The demo is done!

According to this article, (http://gamers-creed.com/Consoles/PS3/31.html) the Heavenly Sword playable demo can be released at any time Sony is ready. We may get it next Thursday!

A Developer from Ninja theory forums has confirmed today that, Heavenly sword demo is ready and now is all up to Sony to release it on the PlayStation Network. He states : * People at home really want to get hands on too. Well, let me just tell you all that the dev team has finished work on the demo.. that's it... it's in the bag... so now it's a case of Sony deciding when they feel is the best time to release it to PlayStation Network.

Joystiq seemed to be very impressed with it at E3:

Heavenly Sword is a sight to behold, with stunning graphics, and animation that easily outclasses the competition. The story has us quite intrigued, and we want to know more about Nariko's pact with the Heavenly Sword that will seemingly end her life. The E3 demo that we played did far more than convince us that this is more than a God of War clone -- with its incredible graphics, and involving gameplay, Heavenly Sword has the potential to be the system seller PS3 has been waiting for.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/15/joystiq-impressions-heavenly-sword-ps3/

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2007/07/hsword460.jpg

No jump button. That's gonna take some getting used to.

Could do with a name change though. Why choose such a generic name like Heavenly Sword for such a good game?

Could do with a name change though. Why choose such a generic name like Heavenly Sword for such a good game?

What would you name it? I like the name.

Haha I don't know enough about it to name it. But I do know that a vague description of a sword is rather unrememberable.

Haha I don't know enough about it to name it. But I do know that a vague description of a sword is rather unrememberable.

Hmm, well the whole story revolves around the sword. And the whole point of the game is that it is this "heavenly" sword that only gods can touch and that by using the sword she is slowly dying. Considering the story, I think the name is pretty appropriate, but to each their own.

I just hope the masses (if such a thing exists for the PS3) don't pass it up because it's name is not distinct enough.

Yeah, we know how easy it will be for the masses to miss it among the hundreds of PS3 titles to choose from!

There are hundreds, Sony promised me :rolleyes:

All I want to know is why her hair looks sort of plastic-y in all the pics and videos I've seen. Doesn't look real at all to me, but that is the only little criticism I can find in this otherwise beautiful looking game :)

All I want to know is why her hair looks sort of plastic-y in all the pics and videos I've seen. Doesn't look real at all to me, but that is the only little criticism I can find in this otherwise beautiful looking game :)

Probably too much hair spray.

Haha I don't know enough about it to name it. But I do know that a vague description of a sword is rather unrememberable.

How unimaginative was God of War? Look how that turned out.

Post PSN demo update:

Many of us have tried the extremely short demo released last week with mixed reactions. The developers say it was from an early build and that most of the tech issues have already been resolved. We'll see how it plays when it is released in September.

As for now, check out videos showing the entire second level being played out courtesy of Game Informer (32 minutes altogether). All of the video titles are GI's, not mine. As you'll see, the gameplay mechanics in this title are a LOT more varied than people realize, the boss fights look to be really fun, the puzzle sections are interesting, and the production of the story elements are really top notch... enjoy!

*** STORY SPOILERS ***
Storming the gate (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven1.wmv)
The Flying Fox (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven2.wmv)
The Flying Fox continued (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven3.wmv)

Let's go to prison (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven4.wmv)
OK, prison was a bad idea (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven5.wmv)
King Botan's court cutscene (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven6.wmv)
It's prison break time (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven7.wmv)

A rocket launcher? If you say so... (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven8.wmv)
Whiptail's cutscene (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven9.wmv)
Whiptail battle (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven10.wmv)

Kai's sniper mission (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven11.wmv)
Sniper mission continued (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven12.wmv)
Fight ends, final cutscene of chapter (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven13.wmv)

I get the feeling the give away a lot of spoilers, do you know? I refuse to watch them just in case.

I get the feeling the give away a lot of spoilers, do you know? I refuse to watch them just in case.
Considering the game play is the entire 2nd chapter, I would say yes, there are some spoilers.

