Heavenly Sword: Part Deux

[patsu]

What is most amazing for me is lighting. Look at this video. Also, it looks very fun to shoot people. Look how one man was hit in the head. Only problem is when they are hit they are still low lod and looks bad. Rest of the time it looks amazing. I also like how shooting upside down is.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24664.html

Thanks for posting this. The game is lovely ! Looks fun too.
I will definitely play this on multiple difficulty. Can't wait for follow up already

Oh man, I'm still not done with Lair yet, and my Warhawk is waiting for me to open. Anyway, I will get Heavenly Sword day 1.

 

[Nesh]

If I get a PS3 this is definitely a must have for me. Even if it is short. It is a true showpiece of what next gen really is I believe. Short but probably a very memorable experience and this is what counts for me.

How many times did we play longer games that did not add much to the experience most of the time and ended up forgotten? Games such as Omega Boost, Panzer Dragoon, Shadow of the Colossus and Metal Gear Solid were short games but I loved them and I still do. They will remain unforgettable

So length isnt always the decisive factor in cases such as Heavenly Sword. Of course it would have been better if it lasted a bit longer. It managed to get lots of great scores despite the length which really shows how much work has been put into everything else. This could have been a 9+ if it was bigger.

I wonder if the developers had in mind a bigger game but ended up with a shorter game due to budget being absorbed into high production values such as actors etc or due to Sony wanting the game out soon.

 

[cthellis42]

Couple of thousand in that scene, we max in the snow cannon scene IIRC at about ~2800.

Quick question, now that I know you're watching this thread too...

After playing the Stranglehold and Folklore demos, it occurs to me that Heavenly Sword would benefit SO much from a more full-fledged demo.

Who was more instrumental in deciding what to put in, how long, and how? Were there scenes or environs you'd rather have put forth instead?

...is there any chance of getting a SECOND demo out there, with a more appropriate length and the latest engine build?

Sorry if I seem annoyingly intrusive, but I'm really curious about how that kind of stuff comes out. While the demo leaves me waiting for more, I've also been anticipating this title from the BEGINNING and know a lot about it. Basically, all my friends who have not followed it to any extent but just "know about it" (either from myself or website/magazine mentions and such) just feel like they're left high and dry while playing it, and are more turned off than tweaked from it, which is not really what one wants to convey...

 

[Arwin]

I went to the store today, but it seems it's coming a week later now ... pity! Did give me a chance to convert a few more people to motion controls on the motorstorm demo though.

 

[deepbrown]

that was before Amon Tobin did Chaos Theory and I said since. I wasn't saying that it was the first time it had happened either, we can all recall how Trent Reznor did Quake 1 of course (figured I should preempt that). In any case, this is off topic! For that reason I won't be responding to other "challenges" to my above statement

I was just trying to understand what you meant - but yeah I see what you mean. I love Nitin's music as well.

 

[TheChefO]

Gamespot review:

...skilled players will probably finish the game in a little more than six hours, and it probably won't take longer than eight hours for anyone else...

Seems a bit short seeing as though they weren't limited by media and all ...

Perhaps some were right in the thought that media won't be the limiting factor this gen, developer time and money will. Creating enough detailed assets to take advantage of the storage medium will take more time and money than most developers/publishers are willing to risk.

Good to see the glowing reviews coming in on what looks to be a great game.
Congrats Ninja Theory!

I'd rather see a high quality short game than a low quality long one.
I was hoping the gameplay would be closer to NG than GoW though.

 

[Arwin]

I think what made it hard in HS is that they'll have wanted a high standard all across the game, but that as the technology for the game engine progressed, more things were possible here, less there, but in the main, they probably had to work over levels several times more than you'd have to if you knew more clearly what your engine can handle. That may have forced them to cut some stuff out of there, or focus on a smaller amount of content.

Not that it matters to me, I rarely finish games in the first place, and in this case we'll see ... much depends on how much fun it is to replay sections, obviously.

It gets an 8.0 from Gamespot, by the way, and a video review is up. I'm going to watch it now.

