New Heavenly Sword details; demo coming in 'very near future'

by Ross Miller { Jul 4th 2007 at 7:00PM }

A demo for Heavenly Sword is just around the corner, according to comments made by producer Mat Hart (as NinjaMat) in the comment section on the Ninja Theory developer blog. "Keep an eye out for this in the very near future...and i mean very near future!" he said.

Also discussed was the use of blood ("fairly elegant"), game length (12 to 15 hours), and the lack of a Special Edition for the game. "Instead," he said, "we would cram the retail release with as many extras as we could fit onto a [Blu-ray disc]." Expect to see behind-the-scenes features as well as the first two episodes of an animated series that explores the "history of the Heavenly Sword prior to the start of the game."

Heavenly Sword is reportedly due out this September.

Gallery: Heavenly Sword (PS3)

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Tags: heavenly sword, HeavenlySword, ninja theory, NinjaTheory

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

MRD @ Jul 4th 2007 7:16PM

I personally don't see Special Editions as inherently bad. Sure, some are just a checkbox on the publisher's list of features ("Hit the hardcore for an extra $10 - done") but others, like MGS3: Subsistence, or the *free* box that came with Castlevania PoR are quite cool.

Heavenly Sword looks like a game that could support a totally worthwhile art book. Geeky as they are, the game has great art design from what we've seen.

noid80 @ Jul 4th 2007 7:12PM

"we would cram the retail release with as many extras as we could fit onto a [Blu-ray disc]." You mean we are actually using data instead of a buffer file to load the games faster because the bluray drive is to slow.

meh @ Jul 4th 2007 7:13PM

Whatever happened to the parts of the game from the early, early tech demos of this game??? They used to show wide open areas with hordes of soldiers that you could blow into collective ragdoll heaven with a single massive blow? Now all they seem to show is tight, small arena combat and some scripted god-of-war-esque rhythm sequences... did they lose those grand moments in teh transition from PC to PS3????

Ian Von Porter @ Jul 4th 2007 7:13PM

picked up NGS today.. they asked if i wanted the se version for 10 extra bucks.. its already a $70 game (cdn).. no freakin thanks.

Josh @ Jul 4th 2007 7:26PM

There isn't unused buffer space on Blu-ray disks because unlike DVD, the read speed on Blu-ray is constant across the entire surface of the disk kthanxbye.

Chris Putnam @ Jul 4th 2007 7:30PM

I'm loving this new era of downloadable console game demos.

Am I the only one who thinks that, for all the hype over the Virtual Console, the PS3 and 360 have much more appealing download offerings than the Wii?

TheGuy @ Jul 4th 2007 7:36PM

@meh

Those wide area soldier army battles are still in the game, it just hasn't been featured as much in the more recent game previews.

As for the game, it still looks awesome. Female God of War here I come!!!

That deaf guy @ Jul 4th 2007 7:40PM

Look at the boobies on that dude! I'm sad in the pants.

Jon @ Jul 4th 2007 7:42PM

@meh,

http://www.britishgaming.co.uk/wp-content/screenshots2/ps3_hvns/11.jpg

Loki @ Jul 4th 2007 7:48PM

Will it live up to the hype?

synce @ Jul 4th 2007 8:38PM

Looks like Sony's taking another clue from Microsoft! I'm expecting the demo to hit during E3, which is great since I plan on getting the PS3 at around that time. I just Sony had a gram of originality, and not just a few exclusive games which look awesome :(

Japan = Better @ Jul 4th 2007 8:40PM

I'll pass. I'm waiting for a better game.

Ninja gaiden II.

Chainblast @ Jul 4th 2007 10:13PM

HS looks good. I'm expecting God of War 3, and that's fine with me so long as it's good. :)

Though I would like to see God of War 3 take on a more Ninja Gaiden-like combat system. That'd be swell.

Naota @ Jul 4th 2007 10:26PM

http://www.joystiq.com/photos/heavenly-sword-ps3/244561/
I'm seeing uncanny valley stuff here

Figboy @ Jul 4th 2007 10:43PM

Chris, I agree with you 100%

I've served my time in the trenches with games like Super Mario Bros 2, Zelda, Castlevania, etc.

Now, I'm much more interested in games like Calling All Cars, flOw, Blast Factor, Super Stardust HD, etc (i only have a PS3, so i only play PSN titles).

not to mention demos of cool PS3 games.

i just recently got into the Warhawk Beta (about a week before it ended), and it sold me on the game. i had no interest in an online game ever, but that game changed my mind. i'm suffering from withdrawal's right now.

at least it hits in August.

the 360 also has some great demos and services.