I'll add the warning.

Post PSN demo update:

Many of us have tried the extremely short demo released last week with mixed reactions. The developers say it was from an early build and that most of the tech issues have already been resolved. We'll see how it plays when it is released in September.

As for now, check out videos showing the entire second level being played out courtesy of Game Informer (32 minutes altogether). All of the video titles are GI's, not mine. As you'll see, the gameplay mechanics in this title are a LOT more varied than people realize, the boss fights look to be really fun, the puzzle sections are interesting, and the production of the story elements are really top notch... enjoy!

*** STORY SPOILERS ***
Storming the gate (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven1.wmv)
The Flying Fox (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven2.wmv)
The Flying Fox continued (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven3.wmv)

Let's go to prison (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven4.wmv)
OK, prison was a bad idea (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven5.wmv)
King Botan's court cutscene (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven6.wmv)
It's prison break time (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven7.wmv)

A rocket launcher? If you say so... (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven8.wmv)
Whiptail's cutscene (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven9.wmv)
Whiptail battle (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven10.wmv)

Kai's sniper mission (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven11.wmv)
Sniper mission continued (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven12.wmv)
Fight ends, final cutscene of chapter (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven13.wmv)


Do the videos stream or do you have to DL them?

It buffers and then plays. You can save them if you wish. They aren't high-rez but pretty smooth... smoother than the PSN demo we got. I see no evidence of tearing at all for instance.

I have to say, watching them all gives a much better impression of what NT is trying to do. If you don't mind some of the story plot given away, anyone who doubts the title's potential should check them out.

Post PSN demo update:

Many of us have tried the extremely short demo released last week with mixed reactions. The developers say it was from an early build and that most of the tech issues have already been resolved. We'll see how it plays when it is released in September.

As for now, check out videos showing the entire second level being played out courtesy of Game Informer (32 minutes altogether). All of the video titles are GI's, not mine. As you'll see, the gameplay mechanics in this title are a LOT more varied than people realize, the boss fights look to be really fun, the puzzle sections are interesting, and the production of the story elements are really top notch... enjoy!

*** STORY SPOILERS ***
Storming the gate (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven1.wmv)
The Flying Fox (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven2.wmv)
The Flying Fox continued (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven3.wmv)

Let's go to prison (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven4.wmv)
OK, prison was a bad idea (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven5.wmv)
King Botan's court cutscene (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven6.wmv)
It's prison break time (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven7.wmv)

A rocket launcher? If you say so... (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven8.wmv)
Whiptail's cutscene (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven9.wmv)
Whiptail battle (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven10.wmv)

Kai's sniper mission (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven11.wmv)
Sniper mission continued (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven12.wmv)
Fight ends, final cutscene of chapter (http://media.gameinformer.com/downloads/downloads2014/movies/2007/hsword/heaven13.wmv)

Started watching the first and shut it off about 30 seconds into it. No need to spoil the plot for me - I'm sold already. Curiosity got the best of me - going to be great!

Is this still set to run at a steady 60 FPS upon release?

I haven't heard what the target for the final is in recent reports. I've changed the first post to say that hopefully it will hit 60fps (but I doubt it).

Started watching the first and shut it off about 30 seconds into it. No need to spoil the plot for me - I'm sold already. Curiosity got the best of me - going to be great!

Yeah, the new videos are great to see how the game really fleshes out (better than our demo), but don't view them if you don't want too see too much.

Is this still set to run at a steady 60 FPS upon release?

I don't think this was ever supposed to be 60 FPS.

EDIT: fixed typo: said 30 instead of 60 above.

I don't think this was ever supposed to be 30 FPS.
Yeah I think locked at 30 is/was the goal.

New gameplay footage on GameTrailers.com.

