Heavenly Sword Review: 8/10

Addictive and highly playable, easy to get into, but once you are finished, there is no reason to come back. Still, a great jaunt in PS3 land.

[MK_Red]

No matter what score they give, Heavenly Sword is a 10/10 for me ahnd a day one must buy.

[mike_mgoblue]

I mentioned this earlier, but it is appropriate to do so here. Heavenly Sword is not a good game. I think the information below is 100% correct.
________________
Heavenly Sword is a game that deserves the poor ratings it is receiving. Ever since the demo has been available, two things became 100% clear about Heavenly Sword:

(1) Heavenly Sword has "Playable" in-game graphics that are disappointing compared to the "Non-Playable," cut-scene graphics that Sony had been showing off. People care about how good the graphics are when the game is being played much more than the cut-scene movie nonsense. And, the FACT is that Heavenly Sword is NOT impressive in the area of "Playable" in-game graphics.

(2) Heavenly Sword has "Button-Mashing," gameplay. There is literally no "Block," button in Heavenly Sword. If you try and react to the attacks of your enemies, you will end up DEAD. You are literally better off smashing buttons without taking the time to think about which buttons are being pressed. This is something that Edge and IGN both mentioned in their disappointing reviews.

Summary: There is no doubt about it; the fact of the matter is, Heavenly Sword is a game that has failed to live up to the hype. Heavenly Sword really is a BIG disappointment, and the FACT is that the reviews of very reliable sources prove that Heavenly Sword isn't anything special...it is too short, and it isn't fun.
_____________

Heavenly Sword has been rated by the reliable sources of IGN, IGN UK, and Edge.

IGN rated Heavenly Sword with a score of only 7 out of 10.

IGN UK also rated Heavenly Sword with a score of only 7 out of 10.

Edge rated Heavenly Sword with the very disappointing score of only 6 out of 10.

OBVIOUSLY, Heavenly Sword has ZERO chance of winning any awards this year.

Actually, even with scores of 60% and 70%, Heavenly Sword is doing slightly better than Warhawk and and Lair.

The Playstation 3 game called, "Lair," received an even worse rating than the ones that it had already been given!

EGM rated Lair with a score of only 5.5 out of 10. And in the October issue of PSM magazine, Lair receives a rating of only 5 out of 10.

That is a terribly disappointing review!

Lair is actually called, "A one-trick dragon," in the review.

To say that Lair is receiving "mixed reviews," is an understatement...Lair is a BIG disappointment!!!

*** But that isn't where the disappointment ends.

Warhawk ended up being a disappointment in the reviews. Warhawk was rated only a 6.5 out of 10 by PSM magazine. Warhawk is called, "A third person shooter that never gets off the ground."

This is NOT a surprise, because Warhawk REQUIRES at least two people to play, and there is NO MODE where Bots can be used in the place of people!!! THAT SUCKS!!!

In Warhawk, the final version of the game ended up where machine guns from people on the ground can actually shoot down the Warhawk... That obviously is NOT good!!! And men on the ground with rocket launchers can shoot the Warhawk out of the sky in one shot... That obviously is NOT fun!!! That is why Warhawk is rated so poorly with a score of only 6.5 out of 10.

[Keyser]

Mike, when you leave out the 10/10 reviews that its received and the 9/10's then you make your argument mute.

Btw, GO BLUE!!!!

[UJUSTLOSTONE]

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF

especially untill some of us get the game. If your dissappointed I am very sorry, However, the rest of us, those of us who still think that this game will be blast to play

Aren't dissappointed in the slightest. Thanks for looking out though. I mean you sure put a lot of effort into that long ass post. Just to say how you don't "think" you will be getting these games. Play them, and I challenge you not to have a good time at all.

Peace out, and Game on

[SmokeyMcBear]

That number 2 point in mikes post is just dumb and it shows the way the reviewers were looking at the game. Yes the game does not have a block button.. but it does have a COUNTER button, that does some awesome cutscene type gameplay to show those counters. I played the demo relying soley on the counter aspect to the game. And button mashing will get you NOWHERE.. i tried button mashing and was killed in the in the first wave, especially when i did not hit square to kill the first big guy. you really really need timing to get anywhere in the game, that and the aerial combos have a great gameplay fighting aspect to it. That and the fact I can pick up bodies and hurl them at other opponents, or pick up ANYTHING for that matter and hurl it towards them, utilizing the vision cam/sixaxis utility for this. For the reviewers that said that they can get through the game by simply button mashing.. they are a joke.

