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Heavenly Sword
Heavenly sword has been billed as the PlayStation 3’s great hope. The console has suffered a slow start with units struggling to compete with both the Nintendo Wii and the Xbox 360. Part of this is due to Sony’s pricing of their machine and the other is a lack of exclusive ‘killer app’ games. This is where Heavenly Sword steps in. Originally an Xbox 360 exclusive until its parent company went bust the team was rescued when Sony quickly stepped in to continue its development injecting much needed cash and experience.
Heavenly Sword see’s you take the role of Nariko, a descendant from a clan of warriors and guardians of the Heavenly Sword, a weapon with tremendous power to whoever wields it, but at the cost of that person’s life.
The story starts with the death of Nariko and the game is played through a series of flashbacks. Nariko is put in a position where she has no alternative but to use the swords power and the game starts off at her inevitable death.
The story unfolds as you and your weakened clan battle King Bohan and his army. You split from your clan in an attempt to escape with the Heavenly Sword as your clan create a diversion. The game from start to finish is easily the most impressive game the PlayStation 3 has yet seen with production values matching that of Hollywood blockbusters.
The enemies come by the handful as you battle through Bohan’s army and the last scene will see you battle a thousand troopers at once in a last ditch attempt to save your people. There are four bosses to defeat within the game including Bohan himself.
The combat system is mixed with a ‘range stance, a power stance and a speed stance’. Combos can be earned as you progress throughout the game as with ‘super styles’ that can inflict massive damage to enemies.
At its core this game is a ‘hack and slash’ with various neat touches that use’s the six axis controller to control projectiles. The game is rather short and a hardcore gamer would probably finish this within 7 hours of solid play. That is not to say that the game is not value for money, as you are guaranteed 7 full hours of action packed entertainment.
Overall 8/10
Review by William Li
