AMN’s Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don’t waste your time. This is why we’ve split our reviews into four sections: What the Game’s About, What’s Hot, What’s Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game’s About
A sword forged by a deity with a taste for vengeance, an unwanted first born girl living in a clan looking for a warrior prince, and a last ditch effort to have lasting peace is how Heavenly Sword opens up. You are Nariko and you are already dead. Whoever wields the power of the mythical sword has their life-force taken away, bit by bit. With this curse, comes ultimate power that can change the course of the world. The vile King Bohan knows this and has long wanted to take the weapon for his own personal gains. As Nariko’s clan is invaded, she takes matters into her own hand.
In a unique twist, you start out by playing out Nariko’s last fighting moments before succumbing to the curse of the sword. The rest of the game plays from the beginning, to show how the events transpired. Through an engaging story and cinematic narratives, you find out the whole story.
What’s Hot
The one feature that developer Ninja Theory has been touting is the animation. They pulled out all the stops with the hiring of Andy Serkis to provide the motion capture. His digital character acting shines through and takes video game acting to a new plateau. The portrayal of King Bohan steals the show.
If you thought it was impossible to be spellbound by video game acting, Heavenly Sword will prove you wrong. Heavenly Sword is one of the most cinematic experiences you can find on video game consoles. Characters are memorable and diverse. Especially for the villains, they are creepy, evil, and have a few screws loose. The way the cast move in-game and in cut scenes are eerily realistic.
It goes without saying that the graphics that accompany the animations are just as superb. The lush environments, extreme character detail, and subtle effects (Nariko’s hair) will knock you out. Framerate doesn’t suffer when there are hundreds of objects flying around, which is quite a surprise with everything that is going on. The compete presentation that is seen in Heavenly Sword is a rare occurrence in gaming.
The gameplay is reminiscent of God of War (here come the comparisons). Combos are easy to execute with satisfying results. The one feature where Heavenly Sword originates is the “Aftertouch.” By throwing any object and holding down a button, you can alter the trajectory of any object. While unrealistic, this feature is an innovation that will be copied by other games from now on. Kai, Nariko’s adopted sister, is a playable character as well. Her missions rely heavily on her bow which is fun to shoot but challenging to master with the SIXAXIS.
The story is decent. The subject is actually somewhat generic but the way the characters tell it makes it come alive. Facial animations tell the story better than words more often than not. If it weren’t for the elegant animation and spot-on voiceovers, Heavenly Sword would have had a dull edge.
What’s Not
Heavenly Sword has been called Goddess of War, rightfully so. So much of the game is barrowed from God of War that this feels like a spin-off set in the East rather than Ancient Greece. The only reason why it feels so similar is the controls. While Heavenly Sword tried to be more poetic and graceful with the action (and succeeded to a certain extent), there is little difference between the two games, gameplay wise. There are even context sensitive sequences exactly like the ones in God of War.
If you loved God of War you probably won’t mind the jarring similarities between that and Heavenly Sword but the length of the game might make you think twice. Aftertouch puzzles are overused without any variety (so many gongs) which leads to the puzzles being too simple. One good sitting will get you deep into the story and another to finish it out. After that, you can unlock a few odds and ends if you want to play all over again.
The nuts and the bolts of Heavenly Sword are generally well fastened but there a bug we ran across. During a fight in a jail cell, one of the enemies got stuck in the ceiling and nothing could be done to knock him down or progress past it. It took a restart of the game at the nearest checkpoint to correct. The game was bug free from that point on.
Final Word
Events leading to the final battle ramp up in intensity. You can feel the clock ticking away as you defeat each boss. There are a few twists thrown in that make you conjure up some emotion as you do make personal connections with the game’s characters. You tear through ranks of enemies, and are able to stop and “Ooooo” and “Ahhhhh” at some of the landscapes which are Zen inspired.
Heavenly Sword is finely crafted masterpiece that takes presentation in gaming to new heights. There is much to love about Heavenly Sword and PS3 fans that have been waiting for original games to release can be happy as larks. Short game length and God of War comparisons aside, gamers will be looking for more Nariko. Heavenly Sword is one of the most cinematic experiences out on the market right now and it would be a shame to miss out on it. Ninja Theory should be very proud of themselves for delivering an epic title for the PS3.
