Heavenly Sword - Final Thoughts

Heavenly Sword is a games that ends just as it's really beginning. It's fairly short and fairly easy overall. The story is incomplete and the characters are not fully fleshed out. The action, gameplay, and story were finally starting to solidify when suddenly the game was over.

There are so many things that I still want to know about. What was up with the Raven? Where did the sword really come from? How did Kai initially escape the Flying Fox? Why did Shen think Nariko's birth was a bad omen? Why were all of Bohan's henchmen so stupid? I really feel like I only reached the halfway point in the game. I just hit a major plot twist, there should be more. Give me more!

The combat for the game feels unrefined. Most of the time I would just button mash my way to victory. Rarely did I really have to think about how to beat an enemy. Countering enemy attacks was very tricky so it was a part of the combat system I rarely relied on. I would have really liked a jump ability instead of the grab ability. Throwing items was used more for puzzle solving then fighting. If I actually took time to pick up an item during combat I normally found myself attacked and the item knocked out of my hands.

All of my complaints really come down to one thing. The game needs a sequel. The combat is good, but it could be better. Questions could be answered. Characters could be more fully realized.

Overall this is a game that I had a fun time with. The final fight was well worth the effort of playing through, but I wanted more along those lines. Since the game came out a few years ago I don't know if we'll ever see a sequel or if we'll have to wait for the inevitable revival that all titles seem to go through. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

So that's it. I don't have anything else to say. Good game but cut short. I've moved on to Red Dead Redemption. Got it recently as a gift. I've already played a little ways into it. Since it lacks actual levels my normal style of blog won't really work. I'll just talk about my overall impressions on the games various activities, story, characters, etc...

Until then.