HD:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23159.html - Rocket launcher gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23161.html - Ranged Attack
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23165.html - Snake Lady Boss Battle
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23163.html - Cut Scene *spoiler* (animation detail was amazing)

SD:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/22852.html - Rocket launcher gameplay
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23162.html - Ranged Attack
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23165.html - Snake Lady Boss Battle
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23164.html - Cut Scene *spoiler*

Snake boss fight looks pretty good. Still not sold on the game thought, I'm thinking rental or budget title. Looking forward to other games like Devil May Cry 4, Warhawk, Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, Unreal III, etc much more.

A blog is up by the makers, giving us the scoop until final release:


Heavenly Sword: FIGHT!!
Another week down and so much has happened. You guys got the Heavenly Sword demo at long last and the full game went into Format Testing. Not a bad effort for seven days.

It was pretty exciting to see the forums come alive with people keeping each other updated on their download status, as well as the the first few comments of LPBs who managed to grab the full demo and play it. The overwhelming interest of the online community was pretty cool - plus, reading the comments and observations was, and still is, incredibly interesting.

What I don’t want to do here is to respond directly to any of the feedback, both positive and negative. The final game will speak for itself - I'm very confident in saying that. After all, the demo was pulled together a fair while ago, what with all the testing and format processes it had to go through. Since then, we've made massive strides forward in many of the key areas. There is a marked difference when you play the current build and compare it to the demo code.

This week, SaiTong Man, our lead combat designer wrote me a massive blog post. So large in fact that I've split it into two parts! Here’s part one of Sai’s blog…

- Mat

It was always our belief that one-on-one fighting games could be the basis for a single player action game and that we could craft a combat game where the controls were more akin to Soul Calibur or Virtua Fighter. We relished the thought of having such depth of combat in encounters, numbering from one enemy right into the hundreds. Our starting point was to get the one-on-one fighting engine built and then extend it outwards.

A combat engine is only really one thing: a system to play animations and string them together. Now, there's a lot going on when the animation plays but this is the basic setup. We need to decide what the player can do when playing each animation and how the anims interact with each other - for instance, when you face an enemy - so we have a state system which helps group behaviours and we apply anims to these states. To explain in a little more depth, let me break down just one single aspect of the combat engine: blocking and countering.

Our heroine starts in a standard state. Here she plays an idle anim, or it could be any one of her movement anims. However, in this state, she is able to do most things like start attacking or start blocking. Along comes an enemy, who is in an attacking state, and he plays an attack anim. During the attack, we send a message to the heroine to let her know of an incoming strike. The heroine enters blocking state, she plays her “enter block” anim and at the moment of impact she enters deflect state and plays her “deflect” anim.

Now, we know during the deflect state that a player can counter. So, while in deflect state, the heroine executes a counter and instantly enters attacking state where we play a counter animation on her and her enemy. The anims string together like this:

Heroine: Idle > EnterBlock > Deflect > Counter
Enemy: Attack > CounterReaction

Everything in combat is made up of states and anims in each state. However, each state can be very complicated indeed.

Of course, you shouldn't need to concern yourself with all of this though. You don’t need to know all the states and how they string together to make the game. It's my job to make this transparent and intuitive. I need to consider questions like: what does the player want to do? How do I challenge the player? What do I need to create to allow people to enjoy this game?

So, as I say, the combat system is rooted in the one-on-one fighting genre. Our proof of concept was to create and build a playable character, Nariko, and fight one-on-one against another playable character. To make things simple for us, we chose the opponent to be another Nariko and built a combat system to enable her to fight against herself in a balanced and fair way.

In fact we were able to have as many Narikos as we could plug joypads into our work stations. We had a simple dojo where we could pit multiple heroines against each other in an enjoyable and mostly balanced way. We therefore effectively had a combat system and the tools proven, to a fair degree, to ourselves.

http://blogs.ign.com/Heavenly_Sword/2007/08/06/62441/

Snake boss fight looks pretty good. Still not sold on the game thought, I'm thinking rental or budget title. Looking forward to other games like Devil May Cry 4, Warhawk, Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, Unreal III, etc much more.
I agree. I wasn't sure I could see myself playing this game for too long. But, I must say that the game is coming out nicely.

