As one of the games showcased pre-launch, Heavenly Sword, developed by Brit outfit Ninja Theory, has always been hotly anticipated. However, we’ll admit to being slightly worried about it – it always looked great, but would its sword-fighting gameplay cut the mustard? At last, we’ve got hold of pretty complete preview code and from the moment we popped it into our debug, our worries melted away. There’s no doubt it will be held up as an example of the sort of killer games the PS3 so badly needs when it arrives in the shops in September.
Following various early demos, it seems we obtained an erroneous impression of Heavenly Sword – it looked like an arena-fighting game, in the grand manner of Japanese beat-em-ups, but we saw no evidence of a coherent storyline. In reality, it proves to have a most excellent storyline, with some of the best voice acting, facial animation and motion-capture we’ve ever seen (both Andy Serkis, famed for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and theatrical genius Steven Berkoff have been involved in that). And, more importantly, it boasts pleasingly varied and often innovative gameplay with a beautifully judged learning curve.
For the most part, you play Nariko – a quite astonishingly beautiful and seriously feisty redhead surely destined to generate a sizeable fan-club – daughter of local chieftain Shen and older sister of Kai, a young, child-like creature given to wearing a cat-eared hat and performing cartwheels. Nariko’s sword-skills and gymnastic abilities are the equal of any man’s, while Kai (who you also control at times) 0would give Robin Hood a run for his money at
archery.
The game starts with Shen, Nariko and Kai’s home fort under siege by the evil hordes commanded by King Bohan, a nasty piece of work surrounded by a bunch of mutant sycophants including his huge, dopey son Roach, the reptilian Whiptail and the metal-winged, shaven-headed Flying Fox. Actually, it starts with Nariko dying before flashing back to the siege, but we don’t want to spoil things for you. The siege provides a good means of introducing you to the basics of the control system – combinations of square and triangle produce different attacks. After fighting off the initial wave, Bohan’s full army descends, complete with giant catapults, which introduces another key gameplay mechanic: the ability to launch projectiles and by keeping square pressed and moving the Sixaxis around, to steer them all the way to their target. In the first instance, you’ll be firing cannonballs at the catapults, but the same principle applies to Kai’s arrows, shields and swords that you can pick up and so forth.
Before long, Shen has been captured and Nariko has acquired the Hevenly Sword, an enormous, cursed sword that Nariko can apply in three different ways from three stances. The default being speed, which generates low-strength attacks, but in which Nariko will automatically block incoming attacks (except for unblockable ones, which the game signals by highlighting their perpetrators with a red blur). In her Range stance, Nariko sends blades on chains whirling around her – later, you learn how to use this attack to create mini-whirlwinds. And there’s a Power stance, which is slow, but inflicts serious damage. Health is topped up by smashing special urns; Nariko can pick up pretty much anything and chuck it.
Before long, you’re chaining attacks together, working out the best way to take down different types of enemies (Nariko is a serious fighting machine and can take on loads at a time) and discovering cute touches, such as a great counter-attack, also using the Sixaxis’ motion-sensing capabilities, which lets Nariko embed a chain on a blade into an enemy and kick them off balance. Nariko can evade attacks if you flick the right stick. And when you get on a roll involving landing loads of hits without sustaining any yourself, you’re awarded Superstyle attacks, triggered using the circle button, which are seriously brutal and deeply satisfying.
As well as the fighting, there are levels in which you play as Kai, who has no melee abilities but an unlimited supply of arrows – and you can, for example, fire arrows through flames, then guide them into gunpowder barrels which take out several enemies at a time. There’s plenty of puzzle-solving, too, often involving opening gates (by repeatedly pressing the Action button, X) or chucking objects at gongs. A few also involve hitting prescribed buttons with alacrity.
And, of course, there are some seriously epic, multi-stage boss-battles – the bosses start with their health highlighted in green, which changes orange when you run it down (usually triggering a cut-scene). Then it will change from orange to red, and when you finally remove the last red health, you will have prevailed. Every boss requires a radically different strategic approach.
Heavenly Sword is amazing to behold, seriously addictive, pleasingly original, in that it manages not to feel like any other game you’ve played, demonstrates incredible attention to detail and, in general, is everything we hoped we’d find in a PS3 game. You could say that it’s about time, too – but once you get hold of a copy, you’ll agree that it was worth the wait.
By Steve Boxer
Here’s our interview with Andy Serkis (he of Gollum in Lord Of The Rings fame), with him talking about the motion capture process and his role as King Bohan in Ninja Theory’s Heavenly Sword - a game he also worked on as dramatic director.
Here’s our interview with Sia Tong Man, lead combat designer at Ninja Theory, who tells all about combat systems, game play and core features:
Here’s our interview with Laura Kippax, lead character artist at Ninja Theory, who reveals the processes that were required to bring the unprecedented levels of reality into Heavenly Sword’s leading characters:
Heavenly Sword - I NEED YOU NOW
Comment by GraphIQ — Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:31 am
I can only say one thing… This game is going to be pretty fucking amazing! Can’t wait to slide the BR disc into my ps3
Comment by Sheridans — Aug 12, 2007 @ 9:41 am
What about the framerate? Is it rock solid 30 fps with NO screen tearing? The demo really suffered with both these issues. It also suffered from skipping audio during the QTE moments. Any word on that?
Comment by Crabtree — Aug 12, 2007 @ 10:46 am
Hey buddy, the demo build as old, the devs have stated that all thats been clean up
Comment by Loudninja — Aug 12, 2007 @ 10:48 am
Honestly, how can you say it doesn’t feel like any other game ever made? Judging from the demo, gameplay is just like God of War, only laggy.
Comment by Robert — Aug 12, 2007 @ 11:04 am
I think I’ll wait for an impartial review befoe deciding to buy this. The demo was underwhelming and EGM’s first review (5/10) hasn’t done much to inspire my purchase, unfortunately.
Comment by PAULR — Aug 12, 2007 @ 12:23 pm
For one the combat looks to be deeper and there’s way more enemies and things going on in the battles. Tgose bosses sound dead;y. After watching one of the games eye videos i thought the fight was going to be real short and was proven wrong. 3 bars. Bring it on!
Comment by Wisdom Wanderer — Aug 12, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
It doesn’t look good when a semi official Sony blog reviews a game.
I do think HS looks to be a terrific game, but please don’t review any more games. Leave it to the independent sites.
Comment by Mattias — Aug 12, 2007 @ 12:54 pm
Mattias excuse you?Whats makes there opinion less valid than other sites?
Comment by Loudninja — Aug 12, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
You guys dont have a clue about what a review is.
Comment by Marius — Aug 12, 2007 @ 1:59 pm
i hated the demo,the graphics looked great,but that button bashing nearly had my hand off in the first minute,..hated it with a passion
Comment by metallicorphan — Aug 12, 2007 @ 2:47 pm
there opinion is less valid because i doubt very much they would give it a bad review after all the hype they have given it, ok its probably deserved, but still comes off a bit untrustworthy. still will be buying!
Comment by Ben W — Aug 12, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
you probably hated it because you were button mashing. This is not a button mashing game, it is about using well timed combos and counter attacks. Also, why can’t these guys do a review? What qualifications does someone need to review a game? You guys are so fucking stupid.
Comment by Jay Laudick — Aug 12, 2007 @ 3:19 pm
@Jay & Loudninja
They can of course do a review if they want.
But considering this site is the creation of a marketing company hired by Sony - you understand why some may be skeptical on how unbiased the review is.
I for one will wait for a review from a site that doesn’t have as much to gain from the game’s success.
Comment by shrui — Aug 12, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Loudninja
I know what they’ve said but I want confirmation on this and since Three Speech are actually sitting on a much newer build.. yeah. Developers breaking promises are not that uncommon.
Comment by Crabtree — Aug 12, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
hope all goes well for the Devs, and hope there are no delays for its release…
Comment by spudgun — Aug 12, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
‘well timed combos and counter attacks’
yeah but after you have killed like the first 20 or so people while on that first platform in the demo…it came across as very shallow!!(great graphics or not)…is this the way games expand their gameplay time now?,by just having wave after wave after wave of enemies attack you while hardly moving an inch???…if you like that kind of thing,great,but i dont,sorry
it is good though for PS3 sales,that a game has come out that so many people want,i’m not one to question peoples taste if it gets the PS3 selling a few more consoles,then i’m all for it,LOL
Comment by metallicorphan — Aug 12, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
Beautifully Written article
Smart and Sexy …….Stoked .
L.O.
Comment by Leif Ostlund — Aug 12, 2007 @ 5:21 pm
At least the motion control is optional, and you can set an option to use button presses instead. ^^
Comment by MongooseKun — Aug 12, 2007 @ 5:31 pm
If you didn’t like the demo and thought it was merely a “button pusher” then you must have been terrible at the game. The “mashing of the buttons” were all about timing and executing combos….dumb people should be kicked out of the gaming world…shew..
