It's been a year since we first saw Heavenly Sword at last year's E3. The quick demo we played featured redheaded "Goddess of War" Nariko, blades a flurry, engaged in an arena battle. At a press event earlier this week, we played a newer (and arguably shorter) one. The demo felt largely similar to the one played last year with the bulk of the fighting taking place in a small enclosed area where Nariko combats opponents on all sides. Starting off right after the segment shown on hit TV show Heroes, it features a short cut-scene (check out the videos tab above to see it), as well as a fight on top of a pillar and some quick rope running, complete with timed button presses, that leads up to the arena portion. But while Nariko travels over a larger area than before, the overall gameplay time seems to have shortened since the earlier demo, ending when a troop of enemy reinforcements charge onto the scene rather than with a mini-boss fight.
Timed button presses are used to rope run from mountainside to pillar top to arena. God of War comparisons aside, the way the timed button presses are executed is more akin to Dragon's Lair -- players are not so much triggering actions immediately with each successful button press (a lá God of War) as they are allowing the animations to execute properly by the correct interactions.
The Heavenly Sword's three forms and Nariko's accompanying battle stances, which she can switch between on the fly, are back with some added flare -- fiery sword sparks and other speed effect graphics have been added to give her whirling blades a more impressive feel. Speed stance is the quick close-quarters dual-wielding battle style she uses by default -- holding down L1 or R1 changes her stance to Ranged or Power. In Power stance, her swords transform into a large two-handed sword which deals a lot of damage but is slower to wield as a tradeoff. While in Ranged stance, Nariko whips around her dual chained scythe-like blades.
Each stance has a specific combat style with its own associated combos and finishing attacks (Power stance has a downward stab, impaling the grounded body of an enemy), which allows for a lot of options when it comes to beating down the minions of King Botan (mo-cap performance by Andy Serkis). For more stylish combat, there is a three-tiered special attack based on a meter that fills as you beat on enemies. The first level of attack has Nariko grabbing the enemy and snapping his neck, while the third level has her swinging her opponent around in a circle with her chain weapon. To gain enough rage points to execute a third tier special attack, we had to play through nearly the entire demo before we could unleash it on one of the last soldier's standing. Besides fighting with the Heavenly Sword, Nariko can also pick up items from the floor or defeated enemies and throw them at others. Nariko can even pick up a dead soldier and hurl it around like a body shield before throwing it. Using "aftertouch," players can manipulate the projectile path of thrown objects with Sixaxis motion controls, slowing down the camera speed for dramatic effect.
The battles are as flashy and dramatic as ever, with stunning graphics to boot, but this short and similar burst of gameplay demonstration leaves gameplay questions, like whether or not the final game will be mostly arena battles pieced together with cut-scenes, largely unanswered. But gathering from Sony's promises, it looks as though there may be more to Heavenly Sword than currently meets the eye, including weaponry such as crossbows and ancient bazookas as well as new unplayed combo attacks. We'll know more in the upcoming months.
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