will be amazing. Wow."

    Does he say so?!

  • Goodfella #60 5 years ago

    Eighthours said - And yet you somehow know the finished game will be amazing. Wow.

    What's amazing are your powers of speaking bullshit. Pray tell me where I said that?

  • Matsuo #61 5 years ago

    well, havent played it. Nor will i be anytime soon as i dont own a PS3. Still, from the screenshots, it looks lovely. Will it be shallow? Now you people tell me and if i should be envious :)

    Back to playing Paper Mario again :D

  • Steroyd #62 5 years ago

    That was cold Matsuo isn't Paper Mario STILL not launched in Europe?

  • Gouki #63 5 years ago

    Well my take is......

    When the Hell did we start giving an indepth article on demos. Dear gosh this site really has gone down hill. Im not saying your not at an all time high with viewers but dear gosh wot a load of old cobblers.

    Played the very short demo after 996Mb on a 512k connection OWCH but if you can gather much from it.....

    I have no doubt you guys n girls have had a chance to play more than we have..... so report on that.

    BTW was it one of your female staff that was on XLeague TV chattin the other night because if it was she really could do with a different line of work!! If not Sorry and i'll stand corrected

  • tobsen #64 5 years ago

    I cannot find the demo in the Playstation Store, and I have the suspicion that this is because I am in Germany. Can anyone confirm this? Am I being forced to wait for a "localized" version of the demo? Is Sony really such a retarded company?

  • Gouki #65 5 years ago

    Dont worry dood, Germany dont get it till Thurs...!!

  • Steroyd #66 5 years ago

    I thought it'd be Germany's censoring stuff, I mean a guy's cojones gets.... i can't even type it, infact did I even see a german dialogue option in the demo? o_O

  • Kill_Crazy #67 5 years ago

    Liked the demo although very short. Gfx were very good and i didnt notice any slow down (where did people notice it?).
    Agree that there should be a jump button but i guess i'll get used to that.
    Shame about no 1080p upscale, but still looks good in 720p imo.
    Not really my type of game but may give it a look when released as there'll probably be nothing else available. Thank god for r6v online :)

  • Steroyd #68 5 years ago

    Is Deutsch German?

    WOW I was looking at the combo list thinking I did it all and then I pressed right and BAM there's the air combo's.

    Shame she hasn't got the nuts cruncher move would have been cool to pull off.

  • kangarootoo #69 5 years ago

    @Canadian_Mike

    "Put up a link, or shut up"

    I also heard HS had dev problems. If people know this from knowing those that have worked on it, how exactly are they going to post a link to that, smartarse?

  • Vandrius #70 5 years ago

    I swear all these people whining about choppy framerate and tearing were playing a different demo. Heck, I barely noticed any slowdown. The combat did seem a bit button-mash, but I'll confess I didn't really try combos. Plus it was apparently the first level, excluding tutorial... I mean my god, you'd have to hope they give you more moves and such after the first level?!

    Also - Xbots hiding as "concerned PS3 wannabes" and saying "ooh, it looked so good but now im worried, PS3 holiday looks crap"... We see through you. Go back to Gears and cry yourselves to sleep, stop clogging our threads up.

    You're camoflauge is about as obvious as Snake's barrell in MGS4 - while he's moving.

  • morriss #71 5 years ago

    I like Vandrius, it seems that if anyone has any problem with the game after they played the demo, they're a XBox fanboy.

    Just because you're a Sony Robot who's been programmed to love every single game and has been told never to criticise anything they do, it doesn't mean that those of us who do find certain faults have our tongues up Big Billy's bottom.

    :)

  • nick_f Verified Senior Producer, Microsoft #72 5 years ago

    My main problem with the Heavenly Sword demo is that it doesn't really showcase anything (beyond HD and a few nice graphical effects) that hasn't been done on PS2. Or, more specifically, God of War II.

    Personally, I think the tagline "Goddess of War" is bang-on.

    After listening to a lot of gushing coverage of this game from the press in previous months/years, responses to both the demo and the full level many sites have had access to indicate a general sense of disappointment.

    I rather hope it turns out to be an excellent game, but my experience with demos this close to release is that you are 99% playing the finished game (warts n all).