Comment by Ty — Aug 12, 2007 @ 8:00 pm
Every fighting games are buttons smashers. In fact, there’s not that many games that are not buttons smashers. It’s a console after all, and the only thing to do is to pretty much smash buttons or twist those joysticks out of shape.
But HS has something else that make me want it on first day… Maybe it’s just the fact that Nariko is so much alive. Or maybe it’s just that they made it different (auto block as an exemple) and this appeal to some very far part of my brain. Could simply be those cutscenes. But basically, this game still raise above the top for me. Maybe it’s subliminal images inserted in the demo. Played both God of War, and this is so far ahead. Bring it to me : )
Comment by real gambler — Aug 12, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
Thanks for the spoiler, (about Nariko)probably in your feverish salivating over the red haired bird you forgot that other people might want to find out the plot for themselves. and another thing is it really a review you don’t seem to have the full game “we have most of the preview code”.
Comment by pb — Aug 12, 2007 @ 8:36 pm
Looking forward to this game. Thanks for the review — and I hope you were joking about Nariko dying; if not, that’s so lame of you guys lol!
Comment by FloProjek.com — Aug 13, 2007 @ 12:43 am
The argument that Threespeech ins’t a valid review might have been somewhat understandable if it wasn’t for the fact that everyone reviewing it is giving it rave reviews and 10/10 ratings and such. I was at the last E3 and HS walked away with more awards then anything there and was nominated for a dozen more.
The version these reviewers are playing are a more finalized version and even known 360 knob slobbing sites are giving this game great reviews. The game when it comes out will speak for its self and I have seen the more finalized version running.
Couple last comments to the people making retarded statements.
1. This game does not play like God of War or a button masher. It has similarities yes but if you try to button mash one or two combos the whole time you will only get to far(that may be fine for the short demo but not in the full chapter that these gaming review sites have played. Ya see, the AI will recognize if you start using the same stance all the time or the same combo and change its tactics to counter that stance or combo. Contrary to what some people claim, the enemies will rush you when you get cornered and take advantage of the situation, not just stand in a circle and wait. They attack in groups sometimes yes..but if a crazy woman with a giant supernatural blade was about to kick your ass with a trail of dead bodies behind her, don’t you think you would wait for you’re homies to join in before you tried to take a crack at her. In that sense it is rather realistic.
2. Do some research on the human eye and frame rates. The actual frame rate has less to do with fluid graphics then you think. The human eye has been proven to pick up images at 200 fps at least and the brain can discern what that image is from an after image(google it if you don’t believe me, fighter pilot test’s and how many fps can the eye really pick up). They don’t know how many fps the eye can actually pick up before it maxes, so what do you expect them to do make a game that runs at 1080p and over 300 fps before your happy. What it boils down to is, you can program the visuals to look a certain way with a low framerate and look incredibly smooth(hence motion pictures run at a far lower frame rate then most games and look very fluid) but has alot to do with programming blurring in certain areas but then that makes people think there is less detail. Blurring helps the illusion of fluidness but takes away from detail. So you will have one or the other…High detail and the impression of a lower frame rate or Lower detail and the impression of higher frame rate. Honestly people just need to stfu and relax, if developers could make every game run with so many fps that your eye couldn’t pick it up and have insane detail they would and programmers are still trying to learn how to maximize the Cell.
3. Say what you will but Heavenly Sword as a whole looks and plays far more impressive then anything to hit a console to date. Never has there been such motion capture, voice acting, graphical, cinematic, AI, streaming and musical quality in a console game yet. When the game releases it may have its flaws here and there but what game doesn’t(no game is perfect…gears of war had major slow down in parts and tearing and freeze ups but you didn’t hear anyone complain). The game as a whole is what you have to look at. People pick one or two things out and say that a game is worthless because of a few flaws but if Jessica Alba was sitting on your lap saying “I want you inside me”, would you really be saying “yeah shes hot but she has a small mole on her arm so ill pass on the vertical mambo.
Just enjoy the game for what it is, and its gonna be great.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 13, 2007 @ 4:16 am
[…] Full review: Threespeech.com […]
Pingback by Play-Beyond.NET » Blog Archive » Three Speech Heavenly Sword Review: ‘Amazing, Addictive, Original’ — Aug 13, 2007 @ 4:31 am
Who says you stay in one inch without barely moving? Well move around and just dont stand there like a mute,learn the combos(there bad azz),and have fun instead of mashing buttons (that wont get you far in the game,so you better learn the moves).Wnen you pull off the combos(especially the air ones),it’s exciting and gives a very rewarding feeling.
It’s not just waves of enemies,it’s groups and at times 1 on 1′ situations. Combat with nariko
is not the entire game,as there are other gameplay elements wich i have heard no complaints about.
Comment by Peter North — Aug 13, 2007 @ 6:02 am
[…] ThreeSpeech Reviews Heavenly Sword […]
Pingback by PS3Blog.net » Blog Archive » ThreeSpeech Reviews Heavenly Sword — Aug 13, 2007 @ 8:40 am
@peter north comment 26
glad to hear there will be other gameplay elements…when you say move about though,..where?…you’re on a platform!!
@ TY comment 20
thats the worse comment i have heard,the only dumb people who should be kicked out of the gaming world is you!!
just because i didnt like the game,doesnt mean i cant do it …the damn demo was over in less than 5 minutes
anyway,i told you the way i saw the game was you got to the platform,enemies attack you,you pull of combo after combo,harder enemies attack you,with the hard hats,lol…you pull of combo after combo…you finally get off the platform…
more enemies,you pull combo after combo…..and then the door opens and more enemies….(which is where the demo stopped)
i maybe jumping the gun here,but let me guess…..with these new enemies will it be combo after combo?
so,yeah i am sorry that this isnt my kind of game,i am sorry that i am the only one on here who didnt like it…but is it that big a deal?…there are plenty of people who do like the game
Comment by metallicorphan — Aug 13, 2007 @ 11:59 am
PAULR, I’m pretty sure EGM scores for this game are not out yet, you’re probably thinking of Lair, that got 5.5 average in EGM.
Comment by my name — Aug 13, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
HSFTW
You must live in an alternate universe then as the last time I checked HS didn’t win any awards at E3 - www.gamecriticsawards.com/winners.html
Comment by Strawdog — Aug 13, 2007 @ 3:33 pm
Oh come on - a ‘review’ of a PS3 game? Here? Heavenly Sword may indeed be great but how could anybody think a Sony blog is the place to get impartial reviews of Sony products?
Comment by fnordbot — Aug 13, 2007 @ 3:41 pm
http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/
Sony site cannot review Sony game.
Are you all on crack?
Comment by Jeebus — Aug 13, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
This game will be fantastic.
Lair also is fanstastic.
All PS3 games are fantastic.
There are no good games on any other system.
Everything Sony does is an unqualified success.
Comment by YesMan — Aug 13, 2007 @ 5:19 pm
As well as the fighting, there are levels in which you play as Kai, who has no melee abilities but an unlimited supply of arrows – and you can, for example, fire arrows through flames, then guide them into gunpowder barrels which take out several enemies at a time
Uh oh…sounds shit..
Comment by Basil Brush — Aug 13, 2007 @ 6:11 pm
so you think that this site can’t write about sony products ?! yeah right it should write xbox reviews.
Comment by kra — Aug 13, 2007 @ 7:20 pm
@Loudninja: Because this is a Sony site. Therefore it has no credibility ´when it comes to reviews.
Comment by Mattias — Aug 13, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
Yes they didnt win any awards lol..tool bag. I cant find every one that they won or were finalists in but here are some that they won came very close to winning or nominated and any of thoes categories is impressive. Some other then e3 are added in to.
2007 Game Critics Awards - Nominated - Best Action/Adventure
http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/nom-stats-2007.html
IGN - Winner - PS3: Best of E3 2007 Awards - Best Action Game
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/806/806927p1.html
IGN - Runner Up - PS3: Best of E3 2007 Awards - Best Artistic Design
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/806/806927p5.html
IGN - Nominated - Overall Best of E3 2007 Awards - Best Action Game
http://games.ign.com/articles/806/806770p1.html
IGN - Nominated - PS3: Best of E3 2007 Awards - Best Artistic Design
http://games.ign.com/articles/806/806770p5.html
GameSpot E3 2007 Editors Choice Award - Finalist - Best Action Adventure Game
http://www.gamespot.com/special_feat…nre/index.html
GameSpot E3 2007 Editors Choice Award - Finalist - Best PS3 Game
http://www.gamespot.com/special_features/editorschoicee307/platform/index.html?page=3
Here are some more things it won.
Next-Gen’s Top 20 Playable Games of E3 - Number 1!!!
GamePro’s Top 20 games - Number 1!!!
Gamespot’s People’s Choice Awards -
IGN E3 Award for Technological Excellence - Winner -
IGN E3 Best Artistic Design - Winner -
Meristation E3 Best PS3 Game - Winner -
GameDaily E3 Nod Award -
GameZone - BEST OF SHOW (Overall) -
Game Critics Awards - Best Fighting Game -
IGN E3 Best Action Game - Runner up -
IGN E3 Best Graphics - Runner up -
IGN E3 Game of the Show - Runner up -
GameSpy Best of E3 2006 - Top 10 Console Game -
So hold on lets read that one again????
