Well boys and girls it’s been a while, largely due to the fact I’m knee deep in sorting out a website overhaul that has left me with bugger all time to get down and dirty with a title or two. Sometimes we ninjas have to make these sacrifices, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let probably one of the better titles to come out on the PS3 slip through my cranked-up keyboard-calloused hands. Oh no.

I imagine that a lot of reviewers have been harping on about how Heavenly Sword comes into the Devil May Cry, God of War, Ninja Gaiden category – and they’d be right. However, some might continue on to say that the game therefore lacks originality by jumping onto said bandwagons. Well screw that policy pal, I loved previously mentioned titles and that’s every reason to give this a shot too.

Heavenly Sword’s all about this lass Nariko, our heroine of the game who’s out to avenge her warrior clan that has almost been completely wiped out by the no-do-gooder tyrant King Bohan. If Nariko had been born a bloke (much to the disappointment of the male gaming populous) she would’ve taken over the clan as head-honcho, but regardless her dad, the current leader shows her all the tricks and traits required to be a martial arts babe. When Bohan captures her dad, she feels she has no choice but to take up the Heavenly Sword – a huge Cloud-style weapon that the clan have been guarding for quite some time now. This sword grants the weilder some awesome possibilities of mass destruction, but was only meant for a deity (a “God” for us laymen) and so drains the life out of any mortal who wields it. “Oops” she thinks, while sauntering off with her flowing red hair and skimpy outfit for the entertainment of the masses. We don’t care - phwarr.

For those of you who have been following the games quite lengthy development of around 5 years in the making, you’ll already be aware of what the game’s aims were. In short, Ninja Theory wanted to create an epic and immersive game that had all the makings of a blockbuster movie, but where the player is in control. In some regards, this isn’t that different from where games are heading at the moment anyway, but when it was 5 years prior, developing a game that couldn’t even run on the technology they had at that time; it was an ambitious project. Luckily for Ninja, Sony gave them decent backing, which no doubt allowed them to get all sorts of impressive elements underway, from using Prague’s Philharmonic Orchestra to having Andy Serkis (voice of Gollum) step in as Creative Director.

The gameplay comes across as quite simplistic to begin with. When you consider most reactions to any given situation in these genres of games, your first playable encounter is to button mash. However, this falls on its pretty, girl-next-door face with Heavenly Sword as is noticeable if you decide to replay the game after completion. Button mashing becomes nowhere near as effective as dodging and pulling off combos left right and centre. Once Nariko wields the Heavenly Sword, she has 3 stances to master and any of them can be advantageous in certain situations or a combination there of. First off she has her normal ‘Speed’ stance that by default is her fastest stance and one that allows her to block incoming attacks when her opponent is glowing blue. Secondly, we have her ‘Power’ stance, which as you’d expect makes slower more powerful attacks and additionally allows her to block incoming orange glowing opponents. Lastly, you’ll have access to her ‘Ranged’ stance which means she wont be able to deflect opponents but can lob debris at her foes, deflect arrows and perform slow-mo aerial combos with the aid of the motion sensing 6-Axis. Thankfully, you can easily switch between these three stances as you see fit.

Perhaps at this point it would be appropriate to bring up the veritable amount you can take advantage of the 6-Axis controllers that Heavenly Sword utilises. From previously mentioned aerial combos to guiding cannon balls, Ninja Theory have made sure that there’s a reason it’s a PS3 exclusive. While the combos can be a right pain to pull of at times, guiding a sword you’ve just thrown into the head of an enemy is a fine compromise.

As you progress through the game Nariko will start to unlock new combos that you’ll be able to pull-off in different stances, although you may find yourself preferring to stick with what you know best. You’ll also get access to special moves that are actually little cutscene throws, which as the game progress can become more powerful allowing you to take out more enemies at once. The difference between this and its rivals is that everything feels like its been thought through a lot more thoroughly that its predecessors. While in God of War you might’ve hammered buttons and in Ninja Gaiden you found yourself diving off walls and dodging blows, Heavenly Sword sees you seamlessly combine both by allowing you to do either and still come back for more.

Where this is most noticeable is not only during crowd control but also while taking on a boss. They have enough intelligence to get out your way and follow with a combo, and so can you as Nariko will change the way she attacks if she’s at a distance from an opponent, allowing you to dodge nicely out the way and then leap back or run up with a hit. You may not get the fluidity of all of this until perhaps your second run through the game – if you get that far. But you’ll be amazed at your progress with the combat system given enough time.

There are certain points in the game where you’ll be able to control Narikos slightly derange friend, Kai. While in control of Kai your main weapon will be a crossbow which you can fire and then control the direction of the arrows in slow-mo. If these arrows cross fire in their path, they’ll set alight and can be used to blow things up. You could consider this, as well as a previous challenge where Nariko’s in control of a cannon, a kind of mini-game but with more involvement.

Putting the combat aside for the moment, the graphics really need to be celebrated. Even if they’re using the ol’ fixed camera angle trick, Heavenly Sword is one beautifully put together game. From amazing waterfalls to high-rendered characters with ultra-realistic animations to sexy scantily clad heroines, your eyes will never hunger. The only downside with such attention to details is your FPS might suffer from time to time, but that’s usually only while panning out above large areas.

While at times the sound effects can become repetitive, particularly the chime that says, “You’ve just landed the final blow of that combo”, the music is awesome. Prague’s Philharmonic Orchestra alongside Nimrod’s Studio Orchestra have really brought the game to life with symphonic beauty. It really makes you think about how close games and films are coming together when putting these visuals and sound together – it’s not just a game, it’s an experience. The lavish graphics, the no-holds-barred score and the fluid combos from a foxy vixen all fit together very nicely.

But…

I’d want to jump to the conclusion that a lot of time was spent on making the game immerse the player in a fantastical world that they controlled, as was their mantra, but its meant the game’s ended up coming in at around 6 hours of gameplay. If you’ll pay £10 for a film on DVD that lasted 2 hours then sure you could pay £30 for a game that lasted 6, but at normal price of £50 for a PS3 title it’s rather pricey. Additionally, for all previously mentioned niceties, there are still moments where you can’t pull off your coup de grace due to the enemy not quite in their rolling around on the floor in pain animation. During my 12 hours worth of gaming I made the game crash twice (Only Armoured Core previously did that) and got stuck in the environment. Oh, yeah and other than artwork and a few animations there isn’t much in the way of unlockable content for that replayability factor.

I might also want to harp on about how there’s a lack of gore. The special moves will have you bring your sword smack down between a guy’s legs in a very Disney-don’t-look-now-children kind of way. This, however, I can forgive them for. Considering how PS3 haven’t been doing too well in the marketing front and have lost a lot of their exclusive titles, I’d want as large a target audience as I could get. This of course is also noticeable in why the 6-Axis has been used in a lot of different an interesting ways, in what’s been pretty much a first for PS3 since launch. While some of these little scenarios can be a pain in the arse, I’ve still enjoyed the ideas being put to good use.

I’d hope you’d see from this review that Heavenly Sword is a slightly flawed masterpiece. It’s a strong landmark for any games to be released on the PS3 in the future. Just maybe next time, Ninjas Theory, can we have a bit more for our money please?