If I wasn't already waiting on a few games (Rock Band, Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank, Stranglehold, and .hack vol3), I would have considered this game. I'll probably wait until it gets discounted, or see if my friend buys it. Then I'll just borrow it from him.

Awesome, that's exactly what I thought of as I played the demo. I've been a Tekken fan forever, and I always wanted a fighting game that I could play through an adventure with. This fills that niche perfectly. I'm glad to know that was the intent all along. +1 excitement for this game! :D

I liked the Demo so this is a must buy for me when it comes out!

Heh, I finally figured out how to setup the jump combos consistently in the demo. It is actually a pretty cool system once you get it down.

Heh, I finally figured out how to setup the jump combos consistently in the demo. It is actually a pretty cool system once you get it down.
I didn't figure out how to do those until I was looking in the combo list menu and realized that I can look at more combos by pressing right on the d-pad.

Oops.

This is a must buy title for me too, love the combo :D s and gameplay.

Wow. I decided to download the demo...usually I never download demo's of any kind. This game is awesome looking, and is a blast to play!! Very different from anything I have on my 360. At first I thought it was too repetetive, but when I realized the number of combos you could use, I was sold.

Definitely a must buy for me!

Another new video on Gametrailers.com:

HD:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23263.html - Flying Fox battle

SD:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23264.html - Flying Fox battle

What build is that battle from? I ask becasue there are several issues in that video.

What build is that battle from? I ask becasue there are several issues in that video.

lol. some people are never pleased.

its from the preview code that they recently sent out to magazines, etc. its much newer than the demo, but yes, not perfect yet. it will be though, dont worry.

What build is that battle from? I ask becasue there are several issues in that video.
lol, like what? the only thing wrong i saw was a minor glitch at the end of the video where the guys blade warps a little after they both land and the guys kneeling.

lol, like what? the only thing wrong i saw was a minor glitch at the end of the video where the guys blade warps a little after they both land and the guys kneeling.
lol. some people are never pleased.

its from the preview code that they recently sent out to magazines, etc. its much newer than the demo, but yes, not perfect yet. it will be though, dont worry.

I've defended the demo from the hordes of whiners, but I still see some issues and just wanted to know what build it was from. Chartwel, thanks for the answer.

My 1st playthrough of the demo left me disappointed, but then I read a lil post with tips. Basically, I was buttonmashing and died very quickly. After a couple dozen more times though I savor every second, and can't wait for the retail version :D

Can't resist....too....funny....(and hits too close to home for me)

http://cad-comic.com/comics/20070727.jpg

didn't you post that in another thread?

The animated prologue episode 1 is on the UK store now. I've been holding off on watching it until I could see it full size.

That is great! Gamingwise true, but mine is getting quite a bit of DVD/BD use at least.

I don't believe that I have seen this posted, so here is a preview (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23361.html) of the game.

I still can't wait :D

Legend of the Sword Pt1 in HD

So is this 720p only? If so, count me out.

The demo only played at 480p for me. If I can't play at 1080i, no buy from me.

Part 2 is out for GAP members now.

YouTubes
Animated series part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQfq8Y8vcA)
Making of HS part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbSIVSdEGL0)

I love these things. Just wish they were longer.

So is this 720p only? If so, count me out.

The demo only played at 480p for me. If I can't play at 1080i, no buy from me.

720P only already a thread on this. Have fun missing out on a great game.

Part 2 is out for GAP members now.

YouTubes
Animated series part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQfq8Y8vcA)
Making of HS part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbSIVSdEGL0)

I love these things. Just wish they were longer.

Me too. Thanks for the links!

Have fun missing out on a great game.

Then it's confirmed. I will. There's a lot more joyous things in my life than to have to worry about one stupid game. Looks like SCEA will be missing out on my cash.

please move on......

