A hands-on and impressions for aspects of the game such as boss fights, cutscenes, the story, and the over-all fighting engine (the gameplay). A quote from the preview about the fighting engine: "What's really fun, though, is Nariko's ability to hurl stuff around and control it in midair. Just about anything can be picked up and thrown - discarded weapons, shields, hats, dead enemies - and if you hold down the button when you toss them, you'll be able to guide their slow-motion flight using the Sixaxis' motion controls. This opens up the door for all kinds of fun, whether it's bonking enemies with melons, bouncing a shield between their heads or bowling them over with one of their fallen comrades. It's also key to solving several of the game's puzzles (figuring out how to hit switches with flying shields, for example), and it's how you'll control rockets on the rare occasions Nariko finds a bazooka. We probably don't have to tell you this, but launching high explosives into crowds of sword-wielding baddies is endlessly rewarding."
July 24, 2007 - One of the games many PlayStation 3 owners have been keeping their eyes out for is the upcoming action title Heavenly Sword. Following the tale of Nariko, a heroine wielding a mystical sword that's constantly draining her life, Heavenly Sword is a tale of revenge and survival. At E3, we were impressed that the game featured defensive missions, new characters and additional styles on top of the huge action sequences that the game is known for. As a result of the demo, we couldn't wait to get more time with Nariko.
Two days ago, a site that goes by the name gaminginsider posted a rumor about Heavenly Sword to getting online multiplayer sometime after the game launches.
AMN had the opportunity to speak with Tam Antoniades, co-founder and chief design ninja of Ninja Theory, about their much-anticipated PS3 title Heaven Sword...
"This will be downloadable via the Playstation Network... so keep an eye out for this in the very near future. And I mean very near future!" -Matt Hart
A brief blurb from a talk with Dean Calver, lead programmer which says that there will be a demo on the PSN at some point. The game will also load levels during cut scenes, and hasn't even touched the limits of the PS3's power.
"Sexy Redhead. Huge Sword. Next-Gen!" Your sword transforms into one of three stances by merely holding down the shoulder buttons as you attack. Speed stance is the most technical and good for countering, evading, quick combos and juggling. Power stance is great for block-breaking, blocking heavy attacks and knocking enemies into other enemies. Range stance is good for clearing out large numbers of enemies so that you can focus on the tougher ones and also for deflect arrows and sweeping objects at enemies.
IGN gets another look and updates what is know about Heavenly Sword.
Of all the first-party games on display at Sony's Spring Gamer's Day, Heavenly Sword had the best lighting and shadowing effects of the bunch. Animations, character models, special effects and the overall aesthetics weren't too bad either. Yes, even in its unfinished state, it's quite a beautiful game.
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