The Heavenly Sword Thread

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I find the fighting controls to be refreshing since it distinguishes itself by placing importance in attack animations.

In other words, Nariko will not respond to a button press when she has not almost completed her attack animation already in motion. Also, due to the Wuxia inspiration and her character background, Nariko's attack animations are slower. So, if someone were to button mash or press the buttons very quickly like in DMC, Nariko will not pull off a graceful combo, but instead attack in a rather awkward fashion. However, if the player is relaxed and attentive to Nariko's body movement, the awesome will start flowing out.

Okay, I can totally understand what you mean. Looking back to the gameplay, it makes perfect sense.

And Kai just annoys me, lol. Granted I only watched through the demo.

[Nate]

All I have to say is...

RACE OF MASTER HAT-CRAFTERS.

[Omega Amen]

All I have to say is...

RACE OF MASTER HAT-CRAFTERS.

Interesting, since there are only four times, I believe, that those hat puzzles occur, and only take a few seconds to get past.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Hat puzzles? 0_o Guess we didn't get that far in^^

[Omega Amen]

Hat puzzles? 0_o Guess we didn't get that far in^^

Grabbing a hat in a crate, throwing it with aftertouch, and steering it to hit a pressure plate to open a door/gate. That is what I meant by hat puzzles.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Oh THOSE. I always thought they were shields^^

[Omega Amen]

Oh THOSE. I always thought they were shields^^

Hmm... maybe I should go back to play it right now and verify that.

EDIT: You know what, Tenshi no Ai? You are right. They are shields, not hats. I verified this by picking up a shield from a soldier I just killed. It is the exact same object with the same design and it has two armstraps... that would make it impossible to wear as a hat. You got sharp eyes.

[Bobtheduck]

Now that it's out, is it all you hoped for?

Next up: Folklore... A game I know I will love because I've played it enough to judge.

(sorta regret buying Lair)

[Tenshi no Ai]

So Lair really is that bad? I know HS was alll many people thought it would be, but with Lair.... not so much. Is it just because of the sixaxis control? I mean, it's a little getting used to in HS with Kai's Twing Twanging, but apparently gets easier with a bit of practice. Is that the case or is it it just overall... not good?

[Omega Amen]

First, let me give credit where it is due. Tenshi no Ai, you are right. Those are shields. I verified this by picking up a shield from a soldier I just killed. It is the exact same object with the same design as those found in crates, and it has two armstraps... that would make it impossible to wear as a hat. You got sharp eyes.

And it also seems someone needs to make a correction as well.

Now that it's out, is it all you hoped for?

It nearly is, and it honestly gave me a lot of pleasant surprises. It is so refreshing in a way, especially tone and atmosphere of the whole game. For once, I can recommend this type of game to a younger audience on CAA since it is not dreary, dark, cynical, or gory. Instead, it is just fun.

The demo really does not do the full game justice at all. The graphics are significantly better. The first chapter really gives you a lot of help in learning the combat system. When you unlock the seven-button combos, Nariko then starts pulling off insane moves. The physics system is tweaked so you juggle combo people like you can in Virtua Fighter and Tekken, and even easily change combo strings midway.

The motion capture acting is absolutely phenomenal. In chapter 1, when you see Kai waking up and looking at Master Shen holding the Heavenly Sword... the nuances and the subtle movements are captured so well that you forget you are looking at a computer generated model. It looks so real, similar in a way to Gollum in LOTR.

And I completely take back that this game will not have wide appeal. On the contrary, I can see a wider audience appreciating this game than GOW, DMC, or NGS could do. The only people who are not going like this are the jaded and cynical gamers who will not take seriously games that do not have dark, brooding, and the usual violent/controversial elements in their atmosphere and story.

(sorta regret buying Lair)

Oh man... you should have bought Heavenly Sword. Also, in Heavenly Sword, if you do not like the Sixaxis control, you can turn it all off and use the analog sticks.

[Bobtheduck]

So Lair really is that bad? I know HS was alll many people thought it would be, but with Lair.... not so much. Is it just because of the sixaxis control? I mean, it's a little getting used to in HS with Kai's Twing Twanging, but apparently gets easier with a bit of practice. Is that the case or is it it just overall... not good?

The reason Lair is bad has little to do with the sixaxis tilt controls. Anyone who can't get used to tilt isn't trying, in my view. The only exception to this is doing a 180, which is nearly impossible... The flick technique pretty much NEVER works...

No, what makes Lair horrible is the bad texturing, tearing, massive frame drop, controls in tight areas, grabbing and targeting things on the ground, clipping, minimal rigging, and difficulty level on par with Ninja Gaiden with none of the payoff... Oh, and I admit trying to ram a dragon to the side can be infuriating, since it's difficult to ram without losing alignment when you use the sixaxis...

If it were JUST the sixaxis, though, it wouldn't be a problem... If you use a PS2 controller with an adapter, you can put the tilt controls on the left stick, and voila, ... That's not the real problem... This is the glitchiest, buggiest game I've played since vice city (possibly worse) and it's even disappointing in terms of what it was supposed to do well: Textures and scale... There was ONE really good level, and that level would have made me want the game if it was my only exposure to it, and one ok level (the bombing run) at least until halfway through it when I discovered the whole thing was timed, and I didn't do it fast enough, and I got knocked off my dragon without the option of fighting... Gah!

At least there's one game I KNOW I'll love because I've spent so much time playing it already... Folklore... Uncharted looks awesome, but so did Lair, so I'll give it a rent before I buy it... And I may try to trade Lair in for HS...

I'm really disappointed by the rigging!! I mean, come ON!! Heavenly Sword and Uncharted set new standards in game rigging, why is the rigging in Lair worse than many PS2 games? And textures... The serpent fight looked worse than a colossus fight in SotC on the PS2!!! WTH?

[Bobtheduck]

At least there's one game I KNOW I'll love because I've spent so much time playing it already... Folklore... Uncharted looks awesome, but so did Lair, so I'll give it a rent before I buy it... And I may try to trade Lair in for HS...

I'm really disappointed by the rigging!! I mean, come ON!! Heavenly Sword and Uncharted set new standards in game rigging, why is the rigging in Lair worse than many PS2 games? And textures... The serpent fight looked worse than a colossus fight in SotC on the PS2!!! WTH?

Sorry for grave digging when I was the last person to write here, but I own Folklore and Heavenly Sword now (as well as resistance and Warhawk and Ninja Gaiden Sigma)

I'm really loving heavenly sword, but I haven't spent THAT much time on any one game because I've been so busy... I'm on the last chapter in HS, and I gotta say... This game is funny, it can be emotional (really), it's gorgeous-- I haven't ever seen a game this good looking, Nariko's fugly hair notwithstanding -- and it's fun, most of the time (I have to say, until I learned it was better to DODGE Flying Fox's attacks than to block them, I was dying over and over)

Heavenly Sword didn't do that well, and I'm guessing it's because of the demo, since it was so short. It deserves more. This game is incredible.

[GrubbTheFragger]

incredible game. I love the humor thrown in it works perfect with the characters.