After five days of waiting, I finally received my games in from GameFly. I'll get this out of the way first - Virtua Tennis wasn't all that hot. It was boring and required no thought whatsoever. I mean, I let it sit there with my hands off the controller and my character still volleyed the ball back and forth with my computer-controlled opponent, at least until he hit one into the far corner of the court. I'm sending that back.
The other game I got - Heavenly Sword - is another matter entirely. I'm not typically into "hack and slash" games, as it usually consists of not much more than mindless button mashing. Heavenly Sword is different. Its more like you're playing a movie. Its intuitive control scheme also make you less likely to just button mash your way through the hoards of enemies thrown at you.
From the beginning you're thrown into the fray and thrown into the plight of Nariko, the heroine you control through a good chunk of the game. The combos she has are easy to execute and have stunning visual results on-screen. Once she actually gets the Heavenly Sword its even more fun, as there's three different ways she can attack - at range, normal or powerful. The range attacks tend to knock enemies back if you get a large group on you that you want to spread out, but the attacks are weak. "Normal" attacks are swift and cause a moderate amount of damage. Powerful attacks cause a lot of damage but are slow to execute. I've noticed that most enemies either perform swift attacks or powerful attacks (you can tell by their attack animation) and that the same attacks are useful when fighting enemies who use that attack.
One of the coolest parts about the game is the many times you have to throw or shoot objects at various targets. You're given the option to hold down the square button and guide the projectile to its target using the Sixaxis controller. This is actually fun in most instances. However, sometimes you're better off not using the controller to guide the projectile as its easier to aim and hit your target without it. During physical combat, as well, Nariko can pick up dropped shields and weapons from fallen soldiers and chuck them at enemies, not to mention other objects scattered around the battlefield.
Much of the arrow-shooting comes when you take control of Nariko's friend, Kai. One sequence in particular is when Kai is fending off soldiers while trying to help someone escape from the enemy. In this instance, its much easier to guide the arrows to their target using the Sixaxis controls than to just sit back, shoot and hope for the best. Another earlier scene has Nariko firing off a cannon at enemy catapults, in which case guiding the cannonball to the target never worked well for me. All this brings much variety and, in my opinion, needed breaks from all the hack and slash action.
To my estimation, I'm only about half way through the game, but its actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The visuals are stunning, the game play is intuitive and the story is engrossing. I'm looking forward to playing the rest of the game before I return it.
The other game I got - Heavenly Sword - is another matter entirely. I'm not typically into "hack and slash" games, as it usually consists of not much more than mindless button mashing. Heavenly Sword is different. Its more like you're playing a movie. Its intuitive control scheme also make you less likely to just button mash your way through the hoards of enemies thrown at you.
From the beginning you're thrown into the fray and thrown into the plight of Nariko, the heroine you control through a good chunk of the game. The combos she has are easy to execute and have stunning visual results on-screen. Once she actually gets the Heavenly Sword its even more fun, as there's three different ways she can attack - at range, normal or powerful. The range attacks tend to knock enemies back if you get a large group on you that you want to spread out, but the attacks are weak. "Normal" attacks are swift and cause a moderate amount of damage. Powerful attacks cause a lot of damage but are slow to execute. I've noticed that most enemies either perform swift attacks or powerful attacks (you can tell by their attack animation) and that the same attacks are useful when fighting enemies who use that attack.
One of the coolest parts about the game is the many times you have to throw or shoot objects at various targets. You're given the option to hold down the square button and guide the projectile to its target using the Sixaxis controller. This is actually fun in most instances. However, sometimes you're better off not using the controller to guide the projectile as its easier to aim and hit your target without it. During physical combat, as well, Nariko can pick up dropped shields and weapons from fallen soldiers and chuck them at enemies, not to mention other objects scattered around the battlefield.
Much of the arrow-shooting comes when you take control of Nariko's friend, Kai. One sequence in particular is when Kai is fending off soldiers while trying to help someone escape from the enemy. In this instance, its much easier to guide the arrows to their target using the Sixaxis controls than to just sit back, shoot and hope for the best. Another earlier scene has Nariko firing off a cannon at enemy catapults, in which case guiding the cannonball to the target never worked well for me. All this brings much variety and, in my opinion, needed breaks from all the hack and slash action.
To my estimation, I'm only about half way through the game, but its actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The visuals are stunning, the game play is intuitive and the story is engrossing. I'm looking forward to playing the rest of the game before I return it.
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