Introduction

Sony's Playstation 3 has suffered a bit of a troubled life so far. The launch was not a roaring success, the system sales have been slow and the hardware is still considered "overpriced" by many gamers. One of the big challenges for Sony remains the lack of must-have games - a challenge made more difficult when it was announced that some of the hot PS3 exclusives like Assassin's Creed would be coming out on the Xbox 360. Despite these obstacles, Sony has persevered by showcasing certain titles that remain PS3 exclusives. Games like Killzone 2, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII are still dangled in front of us with the promise of astonishing graphics and engaging gameplay. For the longest time Heavenly Sword was one of those titles that Sony hoped would push the platform. Unfortunately for the Japanese electronics giant, the title is no killer app and it won't sell systems. It might serve as a good game for existing PS3 owners, though.

View the Heavenly Sword slide show (24 images)

The story of Heavenly Sword is all too familiar to gamers and fantasy fiction fans but it is not without its own flair. As is common with fantasy, there is a prologue that bears heavily on the main story. The titular sword was brought to the land by a nameless angelic warrior who used it to defeat the evil that was plaguing the area. The sword itself became a thing of legend wielded and sought after by many. It brought about the death of everyone who carried it until it was taken up by a clan of people who protected it as a treasure rather than as a weapon. A prophecy was written that on a specific day a boy would be born who would wield the sword against another great evil and free the people from their oppressors. It was an ill omen then that a girl was born that day and the clan considered her a curse rather than the prophecy fulfilled. This girl was shunned by the clan and lived an extremely hard life at the hands of her father and trainer. The girl was named Nariko and she is the crimson-crowned warrior that you play in Heavenly Sword.

The story that the game concerns itself with is that of Nariko battling the army of the evil King Bohan in order to stop the destruction of her people and to prevent him from obtaining the Heavenly Sword. The problem with the plotting of Heavenly Sword is that all the detail and drama is in the prologue - which is not even shown in the game. You have to see the five-part anime series in order to get the prologue, which is ultimately much more interesting than the story of the game. The anime is also on the game disc as an unlockable special feature but after beating the game I only had access to two parts (the others presumably take more work). Fortunately, all five parts are available for download in HD from the Playstation Network.

Nariko wields the Heavenly Sword.

As Nariko you'll carve your way through endless masses of Bohan's men - using first a generic long sword but later the Heavenly Sword - utilizing attack and block combinations and some fancy gymnastics.

As much as I love these kinds of action games I have a big problem with the combat mechanics for this one: Nariko can't jump. I don't mean that she physically isn't capable because many of the attack combos feature her leaping into the air dealing much death and misery. What I mean to say is there is no jump button. It sounds petty, but this is a game with a main character that is animated with much agility. The fact that I can't make her jump down a flight of stairs or jump out of the way of an attack is thus an enormous problem. By simply adding the jump ability you practically double the attack combinations. There's an evade roll to suit the purposes of escape, but jumping has been a part of action/fighting games for as long as we've been playing them. Not being able to jump means you don't have to deal with jumping puzzles so perhaps it's a blessing in disguise.

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