[power of Green]

Sounds good if the reviewers are being honest due to fearing angry gamers. I still think the tech was being hyped up too much people talked the same sh&t before 99 knights launched boasting its massive amounts of baddies etc granted HS is way more advanced its still is mostly hype; gamers will play it but its not huge. I would buy it because I love these games but I don't have a PS3.

Its the God of War's, the Too Human's & Ninja Gaiden 2's that will score high because these games will more than likely add way more to this genre.

[MK_Red]

I don't know but I really loved N3. It looked beautiful and played good enough and was way more good looking and deeper than all those Dynasty/Samurai Warriors combined.
HS is not just single genre, it has God Of War parts, Dynasty Warrior parts, Rail gun/ shooting guns and more. For me, it's definitly big.

[heroman711]

i definately know god of war will get a higher score cause frankly who can turn down a white extremely muscular man who weras a skirt, tell me who

[Like a shadow I am]

It's not a bad game. In fact it's a good game. It's just not a great game.

It's a must-buy if you ALREADY have a PS3, but a good game is not a strong enough to convince most people to spend $500 or $600 to get a PS3. For that, PS3 needs a collection of exceptional games.

[Bathyj]

People like you will never get a PS3 because you're waiting for ONE game that you think is worth $600. If you think like that, you wont ever have one. Even if Halo3 or GTA4 was a PS3 exclusive its still not worth $600.

Look at the total package Dude and ask yourself if its worth it, not one game. Look at the whole library, the games just around the corner and all the features available. If its still not worth it, even with that different perspective, then maybe PS3 is just not for you.

[B3YOND]

He/she said a COLLECTION of exceptional games.

[Like a shadow I am]

Here, look at PS3 library:

http://www.metacritic.com/g...

MetaCritic is a site that aggregates all the major reviews, ratings and scores, and gives an average for each game. I think MetaCritic is better than GameRanking because MetaCritic is more comprehensive: it includes more reviews; but MetaCritic and GameRanking always end up having very similar average scores (if not exactly the same.)

An exceptional game is one that is ranked 90% or above. Right now, looking at the PS3 library, it has *ONE* game that is rated above 90% or above on average, and that game (i.e., Oblivion) is not even a PS3 exclusive.

The entire PS3 currently has ONE game that gets 90% and above: Oblivion, and it is NOT an exclusive. That's just... bad.

PS3 really needed Heavenly Sword and Lair to score very, very well in order to help sell some consoles. (I don't count Warhawk because I don't buy a console to buy a multiplayer-ONLY game; anyway, it is a good game but still does not score 90% or over on average.)

Now, look at Xbox 360 library:

http://www.metacritic.com/g... - do you see the difference? There are 8 games that got 90% or above. Now, for gamers that want to play great games (instead of playing the console,) that list is a compelling reason to get that console.

[Bathyj]

Why so defensive. I'm not having a go at you. I'm just trying to offer a little advice.

You keep talking about how you're waiting for ONE GAME to make you go out and get a PS3. Its never gonna happen. I'm saying if you dont want it for the whole package then you dont want it.

And dont throw Xbox comparisons in my face because I never even mentioned XB and I certainly never made out like PS3 was better.

I just tried to offer a different perspective, so please dont react to me like a fanboy.

[Like a shadow I am]

I said a collection of exceptional games. A *COLLECTION*.

Stop twisting my words.

Heavenly Sword could have been an exceptional game and add to that collection, but now it does not. Even if Heavenly Sword had gotten 9s and 10s and 90% or over on average, it by itself would still have not been enough to convince other people to pay $500 or $600 for a console -- because it would still have been ONLY one exceptional game. PS3 has to be able to offer a COLLECTION = LIBRARY of *more than one* exceptional game. Heavenly Sword could have helped built that collection for PS3, but now it has failed to do so.

Lair has failed to become exceptional as well. If Heavenly Sword, and Lair, and LittleBigPlanet, and Folklore, and Uncharted, and just one or a couple more games -- *all* combined together and *all* receive *exceptional* scores all the time, then PS3 could have gotten my business this year.