Best of E3 2007 what??
“Best Action Game:
Heavenly Sword
Developer: Ninja Theory
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: September 4, 2007
Fear not, gamer, Heavenly Sword isn’t just arena battles. Sure, the game featuring a foxy redhead named Nariko cutting bad guys to bits has always looked cool, but secretly, we feared this game was turning into a one-trick pony. At E3 we got to defend our fortress from waves of advancing enemies, flaming barrels and kamikaze jerks and go up against a massive boss packing deadly swords and killer defenses. Pwned, fears.
Did we mention we also saw the introduction of a brand new playable character? That’s right, now you can play as Kai, Nariko’s sister, and take out enemies with a crossbow. Oh, and the game still looks great on a purely visual level. The fourth can’t get here fast enough, slice-and-dice fans.”
Runners up: Drakes Fortune and Ratchet and Clank
Here is the link to it http://ps3.ign.com/articles/806/806927p1.html
But yeh it didnt win any awards over the past 2 e3’s lol just stfu
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 13, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
Strawdog you relize that just one place gamecritics..other people give awards at e3 lol
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 13, 2007 @ 9:13 pm
I really hate it when fanboys go allout on stats to prove a point - fighter pilots and frame rates? Who gives a shit. The game as choppy in places with v-sync issues - I don’t need a lecture to tell me that it was’nt. As long as these issues are fixed, I’ll buy the game. Simple
Comment by Stop chatting sh*t! — Aug 13, 2007 @ 10:38 pm
In other news ….. Major Nelson says that Halo 3 will be “amazingly super!”
Comment by Krusty313 — Aug 13, 2007 @ 11:40 pm
Awardlessness = pwntage!
Go Cutlack!
Comment by Jeebus — Aug 14, 2007 @ 2:38 am
Wow. PlayStation fanboys really are the stupidest of the lot aren’t they?
To buy the PS3 (which has literally no games to play on it) is one thing.
To then defend a game they’ve never played is quite another.
However, they top things off by refusing to understand that Sony can’t possibly have an objective opinion of its own products.
This site is part of SCE’s marketing drive
SCE’s marketing department’s message is: “HEAVENLY SWORD IS A VERY GOOD GAME YOU SHOULD BUY IT!”
How anyone can think these messages will differ ever is astounding really. This site will say every PlayStation product is brilliant.
IT’S THE SITE’S JOB TO SAY ONLY THAT.
*claps*
Comment by Jeebus — Aug 14, 2007 @ 2:43 am
I have played it Jeebus. And it is more then just this site saying its good.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 14, 2007 @ 4:24 am
I play the playstation 3 Demo and it was good alot like god of war but not as good still i have this one reserve is just a short demo so i know it would get better as you progress on the game one other thing the sordiers just stand around waithing for me to attack them almost like taking turn getting kill i hope they work that out.
Comment by Cesar — Aug 14, 2007 @ 5:11 am
EVERY site is praising Heavenly Sword… so it has nothing to do with this site being associated with Sony.
And having played the demo for myself, I can say that ANY fan of action games will love this one! It has the deepest combat system of any action game I’ve ever played… Ninja Gaiden & God of War included… and manages to feel different than any other I’ve ever played as well.
Anyone still comparing this game to God of War hasn’t actually played it. It feels like playing some over-the-top Hong Kong action flick… like you’re actually playing the character in a movie, it’s awesome & very cinematic.
Comment by Nigel — Aug 14, 2007 @ 7:25 am
I’ve read Steve Boxer’s journalism elsewhere and I’m not convinced he’d lie here, just because this is a Sony centred blog. My feeling is that Three Speech isn’t always positive about Sony products/releases but either way, the reviews worked for me because I learnt a lot more about the game. And this is by no means the only place saying good things about HS….
Comment by Makem 2 — Aug 14, 2007 @ 7:44 am
Um, i thought the uk resistance chappy worked for the official Xbox mag???
Comment by Raitzi — Aug 14, 2007 @ 7:53 am
point 1:i think that what some of you guys are forgetting, is that this is written via a collaborator on this site.ie. no different than you or me…
point 2:there was no ’spoiler’ everyone whos been keeping up with HS knows that nariko is killed at the beggining..its called a ‘plot device’
;)
Comment by seedaripper1973 — Aug 14, 2007 @ 8:47 am
@HSFTW comment 37
Okay so that’s one award they won at E3 2007 - they managed to win an award for the best game on the PS3 and given the huge amount of competition that really is a great achievement….. Almost as great as receiving a good review on a Sony sponsored blog.
@HSFTW comment 38
Gamecritics represents some of the biggest players in the industry (including IGN - http://www.gamecriticsawards.com/judges.html) and gives the best overall impression of what games the industry currently highly rates. Check out their judging panel before dismissing their results.
Considering that Heavenvly Sword is so close to release you would expect it to pick up more awards this year than it did in 2006 but it didn’t, it won a single award and that was platform specific. This indicates to me that given the current competition in the marketplace Heavenly Sword isn’t really that special anymore.
But hey if you don’t want to trust the opinion of a whole gamut of industry professionals, who have seen and played the latest builds of the game, and instead rely on very early previews, from over a year ago, and further backup your arguements with insults to compensate for your lack of eloquence then feel free.
Comment by Strawdog — Aug 14, 2007 @ 9:37 am
Anyone with an ounce of common sense should know to take a review from a semi-official site with a pinch of salt - regardless of the author’s background.
Anyone writing a review they know is going to end up on a semi-official site is going to have the audience they’re writing for - in this case semi-literate PS3 fanboys - on their mind.
Forget the content of the review, it’s the principle that counts.
As for HS itself, admittedly I’ve not played it, but from reading the review, and having been playing computer games my whole life, it has the potential (let’s not forget the review was based on an unfinished product, another rant in itself) to be a solid story-driven hack ‘n’ slash that PS3 owners have had to wait far too long for.
All this shouting about it playing like nothing else ever before seen ever needs to stop - if the industry is to progress, games players should expect nothing less than an original experience from a new game on a next-gen platform.
I’m just glad it’s a PS game people are buzzing about, that isn’t endorsed by WWE, or doesn’t involve shooting people in gang-related urban warfare to the accompanyment of hip-hop.
Bravo Sony, bravo - you’re half a step closer to learning that games players have the capacity to immerse themselves in a violent, dangerous world that looks different to the one we’re in when the console is switched off.
Now where do I hit that bad guy to inflict massive damage…?
Comment by Gonuts — Aug 14, 2007 @ 11:58 am
this will be a great game, but I wont get it, because I dont have so much money for a PS3 game, I have to save up for my studies…
Comment by konnichi — Aug 14, 2007 @ 6:06 pm
I realize what there judging panel is Strawdog, it still doesn’t change that fact that they are only one source there are dozens of other sites, magazines etc, that gave and or giving HS awards and good reviews. It is also not odd that it wouldn’t get as many awards befor release, the biz right now is manly 360 fans in the US and are expected to promote anything Microsoft and downplay Playstation. Xbox fans are threatened by this game because it is starting to show the gap in quality that Microsoft cant close, why do you think so many people on gametrailers and other sites have posts with “Xbox360luver” tags trash talking the game non-stop. Yeah those aren’t in anyway bias slams towards the game. I own a 360 as well and they have some great games(and right now more then the ps3) but if you look at games like Gears of War, that game has major slowdown screen tearing in parts and when it first came out would just not load textures at some points and completely freeze up others. But you dont see people with “PeeEssthree4life” tags bashing that or anyone mentioning the flaws in that and why? Because all the reviewers nowadays are on the xbox bandwagon. They also never say anything about the fact that the Wii is outselling them all and the PS3 is indeed outselling xbox worldwide just not in the us alone. Asia hates American crap and Bill Gates even more. Funny thing is the ps2 is outselling them all, they have a bigger library then all of them and it is cheap. Not to mention that they are still making good games like the newest Final Fantasy and God of War 2 just to name a few, don’t believe me…. http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=64688.
I played the E3 demo and it was far more impressive then anything else they had there that was playable. If you read any websites preview of the full 2nd chapter not one of them will trash talk the game and only state they “cant wait to get there hands on the final game in September”.
I am not disputing the fact that a review on a semi-official site isn’t bias but what about Microsoft? Do you realize how many sites and magazines and production companies are on there pay roll..allot. Look at G4. If you really want to get down to it, real gamers don’t listen to reviews in order to play a game because you can never be sure if it is un-bias anymore. Try playing a game yourself instead of havening some guy behind a desk tell you what you will enjoy by playing an old build of a demo or something. Reviews are notoriously false anywhere you read them because everyone has different taste’s in games and I am surprised anyone still pays attention to them anymore.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 14, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
These conspiracy theories are getting way out of hand!