Sony gets a lot of sh*t from everyone about the PSN (mainly from those that have had no experiences with it), whereas Nintendo never gets sh*t for having an online service that is, truthfully, kind of pathetic.

CarNage @ Jul 4th 2007 10:44PM

@ 1,

are you a fucking retard? blu ray is WAY faster then DVD and HD DVD. you clearly never even fucking played a ps3 game so STOP YOUR FUCKING HATING YOU FUCKING PUSSY.

Figboy @ Jul 4th 2007 10:45PM

whoops, i meant to actually comment on the story too:

i got to play Heavenly Sword at E3 last year, and the game was great.

i think the God of War crowd, while waiting for the PSP game, and a full on PS3 incarnation will feel right at home with this title.

some folks treat the similarities between God of War and Heavenly Sword as if it's a *BAD thing.

hmmm, a game that compares to one of the best action/adventure games on the PS2? or would you rather have it compare to the Army Men franchise? does that sound good to you all?

anyway, i'm hoping there'll be a demo of this title next week at E3.

be even better if it was released on PSN Thursday.

one can dream...

lawrence @ Jul 5th 2007 12:46AM

wii the champions of glory oh yeah except when MGS4 and FFXIII comes out in japan .i got the ps3 just for final fantasy XIII and i got 360 just for lost odysee and i getting the wii just for smash bros.but overall xbox first person just is crap halo yeah the developers lets fuck the fans and put a first person out for xbox i bet you will all halo sequels every two years thats like madden are some stupid hardcore idiot game.halo is trash the developer did not even spend much time developing there games like for one gears of war which was garbage 5 chapters had online and that was it for gears nothing else just that you got to play online.look at halo you get !online! and you get to finish the 10 level fight plus bonus extras from how the designer made the game foolish and are laughing at the fans for a game"halo 3"worth 10$.but that fps games are ridiculous microsoft find way to screw the idiots who spend money on the fps games w

Ryan @ Jul 5th 2007 2:33AM

Carnage, you are half-correct in your assumption that blu-ray is faster than dvd. At 1x blu-ray is faster than dvd.

However, if you go out to buy a dvd-drive for your pc, you may notice they are all 16x. A 16x dvd-drive reads way faster than 1x blu-ray. Blu-ray was relatively new technology[and arguably still is] so the Blu-Ray drive in the ps3 is only 1x or 2x(I forgot which, sorry). The xbox 360 is a 8x or 12x dvd-drive.

The average read speed on a 8x or 12x dvd-drive(whichever the 360 uses) is faster on the outer-edges and a bit slower on the dinner edges. Not sure exactly why but dvd-rom speed are variable based of what part of the dvd its reading.

So on the out edges its faster, on the inner its slower but overall the average read speed on a dvd being read by a 8x or 12x dvd-rom is faster than blu-ray. Not a whole lot though if I remember correctly.

Wes @ Jul 5th 2007 2:38AM

Lawrence, I don't know where to begin with your post. However, its not really on-topic. I just wanna say that if its your opinion that Halo 3 are lazy developers creating a crappy fps not worth $10.00, I think you must have a really low opinion of the value of video games

Or at least have an opinion that fortunately millions and millions of pre-orders at $49.95(cheapest version?) and up disagree with. If Halo 3 is worth $10.00. What's an FF game worth? $12.00? $15.00 on your scale of video game value? (Its a rethorical question)

MrPaulJames @ Jul 5th 2007 2:43AM

@16

Get your facts straight you fuckwad.

http://uk.gamespot.com/pages/profile/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=23916169&user=skektek

OH WHAT DOES THAT SHOW?!

"Blu-ray 2x: 72Mbp / 8MBps
12x DVD: 66 - 132Mbps / 8.2 - 16.5MBps"

Hmm seems that the 360 drive is at least just under the speed of BlueRay, and at most DOUBLE THE SPEED. Fucking idiot.

Got I hate these Sony fanboy morons.

oni-link @ Jul 5th 2007 3:21AM

Looking good exept in a couple of areas...mainly the characters hair looks like they were glued together a little too much. The fat guys custome's textures should have been a little better. Overall nice, but I was expecting a lot more.

