Heavenly Sword: Part Deux

[Shifty Geezer]

ok this bugs me, how can u complete the game in 6-8 hours? (ok perhaps u can if youve been practicing for months beforehand, but i assume the 6-8 hours talks about someone whos just picked up the game) is this with cheating enabled?

Often, so I hear, reviewers will play the game with cheats because they haven't time to play it properly all the way through. They've got dozens of games to review. I think we've all experienced games that have taken longer than reviewers would suggest, although in some cases they're accurate, such as ICO. Perhaps there's a rule of thumb to add 30% or something to suggested play times?

 

[Acert93]

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??

I dunno. I think there is a lot of consumer disparity. But the average consumer only buys 11-13 games a generation. They will, on average, rent some games as well.

For many of the "early" adopters value is a factor. Online play, achievement addictions, and the mass consumption of software indicate they want to game. Obviously some gamers aren't like this. I know Nintendo thinks many games are too long and too challenging, so there must be something to back that up.

I think the hurdle is you first need to get the enthusiests and early adopters on board. And I would think most people paying bug dollars for a console intend to spend many hours on it.

- I don't like Sixaxis motion sensing. The implementation here is fine -- there's nothing too difficult such that I couldn't complete a puzzle or destroy the catapults without getting frustrated. However, it's nothing that couldn't be done with analog sticks (and that reminds me, I should look in the options for that feature).

That is a problem, although not a big one in the PS3 situation. Motion sensing doesn't come at the expense of controller functionality (rumble is much more a IP issue). So the fact it can be a lateral move doesn't harm the controller. But implimenting a feature thatn't really an improvement, just different, has room to backfire. Different isn't always better. In some cases, being different but equal can alienate fans of a genre because they have certain expectations.

 

[Acert93]

Often, so I hear, reviewers will play the game with cheats because they haven't time to play it properly all the way through. They've got dozens of games to review. I think we've all experienced games that have taken longer than reviewers would suggest, although in some cases they're accurate, such as ICO. Perhaps there's a rule of thumb to add 30% or something to suggested play times?

Sometimes it is the reverse though. I can whiz through most games faster than most reviewers and I often find their "replay value" awards often skewed for my tastes (mainly they find more value in SP games than I do).

 

[Laa-Yosh]

On difficulty levels... I've played through Brood War recently and I've found it pretty hard. But it has made me good enough so that Warcraft3 isn't really a problem now. On the other hand I've talked to a guy recently who made himself a mini-game for Brood War, just for fun: play through every Zerg mission in 30 minutes :O

 

[djskribbles]

length and replay value are definitely large factors in my purchasing decisions. but if the quality of the game is good enough, i will also purchase it, Heavenly Sword definitely fits in that category. i mean, i finished both God of War games in less than 8 hours but i'm glad i bought them because they were both great games and i know i would play them again later on.

 

[deepbrown]

I dunno. I think there is a lot of consumer disparity. But the average consumer only buys 11-13 games a generation. They will, on average, rent some games as well.

For many of the "early" adopters value is a factor. Online play, achievement addictions, and the mass consumption of software indicate they want to game. Obviously some gamers aren't like this. I know Nintendo thinks many games are too long and too challenging, so there must be something to back that up.

I think the hurdle is you first need to get the enthusiests and early adopters on board. And I would think most people paying bug dollars for a console intend to spend many hours on it.

I don't know if I'm right here - but I don't think renting is very big in the UK. Because online retailers have the ability to lower prices online for games, it seems that a lot of UK gamers buy the game online, and will later sell it without much loss, if any at all. I sometimes do this - but this generation I will be picking the games i really want, no matter how short they are.

I think HS is perfect this time in the PS3's life, because it's something you can show off to your friends with - so it's definately a buy for me.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I've absolutely no stats on the matter, but my feeling is you're right. I don't know of gamers renting in the UK, and Blockbusters et al don't seem to have huge selections of games to choose from. Game prices online, specifically the likes of Play.com sans VAT, have also pushed down prices with high-street retailers and supermarkets. If you shop around, you can normally find a Woolies or Tesco's rivalling the online price without the 2 day delay, and at a reasonable price you're willing to pay.

