RipTen Videogame Blog » Heavenly-Sword

Heavenly Sword Creators Working on Something Exciting

Patrick Steen — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:50:41 +0000

Ninja Theory, the developers that brought us Heavenly Sword, are moving forward in the creation of their next game. Something exciting is in the cooking pot and the hinting makes us giddy.

A developer on the official Ninja Theory forums has aroused their fans with news that they are back to working hard. This is very soon after releasing their mammoth 4 year project that was Heavenly Sword, but not unheard of.

The Ninja (as each developer likes to be referred to) also regrettably says that they must be tight lipped, but that what they are working on is “pretty amazing”.

Very exciting indeed, since their first PS3 game was a beauty to look at with very high production values. A game that had moments of genius, but sadly fell a bit short.

What Ninja Theory’s next project might be, we could only hazard a guess. The sequel to Heavenly Sword would be likely, since Tameem Antoniades stated that it was one of a trilogy in an Insomniac Games podcast.

There were other hints at the premiere of Games Eden, a networking organisation in Cambridge, UK. At the event a Ninja Theory spokesperson repeatedly referred to their recently released game as “Heavenly Sword 1″, as noted by Eurogamer.

Keep your ears pricked, and your swords cocked – as we expect an announcement about Ninja Theory’s new project some time next year.

PSN Update: Kane & Lynch, High Velocity Bowling, Beats, PixelJunk Monsters

Patrick Steen — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:58:54 +0000

O.K. don’t get too excited. This week’s PSN update report is split over four different stores. We’ve got word of all of these items before some of them have even hit and we’ll update it once they have, but at the moment this is all we’re certain of. *Updated with both US and Europe Store updates.*

High Velocity Bowling is indeed coming to the US Playstation Store today, as can be seen by looking at the official US website. Bowling with the Sixaxis sounds fun, but the question is, is it as fun as using a Wii Mote?

In addition, the US at last gets Beats for the PSP. Made by Sony’s London Studio, it’s been out in Europe for a while and it’s great fun to play a game that uses the beats from your favorite music.

Now PixelJunk Monsters, which we previewed last week, is not coming to the US or Europe until January next year. It is, however, already out in Japan for 900 yen.

Americans can also look forward to a Black Sabbath pack for Rock Band at the cost of $5.49. Including three songs, Ozzy also lets us buy the them separately; N.I.B., Sweet Leaf, or War Pigs – each at $1.99.

Also coming to the US this week is Folklore downloadable content, which we already told you about here. Expect some costumes and characters similar to Japan as well, which you can see below. Oh, and don’t be surprised if you get the new GTAIV trailer to download in all its HD glory.

Last but not least, the European and Australian store has been updated with a Kane and Lynch: Dead Men demo (840MB), among other things, such as a Killzone 2 theme to pretty up your XMB. Photographs of the themes follow the Folklore DLC images. Here’s proof that a Kane & Lynch demo is indeed up:

Euro Update:

Games/Demos:
- Kane & Lynch: Dead Men 840MB

Downloadable Content:
- Motorstorm (2 cars: Domino & Adventure) (AU$3.95)
- Folklore (The Origin of Belgae Pack: 4 missions, 1 Folk & 1 Ellen Costume) (AU$3.45)

Themes:
- Mesmerise
- Tori Emaki
- Heavenly Sword
- Motorstorm
- Snakeball
- Lemmings
- Killzone 2
- SingStar

Trailers:
- Metal Gear Online (TGS 2007)
- Metal Gear Solid 4
- Blazing Angels 2

US/Canada Update:

Games/Demos:
-High Velocity Bowling – $9.99
-Wild Arms (PS1) – $5.99
-Timeshift multiplayer demo

Downloadable Content:
-Folklore – Ellen Pack 1 – $3.99 (includes 4 new quests unique to this pack, new costume for Ellen and a new Folk)
-Folklore – Keats Pack 1 – $3.99 (includes 4 new quests unique to this pack, new costume for Keats and a new Folk)
-Folklore – Bundle of Pack 1 + 2 – $5.99
-PAIN – Character Skin – Santa – $0.99
-PAIN – Character Skin – Cookie – $0.99