    I'll probably buy this on day one because, quite frankly, there is sod all to play on PS3 right now (if you're a 360 owner, anyway).

  • Eighthours #73 5 years ago

    What's amazing are your powers of speaking bullshit. Pray tell me where I said that?

    You implied it by automatically dismissing any negative impressions of the game. Of course, that's also Sony Zealot Defence #1.

  • kangarootoo #74 5 years ago

    @Eighthours

    "You implied it by automatically dismissing any negative impressions of the game."

    I hate to jump in on this playground scrap, but my debate-diversion-technique allergy is flaring up again.

    As far as I could tell, all Goodfella implied was that you were jumping to conclusions without really having enough info to hand. He could have said exactly the same thing if you had said HS was going to be great (actually, I think there is baggage on all sides, but that doesn't change you putting words into someone elses mouth).

    /pulls head back into hole

  • Les #75 5 years ago

    "You implied it by automatically dismissing any negative impressions of the game. Of course, that's also Sony Zealot Defence #1."

    I'm, like, so totally impressed by your debating skills...

  • G3org3 #76 5 years ago

    So let me get this straight
    you check a five min demo and you have it crusified it how does that make sense?

    i wonder how brilliant it would be if it were on 360 or if you fought with the Wiimote

    i dont know if i m gonna buy it or not but i sure aint gonna decide over a demo
    that hasnt happened since DMC1 but all the negative fuss and press from a the first chip on ps3 to the last pixel on a pre-build demo is getting rediculous.

    i dont have to be a sony fan to say what i see and the demo simply needs work lots of it but for a demo its fine till we see the final game to judge for sure
    till then any of you that are blindly against sony neednt waste your beautiful nails on the keyboard to say how much you hate everything with its brand on.

  • #77 5 years ago

    @morriss

    I know you're a PS3 hater, and fyi your take is the suck.

    For PS3 owners who like good fighting games read this take on HS:
    [link url=http://www.games radar.com/gb/ps3/game/news/article.jsp?articleId=20070727959 5145054&releaseId=20060509114526906095§ionId=1006&pageId =2007072710426254084
    ]http://ww w.gamesradar.com/gb/ps3/game/ne...[/link]
    Edited by 2 at 31/07/07 @ 10:22

  • lambtron #78 5 years ago

    "That was our first reaction, too, when we played the same demo during E3 - until we sat down with the game's producer, Kyle Shubel, and he told us what we were doing wrong."

    So, let me get this straight Hansi - in order to enjoy the game you have to sit down and have the game's producer explain to you how to play it?

    0_0

    To be honest, if button mashing effectively means you don't play the game in the way that was intended they should have made it so you die if you button mash just like NG. This sounds like its fundamentally broken.
    Edited by 1 at 31/07/07 @ 10:47

  • morriss #79 5 years ago

    Yeah Hansi. I'm a PS3 hater, which is why I spent close to £500 on one...

    I'm not entirely impressed with the machine so far, that's a statement. It doesn't mean I hate it though.

    Oh, and all comments are welcome on the First Impressions, both positive and negative. However, you don't seem to have read it, as I did say at the end I had fun playing it.

    :)

  • Les #80 5 years ago

    @ lambtron

    Are you really an idiot or just pretending to be one?

    /hint: with the full game a tutorial and/or manual will be included

  • lambtron #81 5 years ago

    I'm not an idiot Les but thanks for being so aggressive. I realise you have to justify spending nearly 500 quid on a piece of hardware and so far there hasn't been much to make that justification - no need to take it out on me. Before you get too narky check my game collection and see I own resistance, NG Gaiden and Motorstorm. But I don't understand this attitude that Sony games are beyond criticism is all.

  • afghan_jones #82 5 years ago

    The game itself will probably be an ok laugh. not a classic this early in the machines life cycle but certainly a reasonably strong early title.

    What I find more interesting is that PS3 is so starved of releases that a demo gets 2 page coverage plus this many comments.

  • kangarootoo #83 5 years ago

    @Hansi320

    Thats a good article. I didn't even know aboutb the aftertouch feature.


    @lambtron

    "So, let me get this straight Hansi - in order to enjoy the game you have to sit down and have the game's producer explain to you how to play it?"

