Archive for September, 2006

Although Heavenly Sword was at TGS ’06, it was the same build that was seen at E3 back in May but I’m still very excited about this game regardless of not seeing any action outside the arena.

I love these type of action games, as you’ve seen by my undying love for DMC & this game is looking stunning.

Below is a fantastic gameplay vid taken from TGS that showcases how sweet this game looks with fantastic looking combat. It also shows how the battle can be taken above the ground by hitting the right buttons that appear on the screen in a scripted fashion, similar to God of War only a lot better looking, using the scenery to punish the boss who was foolish enough to take you on:

It certainly looks like Heavenly Sword could be a DMC beater . No seriously. Well maybe not a beater but a game I can cherish alongside DMC4.

To back up my outlandish claims Eurogamer has some new screens & hands on with the build that was at TGS and although they are impressed with the game they still have some reservations that need to be put to rest.

Problems such as a lack of anti-aliasing (a few other PS3 games suffered from this aswell), problems with focus on enemies while the scenery next to them is clear and in focus & a very tight & restrictive camera system. It’s still early days so expect these problems to be fixed before it’s released.

It is apparantley great fun to play which is backed up by the gameplay vids. You can switch between a speed stance (unknown), power stance, which arms you with a big curved blade, & the ranged stance, which arms you with those two chain like weapons, by holding down L1 & R1. You can combine both stances during battle and as there is no block button you have to use your weapons to parry in-coming attacks by timing you moves in accordance with being attacked.

Even more impressive is the fact that any corpses & smashed tables, chairs etc that you leave during battle, can be interacted with as you continue fighting, meaning they don’t just magically disappear into thin air & you can disturb all the debris that has built up while you continue your killing spree.

You’ve all probably seen the clip where Nariko drags a fallen goon towards her with his legs apart and proceeds to give him an old school vasectomy? Well that move is part of her special attacks move list that can be activated once you fill up the on-screen meter. Another special move involves you wrapping your chain weapons around an enemy’s neck while you swing him around smashing him into any of his soon to be ex-friends.

There’s also an interesting interview with HS Producer, Matt Hart, over at DailyGame.net

He talks about the influences that films such as Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and other WuShu Martial Art films have played in the evolution of Heavenly Sword. I love Martial Arts so this is fantastic!!

Ninja Theory has been working on the combat for over two years so it’s not surprising it looks so great. He also gives us some background as to how Nariko came into possession of the Heavenly Sword, the need to make the player feel as though time is constantly your enemy & why the camera won’t be a problem in the finished game & it may even involve SIXAXIS use.

Finally, you can check out the awsome trailer for the game that was at TGS on GameTrailers.

This is definitley a must have game for me even though nothing new of HS has been shown since E3 & I’m confident the problems will be fixed before it’s launched.