Heavenly Sword was expected to be a launch title when the Sony PlayStation 3 made its debut, but that never came to fruition. Instead, Heavenly Sword was delayed until September 2007. The game is a Sony PlayStation 3 exclusive video game.

Players will be in control of a rather attractive female protagonist named Nariko. The Heavenly Sword story is about Nariko and her father. Her father was killed and Nariko wants revenge. To avenge his father’s death, he must wield a deadly weapon known as the Heavenly Sword. The plot is his usual tale of revenge and tyranny. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before and nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve seen this same story in a myriad of other video games. The images in Heavenly Sword are impressive. Facial animations span the entire body, so every part of a person’s face appears realistic. All the environments are amazing. From ancient architecture to flora, everything in Heavenly Sword looks splendid.

The exemplary presentation of the game doesn’t stop there. The audio in Heavenly Sword is on par with God of War; (though no better than God of War) plus, the voice acting brings the characters to life. The game breaks down like this: Nariko has three positions in her arsenal. A stance is a quick stance that allows you to attack enemies quickly. The second stance is a powerful but slow fighting stance. Lastly, there is a ranged stance that allows players to hit opponents from a distance. Each pose fits well into Heavenly Sword, and they all complement each other. For example, using a quick stance will eradicate minor enemies. But a power-fighting stance might work for a boss. There is also a satisfying counterattack maneuver (a la Assassin’s Creed) that can be executed by pressing a button at the right time. When done correctly, Nariko will perform a one-hit counter kill. One flaw in the gameplay is that it lacks a lock button. You can block, however it is completely random and difficult to achieve. You have to match the same fighting stance your enemies are using. If they use a quick fighting stance, then you should use a quick fighting stance. One of the three colors will glow around your enemies and accentuate the stance they are using. It seemed like blocking was an afterthought in Heavenly Sword, and the blocking mechanic is a mess.

Much of the game is redundant, but it manages to keep players intrigued. Excluding bosses, most of your opponents are immensely generic-looking characters that lack depth. Speaking of bosses, they definitely attract attention. Boss fights add a challenge to the game and provide a much-needed opportunity for repetitive game pacing. Heavenly Sword has its share of touch-sensitive moments (like God of War) that will appease God of War fans. These in-game touch-sensitive parts are significantly difficult to achieve because you have limited time to react when button icons appear. Fortunately, the button icons are identical each time (unlike in God of War).

Without revealing too much, there is one particular puzzle in the game that involves throwing a shield that will make you want to scream at the top of your lungs. Fortunately, the game developers rectified most of the camera bugs in the demo. Many people will be mesmerized by the dazzling martial arts stunts in Heavenly Sword; others will be mesmerized by the red-haired beauty named Nariko (I know she was); some will be mesmerized by both. In general, Heavenly Sword is not as brilliant as God of War. The most irritating aspect of Heavenly Sword has to be the length. The game is over before you know it; plus maybe six or seven hours of play from start to finish. The final verdict on Heavenly Sword is that it is good, but not an extraordinary game.

final verdict 8.4 of 10