    Dude, its not a competition. If reading that link means you can play the demo again again and have more fun doing so, thats a good thing right? There is a whole indsutry based on publishing books that tell people how the play specific games. People buy them because they in many cases they make playing the game more fun.

    Sure we can write HS off because all of its features weren't immediately apparant to a gamer just storming in without reading any instructions, but that sort of smacks of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

  • kangarootoo #84 5 years ago

    @Les

    I second lambtron. You need to cool down a bit mate.

  • lambtron #85 5 years ago

    @ Kanga - Well if there is hidden depth then that is excellent news but it would have been best if perhaps that was a bit more obvious. Also what I was trying to say was that generally if button mashing is not the point of the game it would have perhaps been more logical to make it so that was not a viable way of playing the game. Although I accept this might have made it too hardcore for the mass market.

    Hmm I guess time will tell :).

  • Les #86 5 years ago

    @ lamtron

    ‘Kay, my reaction was a bit strong but I stand by it that your comment wasn’t that clever. Mistook you for a fanboy and have given up on reasoning with them (even I've got my limits).

    “But I don't understand this attitude that Sony games are beyond criticism is all.”

    They’re not. No game is.

  • #87 5 years ago

    @morriss

    Ok, that's fair enough. I too have issues with my PS3, but for what I use it for it's been worth every penny (actually norwegian krone). There are no really impressive games out yet, the only game I play right now is Super Stardust HD, this game is really addictive. I'm not so much into FPS or sports.

    The HS demo suffers a bit from screen-tearing, specially in the opening platform, also I have some sound issue on the HS demo wich applies only when the PS3 is connected to the reciever through optical connection. These issues have been taken care of by the devs already, this according to the ninjatheory forums -> [link url=http://www.ninjatheory.com/forums/showthread.p hp?p=16401#post16401
    ]http://ww w.ninjatheory.com/forums/showth...[/link]

    Regarding your first impressions I get the feel that you say something positive about HS so you can make your negative points more valid. Hm. Could be just me but that's the feeling I get after reading it.

    edit: I read your "Heavenly Sword – First Impressions" again and it's not as negative as I thought it to be at first.
    Edited by 3 at 31/07/07 @ 11:42

  • Les #88 5 years ago

    "Also what I was trying to say was that generally if button mashing is not the point of the game it would have perhaps been more logical to make it so that was not a viable way of playing the game"

    I think the 3-5 minute demo is not enough to tell you wether it is a viable way to play the game. On my first play-through I button mashed and reached the end with limited health. Without a health booster I probably wouldn't have survived the next one or two waves of enemies.

    It might still very well be possible to button mash your way through the whole game, given an ample supply of health packs but right now we don't know nor can the demo tell us anything about it.
    Edited by 1 at 31/07/07 @ 14:11

  • kangarootoo #89 5 years ago

    @lambtron

    "it would have perhaps been more logical to make it so that was not a viable way of playing the game. Although I accept this might have made it too hardcore for the mass market."

    I think you have hit the nail on the head there. I was having this exact discussion with a couple of colleagues the other day.

    Games of this type often require the player to learn how to use the combat system more effectively if they want to make progress, so button mashing will only get you so far. However, the early stages of the game are where also sorts of lessons are learned, even the basic stuff like how the camera controls work and how reactive the basic strieks are. If you require players to learn the full combat system at that stage you don't give people any kind of space in which to learn.

    I'm sure Street Fighter 2 suffered the same critisisms, as did Halo in its day. On an easy setting on the early stages, basic pummeling will get you by, but on harder settings on the later stages, another level of skill is required to progress. To the "uninitiated" the initial stages of the game set their perception of the whole title, i.e. "its all just button mashing".

    Every person I have spoken to who held that opinion of GoW turned out to have not played much past level 2. Everyone I know who finished the game had a whole different opinion on the matter. I suspect we will see the same thing here.

  • morriss #90 5 years ago

    Hansi: Fair enough. Although I don't know how you can say it's been worth every penny in the same sentence as there aren't any really impressive games out yet and all you play on it is a mini-game downloaded from the PSN for around 55kr.