 

[Gnerma]

Why must US game retail be so consistently broken? Why is it that every game I try to buy is only truly available for purchase 2 - 3 days after its release date? I am told that the game won't be available for purchase anywhere until tomorrow, the 13th. And of course, thats not when the place opens but sometime during business hours when UPS delivers

Not that it matters to me, I rarely finish games in the first place, and in this case we'll see ... much depends on how much fun it is to replay sections, obviously.

Why would finishing a game depend on replayability of sections? Even moreso why would that be obvious?

I'm so full of questions today, eh? Trust me I'd rather be playing HS if I could get somebody to sell me a BLOODY copy

 

[Arwin]

Why would finishing a game depend on replayability of sections? Even moreso why would that be obvious?

They are only related insomuch as my expectancy for the amount of hours I'll be spending on the game. I'm guessing that if I do finish it, and I still haven't had enough of the game, then if the different sections are fun to replay, the amount of hours I'm going to get out of this game could ramp up considerably. But we'll see.

I'm so full of questions today, eh. Trust me I'd rather be playing HS if I could get somebody to sell me a BLOODY copy

I can sympathise with you, although right now my wife is hogging the PS3 in it's 'DVD with lovely upscaling' capacity. Then again, she'd probably let me play HS because she loved the way the demo looked, and some of these games she likes to watch alongside me.

 

[cthellis42]

Tried calling a bunch of stores around me to see if they got it in early... No dice. *sigh*

 

[ban25]

I just picked it up. They had a stack of copies in at Playstation. Hopefully they'll sell a ton of them!

I'll try to play it tonight if I get some time before heading home.

 

[Daozang]

I was hoping the gameplay would be closer to NG than GoW though.

I'm not sure it's close to either... The combat seems deeper than GOW, but it's not as puzzle heavy and closer to NG in terms of pace, as in combat and then some more combat.

 

[Daozang]

I just picked it up. They had a stack of copies in at Playstation. Hopefully they'll sell a ton of them!

I'll try to play it tonight if I get some time before heading home.

Now I'm jealous... It's coming in Greece on Semptember 19...
Please no spoilers....

 

[Cheezdoodles]

I'm not sure it's close to either... The combat seems deeper than GOW, but it's not as puzzle heavy and closer to NG in terms of pace, as in combat and then some more combat.

Was GoW combat actually deep thought? I kinda did the triple square thingy or triple triangle thingy most of the time and it worked like a charm.

 

[djskribbles]

Was GoW combat actually deep thought? I kinda did the triple square thingy or triple triangle thingy most of the time and it worked like a charm.

yeah, GoW definitely isn't deep. i think thats why its so popular though, because its so easy to pickup and play. the story, visuals and the characters make it a great game. most hardcore gamers that are fans of the TP action genre prefer the more difficult, less hack and slash type games like DMC, NG etc. i think HS (from what i've played of the demo anyway) is right in between NG and GoW if not closer to NG.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

the story, visuals and the characters make it a great game. .

GoW made me feel like playing a epic movie

 

[ihamoitc2005]

Heavenly Sword

Thanks for posting this. The game is lovely ! Looks fun too.
I will definitely play this on multiple difficulty. Can't wait for follow up already

Oh man, I'm still not done with Lair yet, and my Warhawk is waiting for me to open. Anyway, I will get Heavenly Sword day 1.

You are welcome my friend. I saw this video and thought this is great stuff! Now I only need one PS3!

 

[Daozang]

Was GoW combat actually deep thought? I kinda did the triple square thingy or triple triangle thingy most of the time and it worked like a charm.

Well no actually, it wasn't. You could make it deep if you wanted to, but it certainly wasn't required of you, in order to finish the game.
The fact that I used a few more combos while playing didn't make the game deep.
You never had to change tactics (like NG), you could button mash your way to the end. That's why I think (after playing the demo) that HS is somewere in between those two.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I've suddenly had a thought. Ignoring a game's actual length, how much time on average do gamers play a title for? Some of them never finish a game. Some even barely play a few hours before buying the next big hit. Is there a slim possibility that a short 7-hour long title is actually perfectly sized for most gamers habits??

 

[NRP]

I don't know. Personally, I want good games to go on forever. But you may be right about the appropriate game length.

Do PS3 games something similar to Achievements? If so, it would definitely encourage people to finish games (perhaps even multiple times).