Some pretty slick info about the audio production. Seems like they are going all out on this game.
LINK (http://www.developmag.com/tutorials/28/Heard-About-Heavenly-Sword)

Audio Team:
For Ninja Theory: Tom Colvin (lead audio); Nitin Sawhney (original music score); Dave Sullivan (senior sound designer); Play It By Ear (foley and cut scene sound design); Harvey Cotton (audio programming)
For SCEE Cambridge: Garry Taylor (audio management and cut scene mixing); Lee Banyard, Jeremy Taylor, Andrew Riley (additional sound design); Ed Colyer, Shepperton Studios (additional foley); Dan Bardino, John Broomhall, Kenneth Young, Dave Ranyard (additional audio production); Chip Bell (audio programming)

The Numbers:
10GB of sound FX, approximately three and a half hours of music, 4,500 lines of dialogue

With an epic story, epic game and an epic audio production, Heavenly Sword oozes high production values. Even before audio lead Tom Colvin’s personal two and a half year labour of love began, a belief in the power of sound had already been demonstrated by the team’s calling for potential signature sound designers to pitch – a practice more commonly associated with composers.
Colvin explains: “Al Zaleski’s demo work (at audio team Play It By Ear) stood head and shoulders above the others and his movie pedigree speaks for itself. To top that, he was great to work with. I’m really happy with the foley and combat sounds – all vitally important for a game so focused on graceful, agile, martial arts-style sword fighting.
“For me, sound is very ‘immediate’ to the player. Music has a well-established cultural language; sound is much less clearly delineated – but you can get straight to someone’s emotional responses with it – there’s little time for the brain to analyse. Sound is key in making this awesome weapon – the Heavenly Sword – come to life so you can sense its brooding power and almost hear it feeding off each kill.”
The game features a strong narrative exploring the interplay between heroine Nariko, her father, their clan subjugated by an evil king, and their guardianship of the Heavenly Sword, an historical weapon with the power to change their fate. Cut scenes play a vital role but with visual finessing continuing late into the project, the sheer scope of work was a challenge.
SCEE’s Garry Taylor elaborates: “There’s an hour and a half’s worth of cut scenes in eleven languages, so mixing alone was a massive undertaking. That’s why we ‘in-sourced’ all the dialogue mixing to our colleagues in Foster City, USA whilst I focused on the music and effects mix at our new Cambridge-based recording studio. I kept a close eye on continuity issues to avoid any jarring between in-game and cut scene sound – whether ambiences or relative levels or even matching FMOD’s surround positioning. Some cut scenes are very small segments replayed within complex branching structures so we ended up using three-frame audio overhangs at the top and tail to cross-fade on – it works a treat.”
According to Colvin respected music artist Nitin Sawhney was a clear choice as composer: “We wanted someone with a genuine grounding in Eastern culture who was equally at home with contemporary or classical forms, as well as being completely comfortable with the project’s technological setting. With his eclectic talents, Nitin was perfect and enjoyed the opportunity to create for a wide-ranging and diverse set of requirements.
“In-game, we work a lot with his mix stems (e.g. perc, strings, woodwind) bringing them together in response to game events and status. Several factors (e.g. threat level) are weighted and combined to determine the exact music replay – but it isn’t just a universal ‘cross-fade, catch-all’ approach. We make the engine observe the music forms to allow (say) long emotionally-charged vocal phrases to play out properly, rather than being faded out just because the game state’s changed. This allows the music flow to be maintained – it keeps the connection to the action, without compromising musical sense.”
Taylor and Colvin undertook an overall mixing phase during the development’s final stages, again deploying SCEE’s studio as the objective listening environment and using Ninja’s powerful run-time mixing tools. Explains Colvin: “We have the virtual equivalent of a ‘flying faders’ film mixing console with extensive hierarchical grouping and scene snapshots. ‘Live’ editing of audio at this stage is absolutely essential – not just volumes, but proximities, frequency fall-off – even the listener position…”
Taylor continues: “…and also not being afraid to strip things back if necessary. Sometimes when you stand back and take in the overall sound picture, you think - does that really need to be there? Never distract the player’s focus! The machine’s so powerful now – capable of handling so much audio, which is great – but as we all know when you’re mixing, sometimes ‘less is more’.”

