This past weekend I picked up one of the more anticipated titles for the PS3 since, well, ever: Heavenly Sword. Prior to this purchase, I was working my way through Ninja Gaiden Sigma. So I thought I'd post some thoughts on the two. First thing I'd have to say is, I've been playing NGS off and on for mmm, probably over a month now and I still haven't finished it. Heavenly Sword? Finished in one day. NGS is probably the most annoyingly difficult game I've ever come up against. HS has been accused of being rather easy (button mashing) and repetitive but I find playing HS much more enjoyable because of the more fun-looking moves that Nariko has. And you don't have to button mash in HS. HS is visually an impressive game, NGS is not bad in that department but nothing too fantastic. The numerous cut scenes in HS are quite good as well particularly the one where the evil King Bohan (modeled by Andy Serkis of LotR fame) is talking to his generals. I can see myself playing HS a couple of more times, NGS, not so much cause getting through it feels like such a chore. HS definitely should have been longer though. And there were two parts of the game that I thought were kinda cool prior to playing the game but which turned out to be not that cool during the game.
First one is that in a couple of parts of the game, there are scenes where the game will flash a particular direction that you need to push the control stick in or a button that you have to press in order to advance. They use this scheme most notably in the boss battles where you have to use it to finish the boss off. The result of successfully following these orders on time is usually Nariko pulling off a visually impressive move. The problem being that, at least for me, once I know that the game has switched into this mode, I just stare at the bottom of the screen waiting for the next command so I can react in time and I miss out on seeing the fantastic moves that Nariko is doing. I sorta see them but I'm usually so amped up on looking for the next command that I can't really enjoy what I'm seeing. Which sucks.
The second part is one fight sequence that's basically a mass battle between Nariko and the invading army. Sounds very cool right? Very Dynasty Warriors-ish. Only problem is that there's just too many people on the screen. Too many bad guys crowding around Nariko that you simply lose sight of her. Now I try not to button mash through this game but in a case like this, you just have to so you can clear out some space to actually see where the hell you are.
And then there are two other cons I have against Heavenly Sword. One is no 360 degree camera control. Your view throughout the game is fixed which in this day and age is pretty lame. Second is the ability to tilt the PS3 controller to control projectiles in flight. Cute concept, not so good execution. Accuracy is way improved if you just use the analog stick so turn off that option if you don't want to be tearing your hair out in the sections where projectile battles are the main focus.
But anyway, those are the only niggling points I have against Heavenly Sword. I personally find it a pretty entertaining game and will most likely wind up playing it more often than I will NGS. It's probably more of a rental though since it doesn't take much time to get through it. But who knows, maybe the Hell mode I unlocked by finishing it the first time through will be more difficult.
Comments (2)
Yeah, been seeing those Heavenly Sword commercials - looks like fun times. I like when she drops into the mess and all of a sudden she's got two like super gigantic swordy things that she goes all Dynasty Warriors with. :)
But finishing in one day? That doesn't seem that good...
Posted by felix | September 23, 2007 10:14 AM
Posted on September 23, 2007 10:14
Yeah the Heavenly Sword itself is pretty kick ass.
Heh, when I bought the game the guy at the store told me that I should play it one hour a day cause otherwise it'd end too quickly. ;-p
Posted by Ben | September 24, 2007 10:20 AM
Posted on September 24, 2007 10:20