Rock Band:
Song Packs – $5.49 each:
-Black Sabbath Pack 1

Individual Songs – $1.99 each:
Black Sabbath:
-N.I.B.
-Sweet Leaf
-War Pigs

Trailers:
-Battlefield: Bad Company – “Frostbite”
-Battlefield: Bad Company – “Frostbite” 2
-GTA IV – Trailer 3 – “Move Up, ladies”
-Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots – “TGS 2007 Trailer”
-Uncharted – “Environments”

Other:
-Ratchet & Clank Future theme
-Uncharted theme

Thanks to Neogaf for the images.

[Gallery=5]

Playstation 3 Outsells Wii in Japan for Second Week Straight

Patrick Steen — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:01:57 +0000

The latest sales are in from Japan for the week starting 12/11 and ending 18/11, and surprisingly, the PS3 is holding on in there with its new 40GB model, fighting off Nintendo’s Wii for another week. The Xbox360 saw a rise, and Super Mario Galaxy and Heavenly Sword also had respectable sales. Find out the numbers after the jump.

Hardware:

DSLite: 81,000
PSP: 66,000
PS2: 8,800
PS3: 53,000
Wii: 36,000
Xbox360: 5,700

Software:
1. Mario Party (DS)　115,000 （Total: 357,000）
2. REUC　(Wii) 105,000
3. Dynasty Warriors 6 (PS3)　73,000 （Total: 250,000）
4. Game Center CX　(DS) 46,000
5. Famista (DS)　45,000
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)　43,000 （Total: 378,000）
7. Heavenly Sword (PS3)　16,000
8. Wii Sports (Wii)　15,000 （Total: 2,106,000）
9. Wii Play　(Wii) 15,000 （Total: 1,662,000）
10. FFTA2　(DS) 14,000 （Total: 249,000）
11. Nishimura Kyoutarou suspense (DS) 11,000 (Total: 123,000)
12. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (DS) 11,000 (Total:1.05m )
13. Dynasty Warriors 6 (360) 10,000 (Total: 37,000)
14. Complete Literature Works (DS) 8,800 (Total: 100,000)
15. My Household Budget Diary (DS) 8,700 (Total: 286,000)
16. Ratchet & Clank: Future (PS3) 8,500 (Total: 19,000)
17. Ghost Scad (Wii) 7,500 (Total: 38,000)
18. Mario Party 8 (Wii) 5,500 (Total: 890,000)
19. Cooking Mama 2 (DS) 4,700

Source: Famitsu

Review – Heavenly Sword

Andrew Podolsky — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:39:52 +0000

“Nariko’s flowing hair is longer than this game”

Heavenly Sword is a gorgeous masterpiece, a stunning achievement, for the six or so hours of gameplay and cinematics that are on the disc. If only there were more of a game to enjoy, Heavenly Sword would be one of the most satisfying experiences available only for the PS3.

Some of the levels feel truly innovative, like a forest sniping scene early on, or an arena where you have to use less-than-deadly force for once. However, these moments are brief, even with a ranking system to encourage replays. It would be nice to see some of these great ideas become full-blown chapters, as the twisting narrative structure of the game allows for all sorts of fun diversions.

Between gameplay moments Heavenly Sword has excellent cinematic cutscenes, brought to life by Lord of the Rings and King Kong mo-cap actor Andy Serkis. As expected, they’re a triumph for videogames because of the extraordinarily detailed animation. It seems like everyone’s eyes and lips are conveying actual emotion, instead of the blank stare seen in other games. One effect of this is that a lot of melodrama occurs between characters, which can be repetitive if you’re trying to play through the game a second time. Another effect is that it makes the characters seem quite interesting and compelling.

One particular charmer is Kai, the sweet and slightly deranged sniper. Kai likes to play “twing twang”, which involves sticking bad guys full of crossbow bolts. One of Kai’s best levels involves defending her adopted father during his slow escape along a bridge, where enemies will blindly run at him and expose themselves to Kai’s twing twang. You can guide the arrows in slow motion to any sensitive body part you want, which brings us to Heavenly Sword’s other great gift to gaming, Aftertouch.