^

The 11 languages/ high bit rate audio may explain why the file size is so large for audio. Nevertheless, I'm sure people in various countries can appreciate having the game's dialogue in their native languages.

It will be interesting to see if HS & Lair are widely accepted. It seems as though sony wants to make games that are more theatrical in nature.

Where can I get the final list of languages included in the US release?

Played through the demo again after playing a few hours of GOW. (Never played GOW before and I'm about half way through I think) I really enjoy GOW but on my 120" screen the graphics are a little marginal. After getting immersed in that game, went back and played HS again and I was REALLY impressed again with the demo. I don't want to get my hopes too high but I think I'm going to enjoy HS better than GOW! It really get's everything right - the combos are excellent, the graphics are top knotch, and the storyline appears to be very immersive as well. September can not get here soon enough!

I sure hope we don't have yet another delay on release for the PS3. I'll be sorely disappointed if this doesn't come out in September. Any rumors on how things are going?

Play magazine just gave Heavenly Sword a 10

I kinda expect a delay being that Lair comes out in September as well, but I hope not.

Thanks DubBucket! Added to the first post (with credit).

I hope there is no delay. I watched the full second level videos and have played the demo to death (mastering the combos mostly). I'm ready for the final release.

HS part three for us non-GAPs that can't wait until Thursday:

Animated Series (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMaBUsICJOY)

Making of HS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lwj7wU2jUQ)

when Heavenly Sword coming out, i plan on gettin this

I guess I should add the release date to the first post, shouldn't I?

US: September 12, 2007
EU: September 14, 2007

I noticed a issue with the demo. I downloaded the demo with my Euro account back when it was first released, and I always assumed that the missing sound effects (walking on the rope, the rope breaking sound, and the fighting music) was missing because it was a early build. After my friend told me he didn't have this problem, I downloaded the US demo, and what do you know....all the sound effects were in.

I'm looking forward to september though, I plan on making a preorder soon.

The developers say that we got an early demo build. All the issues are cleaned up now.

New GDC 2007 Trailer - http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23901.html

Can't Wait!!

New GDC 2007 Trailer - http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23901.html

Can't Wait!!

Freaking sweet... Going to be a classic...

theres a video at gamerhyde of the level on the demo and it looks much smoother than the demo was.

IGN UK Review:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/815/815031p2.html

Wow, I guess he really didn't like it. The one thing I question is the complaint about doing the same thing everytime. That's true of all beat 'em ups including God of War. You move from one scene to the next beating bad guys up. It seems that Heavenly Sword mixes it up with other game types, but he doesn't like those either.

Thanks for the link, I'll add it to the HS review thread.

IGN UK Review:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/815/815031p2.htmlI was kind of expecting that based on the last preview IGN UK did. They made it sound kind of shallow. Still I'm looking forward to playing HS and Lair too. Both games seem like solid first-year efforts with great production values.

IGN UK Review:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/815/815031p2.html

Not cool. I tried holding out hope for Lair but after it got continually pounded I finally canceled my pre-order and put it on "rental" status to see how it really is. I don't want to do it with HS as well.

IGN is the one site whose reviews I normally trust. Although I don't always agree with everything they say this disturbs me more than a little, and the "six to seven hours to beat" they mention is in tremendous disparity to what the Next Gen Ireland review talks about.

HS review from game revolution. A bit short but damn good. Grade: B+

http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/ps3/heavenly_sword

And all should cry, Beware! Beware! Her flashing eyes, her floating hair!

Thus, while blitzed on opium, did the poet Coleridge describe Kubla Khan, who built his dream palace in Xanadu. And faced with Sony’s new demigoddess, that line kept returning to me over and over. The developers at Ninja Theory decreed the construction their own dream in Heavenly Sword, and Nariko’s eyes flash, and her hair floats, but does it measure up to a pleasure dome?

Devil May Cry first epitomized the experience of being one seriously unstoppable badass engine of destruction. Then Sony seized the throne from Konami with their God of War, becoming not just the king off asskicking, but the god.