So, tell me, does PS3 have a collection of exceptional exclusives right now? If there is such a collection, then tell me the names of those exceptional games.

For your reference: http://www.metacritic.com/g...

A collection of exceptional games, a library of outstanding exclusives, which makes people go, "WOW, I have to play those games," which makes people willing to part with $500 or $600 -- that is what PS3 needs soon if not right now. I'm sure that'll come someday, but it's just not coming soon enough.

[Bathyj]

Ok, maybe I was a bit unclear, but you are always going on about how you are waiting for that ONE game that is going to convince you to get a PS3. Like one big release is going to finally do it for you. I'm saying that wont happen and the longer you wait for that one game to convince you, the less likely you'll be of ever getting one. Thats all. Thats my whole point. Make of it what you will.

[Like a shadow I am]

Not, I have never said I was waiting for just ONE game. I'm waiting for a COLLECTION of exceptional exclusives to sell PS3 to me.

A while ago, I anticipated Lair and Heavenly Sword to become the first two PS3 exclusives to really sweep 9s and 10s and dazzle people, followed by strongly reviewed Folklore, LittleBigPlanet, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. All those games together - all getting rave reviews - will convince me to get a PS3 this year. Just one or two out of those six titles getting rave reviews are NOT enough.

Why do I need so many exceptional exclusives to convince me to buy a PS3? Because a PS3 costs $500~$600. If a PS3 had cost $300~$400, then maybe three or four great games would have been enough to sell the PS3. If a PS3 had cost $250, then one or two good games would have been enough. (Now, can you see why Wii is selling like crazy even though it has only one good game? Because it's also cheap at the same time.)

I'm just telling ya, that's how most any consumer who's not a total fanboy makes his buying decision for a console.

High price + no (or not enough) exceptional exclusives = PS3's serious problem at the moment

[trane07]

Just because they didn't get a complete 10 score doesn't mean they aren't exceptional. If you mean to say that you need a collection of AAA good games then you ought to wait then. Xbox has 8 so called "exceptional" games by your standard, but tell yourself how long has that system been out?

[ktchong]

That's how I bought my first Xbox: exceptional games.

At first, I was not interested in getting the console AT ALL. Then I had heard about Halo and all the rave reviews, and a friend invited me over to his place to play the game. Of course, I would not have accepted the invitation if I had not already heard so much about the game. I went to his place to play it, and I liked it, but I still did not want to buy a console for only one game.

Soon afterward, I heard about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. After I read all the the rave reviews, I actually asked my friend if he had the game and if I could go to his place to try it out. Those two games sold me an Xbox.

Right now, Heavenly Sword and Lair are not doing the same thing for PS3. Even if some friend bought the game and invited me to try it out at his place, with the review scores those games have been getting, I will have to think about it - I would rather go out and have fun, or go home and watch some movies or play some Xbox 360 or Wii game.

[ktchong]

and people hold PS3 to a much, much higher standard than Xbox 360 and Wii because...

It's 500 bucks.

Which means PS3 has to deliver more exceptional game titles (meaning exclusives) than Xbox 360 and Wii to convince gamers to pick PS3 over the other two consoles.

[Why_So_Serious]

at first it was the ps3 as no games (true)

now it's the ps3 as no AAA games

then it'll be the ps3 as less AAA games than the x360

haters will always hate and fanboys will always over hype until they get enough money to buy the console they loathes so much and suddenly they'll stfu

[heroman711]

that one game has a name and its name is MGS4. seriously, to get a console u need a collection of games not just picking out one and so far ive seen the collection of upcomming games. they look awesome.

[dantesparda]

Who cares what reviewers say! reviewers are biased and have there own taste and have agendas. And i dont need somebody to tell me what is good and what is not. And the PS3 is being held to a much higher standard than the 360. Just about anything and everything 360 is considered so great and so incredible, and everything PS3 is considered sucky and dissappointing. When the reality is, that the differences between the two versions are usually so minimal, so minute. Yet fanboys exaggerate the hell out of it. Because they are pathetic and hateful, and its pathetic. I have never cared about reviews scores and never will. Most of these guys are groupies of franchises and will like the game just for being part of the franchise/series, regardless of how good or bad it really is. Just go by your own opinion of these games, not some guy, who's agenda you dont know

And p.s. Oblivion is a boring game, with sucky music and unimpressive graphics to me, yet it gets high scores, so there goes their above 90 score for me, it doesnt mean squat. Its just fodder for fanboys

[360RULEZ]

is 7-8 the best that a sony socalled AAA game can offer ?

