Sony Gamers Day 2007: Heavenly Sword

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After getting the crap beat out of me by the Heavenly Sword build that kept crashing — I think I lost track after three consecutive Mr. Freezes — I was finally treated to another short and sweet demo of a game that easily could pass as the sexy girl version of God of War for the next generation.

Just about every aspect of this game screams God of War — whether it be the controls, fixed camera or timed-button presses; the lead character just doesn’t have a penis this time, unless she’s one of those. But, would you complain about another chocolate bar trying to be like Hershey or any other quality candy? No, you’d eat that sh*t up just the same. 

Well, I guess the same principle applies to Heavenly Sword. Why try to divert from such a successful formula? Hey, it works for just about everyone else.

Anyway, from the five minutes or so that the demo did last, the game was fairly solid — nevermind the previous crashes that took place before actually being able to play. The combos and moves this scantily-clad warrior are able to pull off are pretty much awesome and, well, off the hook if I may be frank. And the various counters and sword moves … mmmm, delicious.

OVERVIEW

Emotionally charged, stunningly beautiful, and delivering unprecedented dramatic character performance, Heavenly Sword™ showcases the power of PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system.  A dramatic tale of revenge sees Nariko, a fiery red-haired heroine, embark on a quest for vengeance against an invading King and his army. The story builds around the ancient Heavenly Sword, which once belonged to a powerful deity. It can never be wielded by a mortal without it slowly but inevitably draining their life-force.

When the invading King (played by Andy Serkis) destroys the warrior clan that guards the Heavenly Sword, the clan leader’s daughter, Nariko, takes up the sword in a desperate fight for survival.  Nariko must now pay the ultimate price as she embarks on one last mission of vengeance against the King and his army before her life is finally and irreparably overtaken by the omnipotent Heavenly Sword…

Andy Serkis, the world’s leading CG actor, famous for his roles as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” and Kong in “King Kong,” was heavily involved in the creative process.  As well as starring in Heavenly Sword as the villain, King Botan, Andy was a major contributor to the character development, writing, casting, directing and performance capture for the PS3 title.  

Heavenly Sword features a deep, diverse combat experience made possible only on PS3.

KEY FEATURES

The Heavenly Sword – The Heavenly Sword itself can transform into three distinct weapons, each with its own accompanying fighting stance used by Nariko to vary combat styles.
The Combat Engine – The combat engine can scale up from sophisticated one-on-one encounters to one-on-many, where enemies employ intelligent squad-based dynamics, right up to combat against battalions pushing real-time gameplay and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to unprecedented new levels.
Physics-Based Combat – The physics-based combat allows players to sweep debris against opponents, kick tables to halt an oncoming surge of fighters, smash the enemy into the scenery, or throw bodies into other enemies using “aftertouch” controls.
Wide range of Objects & Weaponry – Heavenly Sword provides a wide range of objects & weaponry including rapid fire crossbows and massively damaging bazookas.
Creative in-game Cinematography – Coupled with real-time story evolvement and amazing set-pieces, Heavenly Sword feels like a blockbuster action movie that takes combat gameplay to new heights.
PLAYSTATION®3 – Greater processing power on the PS3 enables more immersive visuals and sound effects in Heavenly Sword, heightening the character performance and combat within the stunningly beautiful environments.


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