    Hopefully in January after the Christmas releases I can it's been worth every penny, but as someone who own both consoles, the PS3 never gets switched on. Not because I hate it, but because there's nothing interesting to play on it. IMO, of course. :)

  • #91 5 years ago

    @morriss

    I use it as a Blu-ray film player and I use it as a media center on my LCD screen playing music and showing pictures also wirelessly from my computer.

    That's worth every penny I paid for it for me. The games are a great bonus. :)

    edit:
    I have bought many other devices like Pinnacle Systems - MediaCenter or Squeeze Box Wireless or the Linksys Wireless B Music System, all these systems that really suck compared to a PS3. Comparing the PS3 and all it's functions with the myriad of devices that are supposed to provide some of the same functionality that the PS3 offers, the PS3 is a bargain. Not cheap, but a bargain non the less. IMHO that is :)
    Edited by 1 at 31/07/07 @ 15:22

  • TRUTH #92 5 years ago

    ABOVE: My PC also does everything you mentioned but more and way way better. PS3 is no way near a multimedia player compared to the PC. Not even close. Why buy a Ps3 for something the PC surpasses so easily. 360 does it too (HD optional), but with dowlaod tv. So PS3 is still overpriced for it's purpose.

    On Heavenly Sword, nice but DMC4, Too Human, look and seem to play better from what I've seen. A bit disappointed with the graphics in HS too. Though very nice and fine animation, it doesn't look like the game that will say my PC/360 can't do. A good but not a AAA title the hype had built it up be from the demo I played.
    Edited by 1 at 31/07/07 @ 18:26

  • #93 5 years ago

    @TRUTH

    No noisy PC is getting anywhere near my living room.

  • smoothn00dle #94 5 years ago

    @Truth

    This is no longer the case in the future. PC hardware is quickly become irrelevance. Why an advantage Joe require 4 gig of ram to type a document? Especially when there is a 256mb machine cost cheaper can do the same thing.

    PS3 is that machine. In the next five years, PS3 price will go down while PC goes up. When PS3 hit $250 price point, it is Blu-Ray player, Game console(more games than PC by then) and a computer(Linux). On the other hand, high end PC will cost twice as much. Without game application to adjust high end PC's valve, PC market will fall.
    Edited by 1 at 01/08/07 @ 12:26

  • Les #95 5 years ago

    "Why an advantage Joe require 4 gig of ram to type a document?"

    Because MS says so.

  • TRUTH #96 5 years ago

    Everything PS3 - The 360/PC can do & in some cases do it better: Online gaming, video chat, HD download tv on demand, music, movies, photos, video chat, email.

    In four or five years the PS3 may have a price drop and be getting into it's stride, but also something better, faster more power will be coming a couple of years later. This will be a problem for Sony. Do they continue to support the PS3 (It's making huuuuuge losses for Sony right now!), or do they compete with the next super-hi def console (Super Hi-Def will take over as it's happening already on PC's, with many companies from Pioneer, Phillips, Toshbia, LG already looking to build tv's in approx 5yrs).

    So far every cross platform games DO look better on 360, and play better esp with better frame rates. Has more exclusives and interesting games: Mass Effect, Alan Wake, Bioshock, Cry-On, Halo Wars, Fable 2 etc...As for gamers that buy these console is for exactly that - Games Games Games. This is where Sony is failing. Nothing has proved Sonys's hype as yet. And may come to late - if it comes.
    Edited by 2 at 01/08/07 @ 22:01

  • #97 5 years ago

    @TRUTH

    whatever gets you hard

  • Machiavellian #98 5 years ago

    I am going to come to Truth defense on the multi-media front since I have a PS3 and a 360. If you are not using the DVD drive in the 360, it is quieter then the PS3. The PS3 fans kick in loud and strong after having the system on for more than 20 mins. During quiet moments while watching a movie I can definitely here the PS3 where I cannot here the 360 in the same situation.

    I found out about a week ago, that I cannot use my USB drive to play music, watch photos or view videos from the PS3. Unless I miss something within the PS3 menus I could not find a way to do any of the above from the PS3. The 360, I can do all of the above not only from a USB drive but also from a portable like IPOD, ZUNE, PSP, etc. I can use my 20 in 1 Flash USB drive to play those media as well. I can say that remote play is pretty cool feature with the PS3 but it does involves having to purchase a PSP, thank goodness I have one so I am covered.