Xbox360 has Bioshock, Halo3 , Mass Effect, etc. , and that's the definition of AAA games, not like Heavenly Suckage and Lair.

[Bathyj]

Mainly 9's and 10's actually as well as 8's.

Its a fun game and we're going to buy it and enjoy it. You got a problem with that?

[vaan]

Don't you have a 360 to play/fix?
WTF you doing here anyway?

[heroman711]

says the 360 fanboy. u named 3 games and then put etc. y u put etc, is it cuz u cant think of any othr good games besides the 3 major ones coming to 360. sure all our upcomming games might not be 9s or 10s but we know we getting games with 8s and we will have over 10 games come out from now to christmas. im gonna go fanboy here and ask u wat other game besides those 3 will get good scores. 2 human looks like a dmc4 knock off, blue dragon sucked, 2 worlds SUCKED. whats next. u guys gave us a list of games coming out that would get 9s, so far im seeing only these 3 get good scores ( heard mass effect was a disappointment ) which are Mass effect, halo 3 and bioshock.

[Gamer13]

Shame, the first time i saw this game in action i thought it would get 9.2 out of 10 atleast, or 10/10.

IM OUT...///"""
--*****--

[heroman711]

dude this game got average score from 8 - 9 and 8 means AAA. its the stupid fanboys saying " n-no u cant have a AAA game with a 8, this game sucks"

[pompoms]

HS is a solid 9/10 in my book... thats the impression I get from the demo anyway. The Sophisticated combat system is very refreshing and very satisfying because you know you have really owned the oppostion with skill instead of just button bashing. A multiplayer version would be sweet for the same reason... it would be uber sweet to beat the sh1t out of my lazy button bashing friends.

Day one purchase for me :)

[BURLY]

...but the fact that you have an avatar of Ricky from the Trailer Park Boys -- WELL THAT'S JUST AWESOME MAN!

Brings a tear to my eyes because I am up late working and knocking back a few Molson's, sporadically checking this site for a break.

Ricky, Bubbles, and Julian are Canada's home-boys (for real) and it still completely amazes me that most Americans have no idea who they are!

Apparently the British are in-tune though, so maybe they will get the attention that they deserve! LOL ...chances are they will become a cult classic and influence the world for better or for worse :)

...probably for the better, Peace yo!

[pompoms]

Thanks Dawg, have some bubbles :)

[DaEnforcer]

Go home with your MetaCritic. I looked at their list and it's ridiculous. Motorstorm(Japan) better than the western version with online gaming? LMAO
Same goes for the 360 list. Call of Duty 2/Ghost Recon ranked in the 9's while their successors are clearly better. Here you go with your MetaCritic, you zombie ;)

[gamerriffic]

.. i dont think i've really completed a game twice.
unless its metal gear, or something that had co-op.
i'm just addicted to MGS, and coop, well, thats multiplayer.
its different everytime. but i never really go
and play the singleplayer mode again.

so if that was the only real Con of this game. i dont mind at all.

[InMyOpinion]

If the game does'nt last more than 6-7 hours and you don't feel like playing it again, it kinda sucks. I've finished Gears 4 times (it's got great replay value mainly cause the action is so much fun + co op + multiplayer) and I'm going to replay Bioshock as soon as I'm done with it.

Why is there no multiplayer in Heavenly Sword? That would have lengtened it's replay value.

[FirstknighT]

...I don't remember the numbers because I'm to lazy to look for them but its like 67 360 games rated 80 and higher while the ps3 only has like 14 rated 80 and higher and about 8 of those 14 are better on the 360.

I'll admit that one video with 1000s of enemies looked good but a few others like when shes fighting some lizard lady in a room looked last gen. A 6 hour game with no incentive to play it again is very dissapointing for a game that has been in development for a LONG TIME! I think a 7 or a 8 is a good score for this game.
But definitely not a AAA title like most sony fanboys talked about.