Who is likely to have investigated and reported different game playing habits in different territories?

 

[deepbrown]

I've absolutely no stats on the matter, but my feeling is you're right. I don't know of gamers renting in the UK, and Blockbusters et al don't seem to have huge selections of games to choose from. Game prices online, specifically the likes of Play.com sans VAT, have also pushed down prices with high-street retailers and supermarkets. If you shop around, you can normally find a Woolies or Tesco's rivalling the online price without the 2 day delay, and at a reasonable price you're willing to pay.

Who is likely to have investigated and reported different game playing habits in different territories?

The thing with this trend in the UK (that I think exists) is that there are far more people buying a certain game, than game sales will show - because second hand gaming (amazon, ebay, play) is very big here. Shame really for the developers.

 

[wco81]

There will probably be a moves list at gamefaqs.com soon enough.

On sequels, I think one popular option would be a co-op online mode and some achievements-like features via Home.

 

[deepbrown]

There will probably be a moves list at gamefaqs.com soon enough.

On sequels, I think one popular option would be a co-op online mode and some achievements-like features via Home.

You can look for this HS for at least achievements in HOME - and PERHAPS some kind of multiplayer (it's been mentioned at least). I think Ninja Theory are going to want to support this game as much as possible, and I'm sure they don't want to let go of it anyway!

 

[wco81]

Well it depends on the sales of course but they spent all this time developing the engine so you would think they'd want to leverage it for more games.

 

[patsu]

Sounds like one of the ranged superstyles to me?

Superstyles work REALLY well in Warmachines

Bro... you don't want to help my Nariko ? do you

(disclaimer) i dont really play games in the last 10 years so dont know how it works now but are curious
the only easy arcade game i know is golden axe which i can remember at the time personally completing on 10 or so credits, which was a shock. im not talking about HS per-se but i see this mentioned with a lot of games, ie they're beatable in Xnumber hours, thus unworthwhile
(/disclaimer)

ok this bugs me, how can u complete the game in 6-8 hours? (ok perhaps u can if youve been practicing for months beforehand, but i assume the 6-8 hours talks about someone whos just picked up the game)
is this with cheating enabled? or is it with a save point (whenever the player wants), thus they can keep on replaying it until they do it with enuf health etc.
from my experience completing a game takes ages (+ im usually pretty good) eg quake3 took ages, esp that prick on the surfboard

Well... all the chapters are put together extremely well. Some GAFfers complained about framerates, but I don't see them during gameplay save 1 instance. The flickering shadows are more noticeable.

Gameplay-wise, I don't want to see devs artificially boost the length by repeating levels (like Halo). The difficulty is also just nice for me to enjoy the game plus a few roadblocks that require concentration, stable hands and/or mind trick. I don't feel the shortness at all. It's like eating my favorite dessert. Every minute is enjoyable.

The final chapter will require true gamer skills. If it's too tough, I will get p*ssed. The entire experience is very pleasant. For people looking for hardcore challenges (gamer "pain") and length, I kindly refer them to Lair -- 13 chapters of exploration, escort, fighting and surviving total chaos

I look forward to follow up extensions online as the devs have mentioned. I see this as a wonderful introduction into their game franchise.

 

[Arwin]

Well I got to playing it, with as predicted my wife watching, though she's been hurting my achievements (well HS version of it anyway ) by encouraging me to run along and avoid a fight where I can in the beginning section because that just makes a lot more sense (and of course she's right, except that this is a game ).

Very happy with how the game turned out. I'm starting to quite love the fighting dynamics ... it's very varied, very potent, and being able to pick stuff up and throw them and control those items does add a fair bit to what you can do. There seems to be some depth in that too, in that if you throw a sword at someone that hurts them more than a table, though I'm not sure.

Game also runs better than the demo, very noticeable. The graphics even seem to have a little more clarity or definition.