Not content to rest upon their Grecian laurels, Sony is challenging their very own Kratos for the top title with Heavenly Sword. And while Kratos does wear a skirt (don’t hurt me, Kratos, please) he’s not exactly what you’d call feminine. That’s fine with our heroine Nariko who has hotsexy enough for the both of them.

Unfortunately, Nariko’s clan also possesses the Heavenly Sword which they guard through the generations as they wait for the return of the god who can wield it. Humans who use the sword gain immense power from it, but death and destruction follow in their wake, and eventually they are consumed by the sword itself. So nobody is allowed to use it.

Meanwhile, King Bohan has crushed all the other clans, one by one, bringing them into his empire, and Nariko’s clan is next on his to-do list. He wants the Heavenly Sword as a museum piece, to add to his treasures and prove his dominance over all the clans. Nariko’s choice is no easy one - to wield the sword is to break every taboo, to be shunned by the very people she wishes to save, and then to die.

The story, told through in-game cut scenes, is just one of the places that Heavenly Sword excels. In no small part this is due to the terrific voice acting and the incredible motion capture led by Andy Serkis, famous for his motion captured portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. Many of these scenes happen in a revolutionary picture-in-picture format, so you never leave gameplay at all. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of this in the future.

I can not remember the last time I cared so much about the characters in an action game, and not just the heroes, the villains as well. Like Gollum, even the bad guys have complex motivations. The facial expressions, body language, and the lip synch are so spot-on it’s uncanny. I found myself actually excited for more story exposition, rather than disappointed I was dropping out of the action.

And that’s surprising because the action is damn good as well. Nariko filps, spins and twirls with the deadly precision of Nadia Comaneci finding the Matrix. She has three important combat stances that allow her to spin her swords on long chains, go two-fisted with both blades, or combine the blades together into a longer single sword for slower, devastating attacks.

But it’s really all about the counters. Well timed counter-attacks are cinematic, brutal, and charge up Nariko’s power for some truly intense destruction. At times, you also play as Nariko’s friend, the little insane girl Kai. Kai can’t fight hand-to-hand but she’s gracefully nimble and has a nasty repeating crossbow, made more effective by the best use of the sixaxis controller yet.

Any projectile in the game, from an arrow, to a cannonball, to a thrown turkey leg, can be steered by tilting the controller. Time slows down when you do this, making it a bit like bullet-time where you are the bullet.

And all this action can happen on battlefields where literally hundreds of soldiers are running around in real time, making the large battles in Genji and Samurai Warriors look like a joke. But even when the battles are smaller, the backdrops themselves are almost as beautiful as Nariko.

However, while Heavenly Sword has a lot of art, including tons of unlockable art and even animated cartoons, it’s comes up a little thin in the game department. Nariko discovers lots of new combo moves, but has no control over her own destiny, unable to choose what skills to enhance, like Kratos can.

And Nariko hardly needs to enhance her skills, because she kicks so much ass, you’ll unfortunately blast through the whole game in about 7 hours. There’s still more art to unlock and a new “Hell Mode” difficulty, but boy that sure seems short for a $60 price tag.

On the other hand, this is one of the few games I’ve felt the urge to replay on a harder difficulty, just because those 7 hours were so sweet. Nariko’s time on earth might be cut short prematurely, but she does offer a small taste of the milk of paradise.

I ran across a really nice, lenghty interview with Rhianna Pratchett. She's responsible for Heavenly Sword's amazing script.

Rhianna Pratchett talks Heavenly Sword, Sony, and Andy Serkis (http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/Rhianna-Pratchett-talks-Heavenly-Sword-Sony-and-Andy-Serkis.ars/1)

Kai's line about hitting an enemy soldier in his "weak point for MASSIVE DAMAGE" was a great touch. Were you scared that SCEA wouldn't have a sense of humor about that infamous quote? Did they groan when they first heard it?

We actually didn't think that line would make it in there, so I'm glad to know it has. It was just a bit of fun really... a kind of wink to the hardcore gamers.