Why do people have this strange concept that there are loads of people employed simply to downplay the PS3 at every given opportunity? There’s no proof of this!
Not to mention that it is weird!
Each console is always going to have its fanbase, and each of them is going to slag off each others ware in comments threads like this. Get over it or grow up and look outside your bubble.
All you’re doing is ranting on about a little box that sits under your TV. Just enjoy what you’ve got! Try playing a game you wouldn’t normally play. Dare i say it… try another console sometime….?
Comment by Arthur The Magnificiant Squirrel — Aug 14, 2007 @ 11:51 pm
[…] Does Sony want to show people that they have games to go toe-to-toe with the 360 this year?� They should release these demos soon (and for that matter, extend the Heavenly Sword demo if it’s really as good as they say it is). […]
Pingback by A Link to the Future » Blog Archive » Where are the PS3 Demos? — Aug 15, 2007 @ 12:09 am
I own both and I stated that, and I work in the gaming industry so for a fact I can tell you that it is not a conspiracy theory. I have had members of my staff asked to downplay certain games on both side of the fence. Look at the music industry..few years ago do you remember the whole group of recording companies, radio stations and tv shows that where arrested and prosecuted for taking bribes and giving certain artists more playtime and making false statements about a song being the number one voted song etc. If you want proof just watch G4 and sit in amazement as they make statements about games and systems that are not even close to correct. The other day they said the PS3 is still $600 and that they have no big games coming out in the fall -_-. Not to mention the fact they obviously read from cue cards telling them what to say about games half the time since they get names of main characters wrong all the time. It is no different in the gaming world and any world were money is in play. And to clear something up
I wasn’t saying that the ps3 is the only one singled out, I was stating that they both lie, cheat and use other means to popularize there games so people should, like you said “play a game they wouldn’t normally”, or play a game and make the choice yourself instead of listening to a review that is 90% of the time bias in one way or another.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 15, 2007 @ 12:21 am
HSFTW.
Firstly i wasn’t singling your comment out, i was making a general statement. You do seem to want to take everyone on for some reason.
Secondly i think you’re wrong, I think the likes of G$ simply feel that way. I too have worked in the industry and i’ve seen companies pay for certain things to happen. However nothing to this level, its just not going to happen. G4 probably believe that there aren’t any big games coming out for the PS3 in the fall. Compared to the hpye generated for Halo 3, Metroid 3, etc they’d be right to say so! After glancing at internet stories today i fail to see any PS3 games getting the same interest and hype.
Thirdly i am choosing not to believe that you do work in the industry. If you do then its likely you work in a shop. Anyone can come on here and write anything. Hey i’m LL Cool J by the way.
Comment by Arthur The Magnificiant Squirrel — Aug 15, 2007 @ 10:55 am
Heh, work in a shop nice one lol, I am a concept artists actually but whatever chief, believe what you want to..if you want to live in your own little reality where halo 3 is going to be the only big seller this fall then by all means have fun. I would say though, don’t underestimate the popularity and selling power of Warhawk, Lair and Heavenly Sword for starters. Those three titles come out all within a week of each other so far and others are suspected to release closely after.
So answer me this? Since you are in the industry…do you believe the amount of hype Halo 3 is getting right now is warranted or good for the game? And I would say that HS probably has had more hype going on about it and certainly for a long long time, which is partially the reason some people are bashing it, they believe it is over hyped just like Halo 3 is looking to be. Halo 3 is great dont get me wrong but it doesnt really bring anything new to the table in terms of ..well…anything, its just a new story. The graphics it is pushing are good but nothing groundbreaking. Another thing, Halo is not going to sell nearly as good outside of the US. Asia does not buy microsoft anything ..really just american anything and most other regions do the same. Microsoft is only out selling there competitors in the US, worldwide it is getting stomped by PS3 and wii and if you count the fact that the ps2 is outselling the 360 as well you can just say sony is stomping them in general behind the curtains of the next gen war.
So you think the maybe 3 big selling games on a mostly US owned system will outsell the at least 3 big selling games on a worldwide owned system? And that is just what has tentative release dates supposedly more are supposed to be releasing shortly after this fall. I mean I am guessing your a big fan of Xbox and so you don’t understand how anticipated Heavenly Sword and Lair are in the gaming world because your still in that fantasy world you live in were Halo 3 is going to be the only big seller and we will see what happens in Q4.
Is this the part were I say, in like manner I choose not to believe you work in the industry either, because really by your knowledge of the upcoming games this quarter I cant help but see that you do indeed work…as a file clerk in a corporate building for Gamestop. Your knowledge is stunning.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 15, 2007 @ 12:01 pm
“There’s plenty of puzzle-solving, too, often involving opening gates (by repeatedly pressing the Action button, X) or chucking objects at gongs.”
I hope someone writes a FAQ on ‘opening doors by pressing X and hitting gongs with objects’, because I don’t think my brain’s ready for such mind-bending logic puzzles.
Comment by Xavier — Aug 15, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
I totally agree that other semi/fully official sites are guilty of biased reviewing. I laughed out loud the last time I flicked through the review section of Nintendo Magazine.
It doesn’t excuse anything, though. It’s the principle of the thing - but I think debating editorial impartiality here would be too far off topic.
On another note, would someone explain to me what the Halo series has brought to gaming that hasn’t already been seen before, please?
Some friends and I were sitting around talking about this, and we couldn’t come up with anything.
I can accept that what it does, it does very well, but I don’t find anything exceptional about it.
Comment by Gonuts — Aug 15, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
HSFTW i dont know why you’ve decided that I am a big XBox fan, and I dont know what has got your goat either. You write and act like a child.
I understand the power behind these three titles that you mention and NO i do not believe they have gained anything NEAR the hype generated for Halo 3 and i dont believe the three combined will generate the same sales either.
Halo 3 is bringing many new things to the table. There are fantastic articles available that show this. They’re using the horsepower to get more of the characters on screen. They’re making the online experience one of the best ever. The engine has been upped slightly since Halo 2 to accomodate what they wanted to achieve. Its not a shiny pretty game like Gears of War and it wasnt meant to be. People should be learning that is the case with some games - they’re not all trying to be stunning. Just appealing with incredible gameplay.
Don’t get me started on games like Lair and Warhawk. They look dull and don’t bring anything new to the table themselves. I cringe when i think of the Warhawk demo at last E3.
Gonuts, Halo has brought an immersive story and the fun factor back to the first person genre that was lost with Goldeneye. The first title was just that, really good fun to play. I remember playing it for the first time, sitting in awe as the world opened up in front of me - riding around on that warthog. I remember the nights of playing Halo 2 online. It was fun and i am looking forward to that again. That sense of fun, awe and wonder. These things are rarely seen in games these days and only stand out in titles like Metal Gear, GTA, Zelda, Resident Evil etc. I’m hoping that there will be something on the PS3 that will shine for it i really do. I don’t want it to fail, there is no need for that - the market would be bland. I do think that a lot of people here today are hoping that each new games announced will be the console’s Halo, and it certainly won’t be Killzone 2. It could be Heavenly Sword! I hope it comes i really do.
This conversation is getting dull now. Its not interesting and we’re going over the same rubbish. I’m not an XBox fanboy, i am a videogaming fanboy and i like playing games. DECENT games. As i’ve said before i dont defend a company because i feel i should and its a shame that you do.
Comment by Arthur The Magnificiant Squirrel — Aug 15, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Wow, you just sound even more stupid each post. My point was that Hype is not necessarily good. And your argument about Halo is just ridiculous. For me, the first one was great the second was good now its the same thing on a next gen console and they haven’t changed anything significantly. The multi-player beta is very dull, console shooters just aren’t very good in the first place. Look at The Darkness, now that was a shooter but with a ton of originality and innovation in the way they went about it. And the finished product was a completely new spin on shooters with a definite jump in graphics etc etc. Halo has absolutely no innovation, it is basically halo 2 with slightly up-ed graphics.
Who knows what will sell more world wide, Halo WILL sell alot you can tell by the pre orders but PS3 fans have been waiting for the first really big game and Heavenly Sword is it. You saying that thoes games wont sell big show exactly how much you don’t know about them and is just your opinion. I think I could saftley say that at least 80% of PS3 owners worldwide will buy Heavenly Sword within the first month of its release. And my example with Halo 3 wasn’t to rate them side by side I was simply saying that the Hype for that game is insaine because of the first two and it isnt really deserved and could maybe be very bad for it just like it could be really bad for HS. But since you want to rate them next to eachother lets do that.
This is my opinion…and you cant really compare them since they don’t even come out near each other and they arent the same genre but since you say that Halo is like this gift from the gods and has such an innovative story and immersing gameplay lets look at them side by side.
Graphics: Halo: Good Graphics(nothing groundbreaking and slightly upgraded from Halo2). Nice work on getting more players on screen in Multiplayer.