    On my PC, I have transcode 360 and Tversity. I use Tversity to stream media from my PC to the PS3 as well as the 360 but I also use Transcode 360 to stream media from my Vista Media Server to the 360 when using Media Center. Tversity works ok there are some little problems I have with it but delivering content is pretty easy. I will say the quality is not as crisp as using Transcode 360 but I have to play with it enough to find out if I do not have everything set correctly.

    Right now, Media Center and the 360 is the way I view my media. The interface is better, I still have all of my Xbox Live functions. I can stream recorded TV programs from OTA HD stations. I still have all of the PVR functions with those recorded and Live TV broadcast so I can pause, rewind etc and since I have two tuner cards I can also record and watch Live broadcast at the same time. Yes I know cable boxes do this two but then I do not have to pay 10 bucks for DVR function and also 9 bucks to rent the unit.

    As a media player, the 360 is almost complete. IMHO it definitely has oodles more feature and function over the PS3 at this point in time.

  • TRUTH #99 5 years ago

    It's always PS3 owners not knowing what the 360 is capable of. I have a PS3 and 360 & PC too. I can point out the many problems of cross conversion games that plague the PS3, and that it's multimedia cannot compete against the PC or 360...I also think that blu-ray will fail, as HDDD drives are becoming extremely cheap, the muiltlayered disc are becoming the norm for DVD/CD and HD disc. Also with Super Hi-Def approaching quickly, and download becoming more available easily, with HDD becoming larger and cheaper. Personally Sony did miss the main point for console: GAMES. This is where 360 beats it's hands down, also with muiltimedia and online gaming.
    Edited by 1 at 02/08/07 @ 17:33

  • Les #100 5 years ago

    "I have a PS3 and 360 & PC too."

    No, no, no, your brother has the PS3, truth, remember?

  • Arwin #101 5 years ago

    "I am going to come to Truth defense on the multi-media front since I have a PS3 and a 360. If you are not using the DVD drive in the 360, it is quieter then the PS3. The PS3 fans kick in loud and strong after having the system on for more than 20 mins. During quiet moments while watching a movie I can definitely here the PS3 where I cannot here the 360 in the same situation."

    20 mins of doing what, exactly? And are they in the same location, same amount of air cooling, etc.?

    "I found out about a week ago, that I cannot use my USB drive to play music, watch photos or view videos from the PS3. Unless I miss something within the PS3 menus I could not find a way to do any of the above from the PS3."

    Then you're not very smart, are you?

    Seriously though, this is absolutely possible. You can even download stuff to your USB stick from the Browser and play it from there. Try that on your 360. ;)

    My guess is that you have your media files in different folders on your USB stick. To display those, just press triangle on the usb drive in the XMB and you'll get to see the full folder structure. If you installed FW 1.90 recently, it will also remind you of this option now (so obviously you're not the only one who didn't figure it out. ;) )

    Some of the other stuff you can do on the PS3 too though, but in some areas the 360 is still slightly ahead. But the DNLA features of the PS3 are pretty good.
    As a media player, the 360 is almost complete. IMHO it definitely has oodles more feature and function over the PS3 at this point in time.
    I think oodles is rather overstating it. The 360 also misses a host of features like you mentioned, the browser is pretty good, you can download stuff through your browser to at least your USB sticks (though some of these things can't be directly saved to the HDD, probably for security reasons), and it can actually do more with its harddrive (you can copy most of your stuff to it, including music from your iPod - or can you do that these days on the 360 as well?).

    And of course there's still the better upscaling of DVDs in the PS3, as well as the BluRay playback which the 360 doesn't have at all unless you buy an external drive, the PS3 has the RGB Full option (my TV supports it and it makes a big difference), and it supports HDMI 1.3 rather than 1.2 (if you even have the Elite), giving the PS3 among others higher quality sound output (not that I have the stereo to match it, mind you).

    Anyway, Heavenly Sword is great, and my girlfriend and I had a laugh when we (or actually she, which is a rare thing) played it in Dutch (our native language). That's not an option very often (Beyond Good and Evil was a nice exception), let alone in a demo. Good move by Sony there.

  • captain-future #102 5 years ago

    My take = WTF for that I downloaded 1GB?!