PS: any retards that starts bashing on Wii's graphics should remeber that Wii's only capable of 2-3x graphical capabilities of GCN (around Lost Planet or even maybe GENJI:DoB level). PS3 is suppose to be 5x the power of a 360; so I'm expecting more from them!!!

rick @ Jul 5th 2007 6:52AM

A demo on PSN just after E3 would be excellent. I cant wait to play this game!

Zsavior @ Jul 5th 2007 6:55AM

Why does comments about the Wii come up in Threads about Sony games? Wouldn't it be easy just to say Yay or Nay to how the game looks? /Sigh, constantly looking for some in against nintendo won't get the PS3 any more fans, it just seems petty after awhile.

That being said, the game does look good if you are a fan of the God Of War franchise. I think if sony sells the game on that stand point they really can't go wrong. A game like this will do good for the system, joining two communities together in one game. The fantasy adventure gaming crowd and the violence addicted gaming crowd, GOW did a good job of that also and added a fun plot. I hope HS does the same thing.

Asperger Syndrome @ Jul 5th 2007 9:52AM

@ 21, amen brother.

lawrence @ Jul 5th 2007 9:02AM

Wes you should know thatr final fantasy only cost me 20$ when i got it for the ps1 and it was much better and well developed and long compared to halo which is only like six month into development and that it lets go for vacation bungie and come back off vacation and add online

TheGuy @ Jul 5th 2007 10:37AM

@MrPaulJames

Actually, your comparison is incorrect. The Xbox 360 DVD drive can only read single-layer DVDs at 12x speed. For dual-layered disk (which most, if not all, 360 games are on now), the 360 can only read them at 8x speed. In terms of the calculations, this how the speeds compare:

Blu-ray 2x: 72Mbp / 9Mbps
DVD 8x: 44 - 88Mbps / 5.5 - 11Mbps

This means the PS3's Blu-Ray drive is faster than the 360's minimum read speed, but slower than its maximum read speed. Due to the variations of read speeds on the position of a DVD disk, when averaging things out they're roughly the same in overall read speed.

TheGuy @ Jul 5th 2007 10:42AM

edit:

I just noticed I wrote some of my units wrong :S
It doesn't change the calculations, but I want to clarify it in-case it causes some confusion:

Blu-ray 2x: 72Mbps / 9MBps
DVD 8x: 44 - 88Mbps / 5.5 - 11MBps

Jon @ Jul 5th 2007 10:48AM

@MRPaulJames

I am more interested in sustained speeds. I am fedup with manufacturers labelling the theoretical maximum speed (eg. 16x when in actual fact it is closer to 8x). There are a lot of bottlenecks to consider too like I/O.

Whether BluRay can sustain its 2x speed is another subject altogether.

Spitkicker @ Jul 5th 2007 11:27AM

@Lawrence
Wow dude, you really have problems. Not only was that completely off topic...it has no basis in reality. I take it you are more into second life RPG shit then FPS games. Final Fantasy games suck. Yeah I love how you bash Halo yet all we see are 50 different FF games with little to no innovation. To each their own.

@oni-link
LOL. There are a lot of things the PS3 is supposed to be that it's not. Phil...is that you?

Vidikron @ Jul 5th 2007 11:45AM

WTF? By the time I read through the comments I had nearly forgotten that this was the comments section for news about a Heavenly Sword demo. Somehow the comments turned into a debate about DVD vs BR drive speeds with random comments about the Wii, Halo, and Final Fantasy thrown in.

Anyway, I'll be looking forward to this demo! I assume this will appear during E3, but I'll check the PSN store tomorrow just in case!

Spitkicker @ Jul 5th 2007 11:48AM

@Vidikron
LOL. Yeah I shouldn't have taken the bait. While I do not own a PS3 and don't plan on picking one up this game does look interesting enough to make me play it once it ships. Lord knows SONY needs a killer game. Not sure if this is gonna be it though.

Triforceowner @ Jul 5th 2007 12:26PM

Yay! Totally off-topic! Lawrence, why don't you use that grammar you learned in fourth grade? Most of the comments on this board are pretty pointless. The DVD vs. Blu-ray thing? If my memory serves me right, then historically it takes a lot more time to load a single car in Motorstorm than an entire track in Forza 2. The comments on why Halo sucks are just dumb; Halo, Final Fantasy, Zelda, Mario, etc. are all superb games no matter how many of them come out for their series. And about the Wii being 2-3x the graphical capabilities of the GameCube? It is more like 1.5-2x. Developers have said time and time again that the Wii has about the power of the Xbox, which was a little less than twice as powerful as the GameCube in terms of memory and GPU.