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Heavenly Sword Preview – PS3
Sat, 1st Sep 2007
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Heavenly Sword was first seen worldwide not via the internet but on a rather popular television program called ‘Heroes’. Pinned as the next big thing for the PlayStation 3 console, I was eager to see if Heavenly Sword was going to live up to the hype of being one of the most visually stunning games released for the PS3.The preview code I played certainly didn’t disappoint. The animation was probably the only let-down and that was minor. The character of Nariko (the main character in the game) looks nice and all but if you’re anything like me and  you really scrutinise the animation in a game, you’ll probably find that certain aspects of Nariko’s appearance seemed a little unrealistic - her hair for starters. It seemed just a little too long and wispy. I really did admire the outfit though. Nariko is the female equivalent of Kratos in every way.Gameplay for Heavenly Sword is very reminiscent of God of War. The health indicator bar even looks distinctly familiar. As for the physics of the game, they’re superb. You’re as agile as a ballerina and as flexible as a gymnast as you run, jump, climb and grip onto all sorts of interesting and challenging surfaces with your weapon. There are many game elements that may seem like they’re familiar such as the ability to traverse walls and scale the most difficult of surfaces whilst somersaulting and cutting your way through enemies (like Prince of Persia) but there are also very distinct features of the game that really make the experience something special. The SIX-AXIS technology used in Heavenly Sword is one of the aspects of the game I enjoyed. Nariko is able to pick up objects and throw them through the air. With the PS3 controller utilising the SIX-AXIS technology, you can swivel and turn these items around in mid-air! The effect is amazing as you view your item gliding through the air in slow motion.So our thoughts are pretty good ones so far. It will be interesting to see what the changes will be like in the final build of the game but I’m quietly confident that Heavenly Sword will cater to masses just fine.Game Console will be reviewing Heavenly Sword once we get our hands on the review code.