Heavenly Sword: The farthest jump in graphical quality on a console to date. 2000 enemies on screen at once and fightable all with there own AI routines. The difference in looks between older gen games of the same genre ike God of War 2 and Devil May Cry is enormous. This is the first time they have actually fully captured performances and with around 5 people acting on stage at once. Simply the Motion capture has never been done to this quality in any game ever and even WETA the big dog of Mo-Cap had never done anything of this scale hey stated. Andy Serkis actually said they had to make a stage specifically for Ninja Theroy and this project and that it was all new things they were doing and much more detailed in terms of sheer scope then things like his work as King Kong and Gollum. Lighting is excellent with great wrapping around character models and the character models are far more detailed then anything to date if you know anything about character model development you can understand that. The list goes on and on.
Sound: Halo: So far it is pretty good and the first 2 games were excellent in this area.
Heavenly Sword: There over 10 gigs of just sound fx in this game, around 3 and a half hours of Nitin Sawhney’s original score composed for the game and 4,500 lines of dialog professionally done by the actors at WETA and other very well known voice actors,try putting that on dvd9. Reference link http://www.developmag.com/tutorials/28/Heard-About-Heavenly-Sword
Story: Halo: Halo has had some great story telling in previous games and especially for a shooter(i personally think the story was better in the darkness in terms of shooters but then again that was wrighten by top cow so thats not really fair)and I am sure the story will bring the halo series more story line in the same quality as the previous titles from what I have seen so far.
Heavenly Sword: There is over 3 hours of cutscene’s done in real time with camera work to tell this story that people are calling bland lol, that is more then most movies you see in the theater. Professional actor Andy Sirkus is not just one of the voice actors and the motion capture guy for the king, he worked along side the writers to create a cinematic experience not seen in a game before. I am not one to listen to reviews and really thing twice of them but if you do you will notice that every review and preview says the story may at first look simple but is not the case. They go on to say hat the story has many twists and turns and that it unfolds at a perfect pace and done in a quality never seen befor in a game. They have also said things like “the way they build on the characters is so good you actually start caring about the villians in a way”.
AI: Halo: About the standard and in multiplayer it doesn’t really apply.
Heavenly Sword: Adaptive AI, if you spam the same combo over and over or try to use the same stance the enemies will learn and start using certain strats to counter that combo and stance. The way they have gone about actually getting a great AI for so many enemies on screen is this…enemies are grouped in to groups when they are very far off in the distance and as they move closer and closer to you they break into smaller groups until they are all on there own single AI routine, thats innovation. Similar things have been done but never to this level.
Innovation: Halo: Absolutely nothing new that hasn’t been done and better already. Just new weapons and new maps…your shooting people in single player to a good story and your shooting people in multiplayer with nothing.
Heavenly Sword: This part would just be saying all the other parts over again. I mean the innovation of the art designers and concept artists are just phenomenal the combat system is amazingly in depth and builds tons on previous combat systems of the same genre or any genera really, it would blow most fighters away with the sheer depth and combo list. The combat system was designed to be the best one vs one system they could make then branch out from there. So In almost every area you can look at HS is doing new things, it may not be perfect in areas but no game is but they are doing things nobody is right now. Another thing about Innovation and originallity, if you thing this is a God of War clone then do some research…Heavenly Sword has been in development since before 2003 when it was an xbox exclusive and then they scrapped it and started over on next gen, God of War 1 came out in 2005. Microsoft didn’t want it and its a good thing to because it wouldnt have been half the game it is now. The sheer size wouldn’t fit on a DVD and they have said they wanted to make it cross platform but the xbox couldn’t handle the streaming , AI and Aftertouch for starters. I wish that it would run on Xbox because I enjoy unlocking achievements and such but i would much rather take the game length instead.
So all in all I think Halo will outsell Heavenly Sword just because of sheer fan base but Heavenly Sword will be around longer now since it is a trilogy and the other two have been righten already and will only get better as they learn more secrets about the cell. And really I think HS offers much much more in the way of an original experience and getting to see truly new steps being taken in gaming. So Squirrel, go ahead and dispute everything I say but you know I have valid points. So jock you’re system that has you pay money for obsolete technology then offer to give it to you at an inflated price then make it standard so they screw both parties. http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/08/09/normal.xbox.360.with.hdmi/
Comment by hsftw — Aug 15, 2007 @ 10:13 pm
I didn’t like this demo either. The gameplay is extremely tedious, endlessly hacking your way through identical enemies with moves that slightly differ from each other is just boring.
As for the puzzle solving!? Does it qualify as this?
Pressing X loads of times to open a gate is not puzzle solving, neither is hitting a gong or finding a key.
The sections where you go Kai or whatever her name is sound rubbish. No doubt stealth sections (They’ve never been done before have they) whilst firing arrows through fire every now and again.
I’ve also watched a 5 minute video of the in-game gameplay of a different section and the entire 5 minutes was spent having to (surprise surprise) endlessly hack through masses of identical enemies using combos slightly different from each other.
All these elements have been done to death many times over.
I won’t be buying this game, especially at the price they ask for them nowadays.
Corporate greed,stupidity and unoriginality are killing and will kill the gaming industry.
Comment by Tony Capone — Aug 16, 2007 @ 12:15 am
@hsftw - comment 61
You do like to cherry pick your information - the dialogue audio for Heavenly Sword is in 11 different languages and is uncompressed so trying to say you couldn’t have this game on DVD9 because you wouldn’t be able to even fit the audio onto the disc is very disingenuous.
Comment by Strawdog — Aug 16, 2007 @ 10:05 am
I’m tired of responding to you. I wish you could talk like an adult instead of throwing childish insults at me and calling me stupid. I’m not sure its even worth responding but i’m going to attempt it anyway.
Please understand my point i am trying to deliver. Halo 3 isn’t supposed to be a graphical wonder. It is about FUN. You can argue about its innovations till the sun comes down, you ignored everything i said about it before and decided to rate the game on the typical old fashioned magazine stance. This DOESNT apply anymore, not in this generation where the Wii is also taken into consideration too.
To say that Heavenly Sword may be around longer may well be true, but you dont know that. The Halo franchise is huge now and will continue to be throughout time. Why else would Peter Jackson be so interested in it? Because of the universe, it is huge.
I think you’re making the wrong comparisons here, and it is mainly fueled by some strange anger.
I respect Heavenly Sword and it does look like a great game and it can only sell as well as the PS3 base is, same with the other games. Add to that the size of peoples wallets and you’ll find that not everyone can afford three “hit” titles this holiday.
I’m not even sure what argument you’re fighting for now. I think my original point was just to appreciate other consoles and their games which you clearly do not seem to do. I’ll jump the gun on what you’re thinking of saying next… yes i do appreciate games on other consoles!
Comment by Arthur The Magnificiant Squirrel — Aug 16, 2007 @ 10:28 am
Strawdog, get YOU’RE facts straight…the dialog was a SIDE NOTE…the sound effects alone are 10 gigs then as frosting on the cake there is 4500 lines of dialog and 3 and a half hours of musical composition, a dvd can’t even come close to holding that amount of information along with the actual game.
Squirrel, I am talking exactly like an adult..you just haven’t made any arguments that have any ground. Lets correct your fuck tard thinking real fast…Peter Jackson WAS going to work on the Halo movie and they fucked him over like they fucked everyone over(http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/08/09/normal.xbox.360.with.hdmi/)….lets take a quote befor I link..”Also, Microsoft’s deal included demands that Gates & Co. have creative control over the project. If you don’t see why that would be a problem, then you’ve apparently never heard of Microsoft.”….. http://minx.cc/?post=237125
And yes Halo is, according to the HYPE, supposed to be a graphical wonder…. but a shooter is only going to be fun to a Shooter fan base. I really dont give two shits what you think anymore…programmers for the 360 have already said they have mustered out almost everything they can out of the system, Gears of War is a prime example. It was awesome but still slowed down in all the major spots when to many things were happening on screen, I mean come on, if Heavenly Sword didn’t load textures during each loaded area like Gears did people would be having a shit fit, but I don’t hear anyone saying anything about the bugs(bugs that to this day are un fixed) in that game.
Squirrel, I understand your pint and agree but this fuck tard Strawdog really pisses me off he has no idea what he talking about…”You do like to cherry pick your information - the dialogue audio for Heavenly Sword is in 11 different languages and is uncompressed so trying to say you couldn’t have this game on DVD9 because you wouldn’t be able to even fit the audio onto the disc is very disingenuous.”…….Just go watch Rainbowbright or somthing….even a DVD-14 (one side with a dvd-5 and one side bonded with a dvd-9)can only hold 13.2 gb. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD
Comment by hsftw — Aug 16, 2007 @ 11:37 am
Funny, my first comment seems to have vanished.
Maybe because it mentioned in a game thats supposedly “next-gen” you can’t jump, fight, run, throw but not jump.
Maybe because it accused the game of being nothing but a “button mashing” peice of drivel, or maybe because it used the words “Goddess of War”
Sadly this shows that the PS3 is lagging further behind in games this time round, when the likes of Metroid Prime 3 and Bioshock will be on the shelves before this you realise just how far behind Sony are with the games… but they will catch up… Just You Wait…
Comment by Disappointed, Leicester — Aug 16, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
I might just point out that the guys at threespeech are not actually paid by sony.