Handling the shooting bits turned out harder than I thought. It's partly due to that you have to take some bits of physics still into account, it seems. Like the Cannonball, you can steer it up, but it wants to go down more than an arrow. Also the directions for aiming were counter intiutive for me (the old up vs down thing) but I haven't looked in the options yet.

Am now at the first boss fight, and it's pleasant, though the timed button presses to require you to be very alert, it seems! I've gone into the sequence five/six times and still haven't managed.

 

[patsu]

60fps would mean lesser effects and less time for other stuff though. Seriously, if they have extra resources stashed somewhere, new game option, level, in-game movie capture or even RemotePlay integration is a better investment (IMHO of course !).


Incidentally, one of my favorite mini-games in HS is to use Kai's arrow for spying/sight seeing.

I guide my arrow throughout the level to see enemies and sceneries that are out of my line of sight. That's one of the reasons I like the Kai's level best. The map is huge and intricate, draw distance is great, and I can get there and explore the nooks and crannies too. A+++ ^_^

 

[wco81]

Wow, just saw a STUNNING HS commercial during an NFL game.

It was in HD too!

Nariko surrounded by enemies, swinging that thing around along with some close up cut scenes of her face.

 

[Konrad]

The game is great I just love it. The variation and pace is good. Soundtracka and graphics are top notch except for some screen tearing. I love when you play as Kai, I really got an ICO feeling there. So far I played for 4-5 hours on normal and its challenging and I just started chapter three. So no 6h for me... and I consider my self as an experienced gamer (Ninja Gaiden beeing hard, but not impossible). I would say it's this is autumns first must have title for PS3.

 

[wco81]

Well Warhawk released a couple of weeks before HS.

That sounds like it's a worthy game.

 

[Arwin]

I'm at the second bosssssssssssfight now ... And wow on some of the artwork you can unlock! I've also had a 100 combo or something recently, very fun. I like the fighting. There's a lot of strategy you can do, and it is very good when you are fighting battles against multiple opponents. I think that's where the focus is, on how to fight against groups. I think it's quite impressive how fluently you can mix and match your different styles and how nicely the animation flows from one hit to the other.

I think this game will do well. Generally games with this good graphics are bound to create a buzz, no matter what reviews say. I'm very curious to how it will be received in Japan (it has the required cherry blossom after all ). Remote Play would be great for this game, just so I can show off the graphics at work.

Anyway, thanks for the game! It's plenty long for me, and I like that I can go back and try to get 3 stars on each level. It would be great if you could try the different sections on different difficulty levels once you've finished the game, but I guess you'll have to start back at the bottom with Hell difficulty? That'd be interesting to know.

Anyway, lots of potential in this game also for follow ups, but right now, greatly enjoying myself, and I think this game will do really well.

And I love just watching her in the title screen. How she looks around, sometimes her lips move every so slightly, sometimes she looks directly into the camera, beautiful stuff.

Thanks for showing us the future, Team Ninja! (and nAo, DeanC c.s. in particular of course)

 

[patsu]

Often, so I hear, reviewers will play the game with cheats because they haven't time to play it properly all the way through. They've got dozens of games to review. I think we've all experienced games that have taken longer than reviewers would suggest, although in some cases they're accurate, such as ICO. Perhaps there's a rule of thumb to add 30% or something to suggested play times?

In Heavenly Sword, at least some stages can be completed quickly if you know how to (Hint: Think a little harder). I discovered one accidentally. I believe it's there to save time and difficulty for the casuals. If someone missed the hint, they will have to spend more time fighting heavily armored soldiers (like 5-10 minutes more, may be longer).

It would be great if you could try the different sections on different difficulty levels once you've finished the game, but I guess you'll have to start back at the bottom with Hell difficulty? That'd be interesting to know.

I think you can go back to play selected level right away without starting from the first one.

 

[tirminyl]

I LOVE this game. So fun. Im on the 3rd chapter and am just casually playing my way through. So fun. I am learning the combos and have gotten better with aftertouch. The counters I got down but for some reason I can't get the arial combats going, lol. It's like playing a movie. So epic! Everything about this is just awesome!