Aftertouch is Heavenly Sword’s other big innovation besides the cutscenes, and even though it’s been done before, Heavenly Sword does it best. Anything you throw or shoot, from Kai’s crossbow to Nariko’s puzzle-solving box of hats, will let you guide it gently in slow-motion with the analog stick or SixAxis control.

Of course, if you opt for the SixAxis control, it may not be a gentle flight so much as a jerky, out-of-control mess. Like an arrow with broken feathers, SixAxis often makes the projectiles veer in every direction. Unless you train yourself to keep the PS3 controller completely level, making only the slightest adjustments, it’s not nearly as satisfying to use motion control. And since I tend to play my PS3 games in a relaxed position on the couch, with my controller tilted slightly back to be more comfortable in my hands, analog control was the only way to use Aftertouch.

When you’re not watching a cutscene or controlling a projectile in slow-motion, the rest of the game involves a simple three-stance fighting system and legions of super-dumb enemies. Most of them will simply wait for you to attack, and if you wait for them to attack you will block most of their hits automatically. Simply rolling around and striking can defeat any enemy in the game, including a few bosses. There’s also no jump button in the fighting system, which means that the levels were designed to be highly linear with no room at all for exploration. The lack of a jump button also leads to some frustrating moments where a boss will be standing on a small ledge just a few feet away, but out of reach for poor lead-booted Nariko.

So while Aftertouch and the cutscenes are solid additions to Heavenly Sword, the short storyline and familiar fighting gameplay ultimately ended up a disappointment. I hope that if this game is just the first in a series, we’ll see more of an emphasis on a long, involved adventure for the sequel. There’s a good deal of potential in Heavenly Sword’s ambitious characters, and they feel wasted in a go-nowhere script like this. Still, this game is recommended for its great visuals and excellent virtual actors, even if it’s over before it really gets going.

Heavenly Sword Demo: Over Before It Even Began

Derek Matias — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:22:33 +0000

When I got home from work today I updated my PS3 to 1.90 and downloaded the demo for Heavenly Sword. The grin on my face was absolutely sickening.

After waiting to download the update, installing the update, downloading the demo, and installing the demo I finally started it up. The game loaded almost instantly, so far so good. I had been waiting to play this since November 17^th, so to say that I was excited would have been a huge understatement.

Fast forward three minutes in time, and that look of excitement transformed into one of disappointment. Did he give up after three minutes you ask? I reached for the power button, turned it off, and proceeded to stare off into the darkness of my blank TV screen. It felt like forever, but then again anything seems like forever when you compare it to a 3 minute demo!!!

So what is worst than a three minute demo? A three minute demo that requires you to mash on two buttons the entire time, that is what! It was God of War meets Tekken only you can’t jump. The one and only thing this game had going for it was the great graphics.

Will I buy this in September when it comes out? Yes. Am I angry that a demo I had been waiting to play for over 8 months lasted only three minutes? Of course I am. Now I know how women must feel when a man talks a big game and fails to deliver.

Heavenly Sword Demo To Hit US Playstation Network (PSN) July 26th…

Derek Matias — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 05:40:05 +0000

If any of you gamers are fans of the show Heroes on NBC you may remember that in the beginning of episode 18 Jessica and Micah are playing a game on the Playstation 3.

That game is none other than the PS3 exclusive title “Heavenly Sword”. Well according to the Playstation Underground Newsletter the demo will be hitting the Playstation Network soon.

[youtube width="425" height="335"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPk-5Ilv1SM[/youtube]

Just how soon is soon? Well, ThreeSpeech.com claims that the demo will be on the European PSN this Thursday July 26th and IGN got word from Sony that all territories are scheduled to receive the game at the same time.

So it appears that a game once reserved for “Heroes” will now be available to the rest of us this Thursday via download on the Playstation Network — no matter where you live.