Comment by matjet — Aug 16, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
hsftw, whatever company you work for… Jsut wow, you are so special.
I played the demo. Its ok. I think the cutscenes are amazing, just far to long. Its another of those “metal gear” issues that pops up, i.e., would you rather play the game, or watch it?
I did find it a little to much of a button masher, and its not a patch on God Of War.
That said, the “10 gigs of audio” thing is crazy. Seeing as I’m actually working on adding the finishing touches to a game before we ship(soon), I can honestly say your point is, well… There isn’t one.
Also, last time I checked, I bought games that were, you know, “fun”. HS may take up an entire BluRay disk, it may have graphics so real it makes me think twice… But does that make it fun…?
Lets put it this way, I’ve had more “fun” and gotten more use out of my Wii than my PS3 so far. And my 360? Well, its never off. But wait, that cant be right, because, let me guess, the Wii’s not next gen enough, and the 360’s all crash and burn, right…?
I honestly think some of you fan boys need to stop and think for a bit. You really didn’t seem to care about graphics, horsepower, disk space and resolutions when the xbox was kicking the PS2’s graphical ass… Yet now you do…
Strange that…
Comment by Gavin — Aug 16, 2007 @ 5:15 pm
“Heavenly Sword will be around longer now since it is a trilogy and the other two have been righten already” - HSFTW.
Does that stand for “Heavenly Sword For The Win?” Because it should stand for “Hey Sony, Fire This Wanker.” What an obvious marketing shill. “righten already.” RIGHTEN. Come on.
Comment by Martha Dumptruck — Aug 16, 2007 @ 9:07 pm
It isnt just graphics, It is extreamlly fun if your a fan of the genre and maybe your not. I have a very good point with the disk size..it is content and that content is higher quality as well. With more sound fx and dialog etc you can build a more immersive experience and that is what they are trying to build. That is why there is no jump button per say(you can jump) they stated that they wanted it to be a cinamatic adventure and the jump button when they had it seemed to take from the movie type feel. I am not a Fanboy of the PS3 , I do own all three systems. I have alot of fun with the wii and the 360 but the 360 has also been out longer the ps3 is getting a chance to catch up now. I am however a fan of what the Ninja Theory team is doing, they are relitivly new and they poured alot of time effort and love into this project and by no means is it a mindless hack and slash. God of War was Awsome, I dont think anyone will deny that and you could seriously get through that game with one to two combos. Also stop compairing them its rediculous…Heavenly Sword has been in production since befor 2003 ..God of war 1 came out in 2005.
Last time I checked the PS2 was and still to this day is outselling the Xbox..hell the ps2 is outselling the 360 right now and this last generation of ps2 games is every bit as good if not better then any xbox game. Leicester you couldnt be more wrong the 360 how it stands is reaching a peak thats why they are having to modify it and talking about upgrading the standard system. The hdmi being in the standard is confirmed and the new proccessors and fans are surley on the way as well. Becuase currently it does not have the same power as the ps3. Like Gavin said the power and graphics dont make or break a game but when the game has other great aspects as well it sure helps alot.
Say what you will but this fall the gap between 360 and ps3 is getting smaller, Playstation has some great titles and so does 360 but the diffrence is the quality in these games and the diversity of genre’s. Look at what is comming out for the xbox that are big titles shooters and sports games. Now what does the PS3 have coming out.. Action Adventure, Hack in Slash, Survival Horror, racing, Rpgs, Fighters, flight combat and shooters to name a few that are consistently releasing this fall. I am not saying on eis better..untill october xbox live is still oodles better the the sony network but the gap is definatley getting smaller in the 2nd gen of it games and its system is 1 year younger then Microsofts.
Comment by hsftw — Aug 16, 2007 @ 11:04 pm
Ah the classic fanboy response - when in doubt and feeling threatened by legitimate comments, questions and points resort to petty insults and poor use of the English language.
Please do enlighten us to exactly what games you are talking about when you say “Now what does the PS3 have coming out.. Action Adventure, Hack in Slash, Survival Horror, racing, Rpgs, Fighters, flight combat and shooters to name a few that are consistently releasing this fall.”
Comment by Strawdog — Aug 17, 2007 @ 10:45 am
Note the use of the word ‘includes’: -
“A quick random but interesting bit of info for you: according to Develop Mag, out of the Heavenly Sword Blu-ray disc, a whopping 10GB is taken up by the sound effects and music alone. That includes three and a half hours of music, and four and a half thousand lines of dialogue.”
https://threespeech.com/blog/?p=544
So as I said that 10gb contains all the audio for the game, is uncompressed* and includes the dialogue in 11 different languages
*Please, before you bless us with a further display your ignorance and/or decide to insult me in order to make yourself feel better, read up about lossless audio compression methods (Vorbis, AAC, etc..).
Comment by Strawdog — Aug 17, 2007 @ 3:45 pm
Straw, the information is talked about very differently depending on where you read it. But reguardless what is your point? How much do you think a dvd can hold? And even if you did compress that much audio it would be stupid because of the load time. Some articles say 10 gigs of Sound fx,(COMA) 4500 lines of dialog,(COMA)and 3 and a half hours of Music. Music is not a sound effect and neither is dialog but no matter what the actual figure is it still wouldn’t be practical to try and put that along with the actual game, textures and such onto a dvd if thats what your getting at. I understand Audio compression and also understand that you loose quality when you compress and decompress also there is, like I said, a load time tied to that.
Comment by hsftw — Aug 17, 2007 @ 7:20 pm
Lol, straw goto the actual article that threespeech is mis quoting first off. Dev Mag does not say anywhere the word INCLUDING or INCLUDES. It states like I said with comas “Did you know that Heavenly Sword boasts 10GB of sound FX, approximately three and a half hours of music and contains 4,500 lines of dialogue?” That is a list, it doesn’t read ..Did you know Heavenly Sword boasts 10GB of sound FX including 4,500 lines of dialoge and three and a half hours of music. Three speech puts the link to that article as its source and completely mis quotes it. Now you may be right ..it may be all together but you get conflicting sites and information. Besides later on in threspeech’s article you posted from it says that when Tameem told them it couldn’t be done on DVD he wasn’t kidding. But you left that out didn’t you..so now your disputing the chief designer of the game and threespeech when they say it wouldn’t have been possible on a dvd. The actual game is huge as well, the music is just something I was mentioning. The whole thing would never fit on a dvd and if they tried it would have insane load times every time you had a transition.
Comment by hsftw — Aug 17, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
So let me get this right… you think by making a file size smaller that would make it take longer to load?
Given your comments you very obviously don’t understand ‘lossless’ compression.
Comment by Strawdog — Aug 17, 2007 @ 9:55 pm
if you have to decompress it then yes..it all depends
Comment by hsftw — Aug 18, 2007 @ 9:59 am
Lossless compression is just that, it compresses the original bits down using a compression algorithm which is relatively complex, but none of the bits are lost. The downsides: file sizes are larger, and decompressing typically takes more compute cycles.
Comment by hsftw — Aug 18, 2007 @ 12:18 pm
[…] Three Speech är en lurig blogg som du kanske redan hört talas om. Det luriga ligger i att bloggen produceras i samarbete med Sony, samtidigt som den väljer att kalla sig "semiofficiell". Om man ska tro på det där är upp till var och en, själv betraktar jag dock bloggen som en högst officiell PR-blogg från Sony.Det är liksom enklare så.Det är rätt enkelt att förstå de här officiella bloggarna. Spelbolagens PR-team har ju tidigare varit tvungna att föra fram sina budskap genom en mellanhand - oftast i form av speljournalister. Det funkar givetvis… sådär. Och ur PR-folkets synpunkt har det blivit allt svårare att föra fram ett okritiskt budskap, speljournalismen har ju utvecklats rätt rejält de senaste åren och vi som täcker spelbranschen försöker alltid att köra runt PR-folket för att få fram en så korrekt beskrivning av våra objekt som möjligt.Självklart är PR-teamen inne på samma spår. Varför ha en mellanhand när man kan föra ut sitt budskap själv? Bloggen får då fungera som ett utmärkt verktyg där artiklar, bilder och filmer kan publiceras utan inblandning från uppnosiga journalister.Så länge folk förstår hur det hela ligger till ser jag inga problem med förhållandena i branschen. Officiella medier har för uppgift att visa upp en så positiv bild av det egna företaget som möjligt, medan journalister gärna försöker komma runt fasaden för att beskriva verkligheten som den verkligen är.Ibland går dock PR-folket för långt. I fallet Three Speech har bloggen till exempel börjat förtitta företagets egna spel. Det känns faktiskt så där. Vad är liksom meningen med att förtitta ett spel om alla läsare i förväg vet att texten kommer att vara översvallande positiv och stämplad med det interna PR-teamets gillande? Nu menar säkert folk att vi speljournalister varit lika dåliga på att vara kritiska i våra förtittar, det här är dock även det ett område där vi förbättrat oss. Bläddra bara i ett par nummer Super PLAY modell 2007 och jämför med modell 2004 så kommer du att uppleva en avsevärd skillnad.Hos Three Speech finns dock självfallet inte denna tanke. Rosa, fluffiga moln ritas upp i förtittarna av alla spel - det kritiska ögat har för länge sedan petats ut av en PR-människa med vass pinne.Kolla in ett par exempel i Heavenly Sword och Warhawk.Mycket äckligare blir det dock när den officiella PR-bloggen Three Speech väljer att recensera ett Sony-spel. Recensionen av Ninja Gaiden Sigma framkallar kräkkänslor och smaken av spyor kliar mig oskönt i halsen. Man kan bara hoppas att detta är ett engångsföreteelse, tyvärr är det någonting som säger mig att så inte är fallet.PR-medier ska liksom inte hålla på med förtittar och recensioner. Jag trodde att vi alla lärt oss detta efter skrattretande Nintendoklubben. Det verkar dock som att även Sony behöver lära sig sin läxa. Publicerad Monday, August 20, 2007 11:03 AM av Naseer Alkhouri Taggad med: playstation 3, sony, super play, pr, recensioner, förtittar […]
Pingback by Reality 3.0 : När PR går för långt — Aug 20, 2007 @ 10:32 am
[…] Kolla in ett par exempel i Heavenly Sword och Warhawk. […]
Pingback by När PR går för långt | Se till vänster, där går en arab — Aug 20, 2007 @ 10:41 am
hsftw
I think you need to give up, you’re fighting a losing battle here and you’ve gone completely off topic from what you’re original argument was. You haven’t convinced me that any of your points are worth considering and to be frank you’ve confused me with your cross points.