[Bathyj]

Thats the first time you've made me laugh Knight. You dont remember the numbers? HA. You've got them stitched on your pillow you liar.

And no incentive to play the game again? Other than the fact its fun you mean.

Sorry, I'm not having a go at you, and I wasn't having a go at Cal either. He just either totally missed my point or doesn't understand it. Nevermind.

[FirstknighT]

But cmon...you can't be happy about a game that has been in development WAY LONGER than your average game and it only has 6 hours. I remember sony fanboys bashing Gears of War because it only has about 8 hours. Atleast Gears of War has multiplayer.

[Bathyj]

Sorry, but I dont believe for a second that if I sat down at lunch time I would finish this game by dinner.

Other reviewers have said the game is anywhere from 8 to 10 hours long and thats the game clock. It doesn't count loading, dying, watching cutscences. A Res Evil game might have a 10 maybe 12 hour time, start to finish with no wasted time, but who sits down and finishes it in the first day? Not me anyway. I savour, I dont race. Unless its a race game. Plus didn't Sony make Ninja Theory play through this game in the hard level just to show it was possible? Doesn't sound like 6 hours/one sitting to me.

For the record I dont knock GeoW for being to short. 7 to 10 hours for an action game is pretty normal nowadays. You want longer, get an RPG.

[trane07]

How some of these trolls were shouting flop and doom/gloom crap when they saw that 6 and 7 review and now that heavenly sword is getting all these 8/9 scores they are all like, "Its not a great game" Im sure if it got scores around the 8/9 range they are considered great ones. It looks as if people are trying to find a reason to complain about this game and its stupid, And if you dont have a ps3 in the first place why even bother to complain about it? (power of green, first knight, etc...)

[tplarkin7]

When reporting reviews, there should be some standards. The internet is an ever changing entity, but common sense would say that we should stick to more popular review sites.

[Maddens Raiders]

"newsworthy review sites." You know ones, that celebrate more substance over style or w/e the fvck you "want" to hear? In the meantime go hump your 3fixme & sthu already.

W3LCOM3 CHANG3
P L A Y B 3 Y O N D

[i Shank u]

do you remember the first playstation slogan?

U R NOT (red)E 4 The Next Level

damn those slogans suck

[Maddens Raiders]

yeah slogan meister "i shank u" ?????

He hate me???? Dork

Dude, apparently you weren't read-E as those slogans and SNE went on to dole out only The best selling consoles in video game history, Einstein. Please go back to sleep and stop trolling _Bots. This game nor the PlayStation concern you. You are on the outside looking in. Now scram!

[Figboy]

metacritic has Heavenly Sword averaged at 82/100, which isn't bad at all. it's an 8/10 game, though for me, it doesn't matter what these complete strangers score it, but what *I score it myself when i get my hands on it.

what i don't understand, is how the opinions of a *FEW, suddenly counts for the opinions of a few *MILLION gamers.

there are games that i hate, that people dote over, there are games that i love, that people hate.

the only opinion that matters is my own.

sure, there *CAN be a sort of general consensus (for example, the entire known universe's collective hatred of Uwe Boll), but video games are a very subjective medium, unlike any other out there due to it's interactive nature.

for example, Shadow of the Colossus is quite possibly one of the most moving emotional experiences i've ever had when playing a game, but i just *KNOW that there is a gamer out there that didn't bat an eye.

some folks are Splinter Cell fans, some folks are Metal Gear Solid fans, some are both.

we all have different tastes and i'm not just going to throw my buying decision out of the window because some guy that's *NOT me tells me the game is a 6/10.

based off of what i played in the demo, and my previous history of loving games in this genre (Devil May Cry, God of War), i will purchase this game on day one, no questions asked.

[dantesparda]

I fully agree with what you said. I was trying to say the same thing in a post above

[UJUSTLOSTONE]

I've Replied to a couple of Calphoenix's comments also, and it just seems like peeps like him and First Knight have nothing but negativity to spread.

If you don't have nothing but counterproductivity to spread, then don't state anything at all. If you don't like a game then why spend soo much time NOT liking it. I just don't understand that logic

I would give you more bubbs, but your blocked, because I have given you so many in the past.

Keep standing your ground man