Just picking at what anyone says that could be considered against the PS3, its painful to go back and read through all you’ve written.
Like a rabbid dog biting at anyone that passes by.
Comment by Arthur The Magnificiant Squirrel — Aug 23, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
You are obviously to slow to understand anything because my points are pretty clear. I am not attacking anyone who says anything bad about the ps3 in fact I know it has it faults. And I dont bite at everyone like a dog you tard, pay attention its only you and strawdog because you two have some hate towards this game and the system it seems, so I will call you on bull shit. What I am defending is the game. I stayed to my topic it was you and strawdog that had some axe to grind against Heavenly Sword and the ps3. Strawdog even went as far to try and dispute numbers on the size of the audio files and the format its in. You then went off topic by arguing about my statement about bias in the game industry. Everyone knows this is true, its not like I really need to argue the fact.
The truth is people are trying downplay this game because its Sony, meanwhile every review comming out for it is 10/10 or 9/9 so far…there was a 8/10 that came from a 10/10/8 so yeah thats more like a 9.5 but who cares.
I remember what my original statement was…and it wasn’t an argument, strawdog started an argument by saying it didn’t win any awards.
quote:
“The argument that Threespeech ins’t a valid review might have been somewhat understandable if it wasn’t for the fact that everyone reviewing it is giving it rave reviews and 10/10 ratings and such. I was at the last E3 and HS walked away with more awards then anything there and was nominated for a dozen more.
The version these reviewers are playing are a more finalized version and even known 360 knob slobbing sites are giving this game great reviews. The game when it comes out will speak for its self and I have seen the more finalized version running.
Couple last comments to the people making retarded statements.
1. This game does not play like God of War or a button masher. It has similarities yes but if you try to button mash one or two combos the whole time you will only get to far(that may be fine for the short demo but not in the full chapter that these gaming review sites have played. Ya see, the AI will recognize if you start using the same stance all the time or the same combo and change its tactics to counter that stance or combo. Contrary to what some people claim, the enemies will rush you when you get cornered and take advantage of the situation, not just stand in a circle and wait. They attack in groups sometimes yes..but if a crazy woman with a giant supernatural blade was about to kick your ass with a trail of dead bodies behind her, don’t you think you would wait for you’re homies to join in before you tried to take a crack at her. In that sense it is rather realistic.
2. Do some research on the human eye and frame rates. The actual frame rate has less to do with fluid graphics then you think. The human eye has been proven to pick up images at 200 fps at least and the brain can discern what that image is from an after image(google it if you don’t believe me, fighter pilot test’s and how many fps can the eye really pick up). They don’t know how many fps the eye can actually pick up before it maxes, so what do you expect them to do make a game that runs at 1080p and over 300 fps before your happy. What it boils down to is, you can program the visuals to look a certain way with a low framerate and look incredibly smooth(hence motion pictures run at a far lower frame rate then most games and look very fluid) but has alot to do with programming blurring in certain areas but then that makes people think there is less detail. Blurring helps the illusion of fluidness but takes away from detail. So you will have one or the other…High detail and the impression of a lower frame rate or Lower detail and the impression of higher frame rate. Honestly people just need to stfu and relax, if developers could make every game run with so many fps that your eye couldn’t pick it up and have insane detail they would and programmers are still trying to learn how to maximize the Cell.
3. Say what you will but Heavenly Sword as a whole looks and plays far more impressive then anything to hit a console to date. Never has there been such motion capture, voice acting, graphical, cinematic, AI, streaming and musical quality in a console game yet. When the game releases it may have its flaws here and there but what game doesn’t(no game is perfect…gears of war had major slow down in parts and tearing and freeze ups but you didn’t hear anyone complain). The game as a whole is what you have to look at. People pick one or two things out and say that a game is worthless because of a few flaws but if Jessica Alba was sitting on your lap saying “I want you inside me”, would you really be saying “yeah shes hot but she has a small mole on her arm so ill pass on the vertical mambo.
Just enjoy the game for what it is, and its gonna be great. ”
And my statement stays the same. And lets not get into bias anymore thats a moot point everyone knows it is a very bias market right now…look at bioshock. Great game but cmon..almost every review says 20 hours of gameplay and thats utter bs, a friend of mine and myself beat it on hard in 10ish hours. And the story is fantastic as well as the voice acting but it is not by far the BEST story in a game yet like they make it seem. I mean that is simply my opinion but I have played lots of games with way more interesting storyline…I mean most of the whole back story is told through little recorders and a little image in the corner of your screen because its a shooter with the random ghost here and there, you can only make the story so in depth.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 23, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
Eugh too much to read, my stupid weak mind can’t contain it. Give me a break
“And I dont bite at everyone like a dog you tard, pay attention its only you and strawdog”
You do bite at anyone who challenges you. You can’t handle it, it is obvious. That’s why i am expecting another essay from you.
“because you two have some hate towards this game and the system it seems, so I will call you on bull shit.”
Hmmm hate for the system and the game? No dont see how you figured that out either! I’ve made constructive critisicm towards the game but not once did i say it was rubbish or didn’t deserve any of the attention it is rightly getting. See what I mean - hopelessly lashing out!
“Strawdog even went as far to try and dispute numbers on the size of the audio files and the format its in”
Well he was right to.
“You then went off topic by arguing about my statement about bias in the game industry. Everyone knows this is true, its not like I really need to argue the fact.”
Well no, i didn’t go off topic - because that was the topic in the first place. I followed something you said so if we are going to say anyone went off topic it would be you. Again.
“The truth is people are trying downplay this game because its Sony, meanwhile every review comming out for it is 10/10 or 9/9 so far…there was a 8/10 that came from a 10/10/8 so yeah thats more like a 9.5 but who cares. ”
Again not true, read through your blinders. People are NOT downplaying the game, we’re just making constructive points about what has been said about the game. You need to learn to live with people having opinions!
And whoopy! Well done for being at E3 where it walked away with lots of achievements. WE ARE NOT DENYING THE FACT THAT THE GAME IS GOOD! GET IT INTO YOUR SKULL.
Its almost painful to read, you lash out at people in an unreasonable fashion so much and then expect respect from others.
“Couple last comments to the people making retarded statements.”
People like you should have your fingers removed! Let people have the right to speak, don’t mute them and talk over them with your own ridiculous opinions. Not everyone is built like you (thank god). Not everyone likes this type of game, appreciates the same design aspects. Not everyoner fancies Jessica Alba.
Don’t even slag off Bioshock, it is undeniably an awesome game! You must know better than anyone if you actually work in the industry that the hours of play that any review states is an average and often more than you or i will achieve. It also depends on how you play the game, we all play them differently. Some people rush through some people don’t and it also sounds like you were playing it on Co Op.
Christ, i’m wondering what can of worms i’ve opened now by even bothering to reply again.
We get that you like the game. Give the world a bloody break already. We hope you enjoy it!
Comment by Arthur The Magnificiant Squirrel — Aug 24, 2007 @ 12:23 pm
Well no he isnt right about the audio read the source article. He is completely wrong and the devs on the official site confirmed it as well.
People can have opinion’s but when it is completley based on false information or just not right I will say something.
And you are a joke, saying I cant except an opinion…you do the exact thing to me. “And the story is fantastic as well as the voice acting but it is not by far the BEST story in a game yet like they make it seem. I mean that is simply my opinion but I have played lots of games with way more interesting storyline…” and what do you do? Dispute it when it was an opinion.
A fact though is that this game isn’t 20 hours anyway you slice it and they release the same review that says it is along with the bull shit review that says HS is 6ish hours. Again I played Bioshock on hard the first time through and I am not the best gamer with console shooters but the only way you would get 20 hours average out of it is if you played on hard and were very bad at shootes and went back and played the game two more times to get the plasmids etc. More then likley the shit reviews of HS are like what your explaining…they ran through on easy and then didnt play anymore. They said Bioshock had the best voice acting to date in a game on GT.com’s review then said HS voice acting was decent..I call bull shit, so know because you want the game to fail your going to call 4500 lines of dialog by Andy Serkis and the other professional actors from real film and have been doing this type of thing in movies for ages is just…decent, but the little radio in the corner of your screen in bioshock that play like 8bit sound bits is the best voice acting and story ever laughable, Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil 1 and 4, Halo, Gears of War had a better story. The story and innovation did not deserve some of the marks it got and just like alot of recent xbox games it has problems loading textures and has bugs like every game but you don’t hear about those in your 10/10 bioshock review now do you? And I am not disputing the fact its a good game just saying people need to relize that Reviews for the most part are pointless because of bias look at this article http://www.ziffdavis.com/press/releases/060802.0.html
And yes the market that is primarily riding the MS bandwagon and is downplaying this game calling it all flash no substance which if you have played the final test version you know that isn’t true, look at all the reviews and previews then read IGN.coms review, that review is a slap in the face to the devs and the players looking forward to it. Not to mention its obvious he, one:doesnt like the genre and two: he knew nobody would beleive him if he marked down things people have seen already like graphical quality and sound so he sandbagged the later levels and the game length which no one has seen yet. GG try to hide what your doing better next time.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 24, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
Edge magazine just gave this game a 6/10.
+Great artistic flair
+Good characterisation
-Total lack of challenge.
-Not as good as God of War.
-Stupid distance combat.
Comment by hahnchen — Aug 25, 2007 @ 11:36 am
Yes and God of War got a 7 from Edge, almost nothing gets higher then a 9 by them, so a 6 is like an 8 anywhere else, pretty good review tho if ya read the whole thing. Plus Gamepro gave it a 4.5/5 Edge and Ign are the only ones that gave mediocre reviews and well they give tough reviews anyway.
Got a chance to play the final test version and if you play on hell mode it takes a much longer time. On normal and not collecting all the items you can you would be hard pressed to finish it under 10 hours. Most likely edge and IGN played it on easy and blasted through it then poped in another game to review, I don’t see how anyone could beat it in 6-8 hours unless you did a speed run on easy. Oh wel,l its only 2 mediocre reviews out of alot of really good ones. Plus I disagree alot with some of there opinions after playing the same content. You get a feeling they just aren’t a fan of the genera to begin with. I think it was edge that bashed the fact there is a counter system which makes it so you have to be on the defensive sometimes and wait or you’ll get you ass kicked like it was a bad thing then said he pref reed a much more visceral combat that lets you just hack through the enemies with no need for blocking or countering. Just his opinion I guess, I prefer the skill required to fight the enemies and not just plow threw them with no real threat to yourself but thats just me.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 25, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
No, the Edge preview explicitly mentions that you can cut through “Hell” mode with little effort or dexterity. So much so that it gets tedious.
Comment by hahnchen — Aug 27, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
[…] You can find what Three Speech thought of the game here. Also in Heavenly Sword news, we’ve got a bunch of new screenshots to share fresh from the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany […]
Pingback by Three Speech » HEAVENLY SWORD: SCREENSHOTS & REVIEWS — Aug 28, 2007 @ 3:12 pm
And now we have a Sony site “reviewing” Sony games?
This is a new low, even for PS3.
Comment by Tuomas Salo — Aug 28, 2007 @ 3:33 pm
Going through hell mode in that amount of time is BS just like Bioshock being 20 hours. The combat designers them selves on the NT forums have said that they can do the army scenes practically with there eyes closed, have been playing it for over 3 years and can get through Normal mode in just over 10 hours. I find it really hard to believe that an inexperience player can cut through Hell mode in 6-8 hours with little effort or dexterity.
We will see in a few weeks. It is already a known fact that almost every review out there lied about Bioshocks game length so I guess it isnt a stretch to say they are about this game either. Besides game length rarely means the game is bad. Games with a specifically graphed out story that has at least two sequels have to end eventually and in this genre it isn’t that short, I can play through God of War 2 on the hardest setting in like 8-9 hours with no effort at all and that is still an awesome game.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 28, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
Thank you for the detailed review and interviews!! I like the classy, informational style that lets me come to my own conclusion. It adds detail that’s missing, though goes well with the “Making Of” videos on the PSN. Please ignore the MS fanboy nazi posters who don’t think you have a right to review here — it’s easiest to just pretend these clowns don’t exist.
Comment by WheelGear — Aug 29, 2007 @ 2:23 am
The lead combat designers 2nd part to the combat blob proves…the reviewers that have said this is a button masher need to seriously LEARN TO PLAY.
“Auto lock and combat movement scaling
Believe it or not, many people simply do not know how to use an analogue stick. It’s amazing just how many people don’t immediately know how to manipulate a stick to move the heroine around. We allow movement with the d-pad but, most importantly, we move the heroine about in combat.
Press attack and the heroine will travel forwards with her attack anim. If there’s an enemy nearby, she turns to the target before attacking and we scale the attack anim up to the target. The player doesn’t need to push the control stick at all as the heroine will, to some degree, acquire and move towards enemies with only the input of the attack button. If the player doesn’t use the control stick to move or target, we do our best to select the most appropriate target at any given situation. If we get stick input we narrow down and precisely pick the intended target for attack.
There are two layers of targeting there. One for the newbie - and I mean complete newbie - and a more traditional one for gamers. So, if someone new to gaming starts to play, they will acquire targets and make meaningful attacks. Seasoned gamers can ignore the help and select targets themselves, controlling fight situations better, hopefully, enjoying it more.
Auto blocking
Many people seem to dislike the fact we don’t have a block button - probably more so than the fact we don’t have a jump button. Auto blocking was something we took from Kung Fu Chaos and we wanted to explore and make it work for Heavenly Sword.
If it wasn’t for our stance-based combat, I would be gagging for a block button. However, the stance-based system enables a different approach: the heroine has three stances, as I am sure you all know now, having played the demo. Each stance has different blocking attributes: Speed stance can only block speed attacks, Power stance can only block power attacks and Range stance cannot block at all.
Simply put, the idea is to be in the right stance at the right time. Early on in the game we don’t have many power attacks but, later, we mix enemy stances up a lot and things get faster. Again though, there are multiple layers of difficulty: new gamers will mostly rely on the auto blocking but the more experienced gamers who take the time to learn the depths of the block mechanics will reap more benefits - especially when things get more complicated.
Counters
We have a simple countering system in Heavenly Sword. Block an attack, press triangle and you perform a counter. Simple. You are, however, time limited so you need to do it fast. We are pretty generous with the window of opportunity, making countering fairly easy - it’s therefore balanced through limited damage to the enemy. Better timing though, results in a kill counter finishing the enemy instantly. The better you play, the more rewarding the experience. We also have a few surprises later in the game regarding counters. Mwa ha ha ha…
I’ve only touched on three aspects of the combat system but nearly every part of it has this multi-layering: timings based on novice play, timings based on average gamers and timings based on complete ninjas. I don’t want to alienate people, I want to empower them.
Mums and dads, aunts and uncles: they can all play the game, enjoy and get something out of it. You guys, when you play, can play like your relatives or you can play like a pro. The combat system gives back what you put into it. It’s an interactive system, it’s reflexive. How you feel, how you respond, how you think.
The combat system is, as you play, a portrait of you.”
So in essence if you think the combat system sucks and is just a hack n slash then more then likley you just suck.
Comment by HSFTW — Aug 29, 2007 @ 7:55 pm
I read through the entire thread and this is what I can say. This game is a next step to next gen games compared to other next gen games on any other platform, I appreciate the effort given to make this game and I hope more and more dev’s do the same thing as well. HSFTW arguments are undiniable and the others are just giving their own opinion. But you can’t take it against HSFTW if he really like the game that much cause I do too.
In conclusion, this game is going to be amazing and whatever people say everyone will see it when the final game is released and the final verdic will be all praise.
Comment by -xcela- — Sep 2, 2007 @ 10:21 am
Thx xcela, nice to see some other people that appreciate the time these guys put into this project…. 9 more days!
Comment by HSFTW — Sep 4, 2007 @ 8:28 pm
And being release day the great reviews start flooding in. Nice to see that the sites and Mags trying to sandbag it have no say over honest reviews now.
Comment by HSFTW — Sep 12, 2007 @ 8:08 am
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