Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Rumor: Heavenly Sword 2 Knocking

According to a tipster, Ninja Theory is gathering the thoughts and opinions of us regular people, to make their next title the best game possible.

"They initially asked for video game background, then they had a follow-up phone call asking which games I had played or owned, focusing heavily on Heavenly Sword. There were 3 surveys done on Monday, groups of 6 for the first 2, 4 for the last group (my group). Predominantly males, asking about our impressions on Prince of Persia, God of War, Ninja Gaiden and, of course, Heavenly Sword. Some questions were asked about why Heavenly Sword didn't sell so well, what our impressions were on the gameplay, how the cutscenes were done, combat mechanics."
After that, there is a part where they hinted at Heavenly Sword 2. Take a look.
At the end of the night they gave us a few pieces of paper and asked our takes on the ideas (probably already set in stone). The following are the sheets that they asked our opinions on:

1. Heavenly Sword 2 will take place 10 years after the events in Heavenly Sword.

2. The main character will be a male with martial arts background.

3. The main character will be Kai, but she will be a more mature woman.

4. The game will require you to master different martial arts styles before retrieving the Heavenly Sword.

5. The game will, instead of button mashing, have controls that utilize an analog stick to go through weapons.

6. The game will have downloadable weapons, characters, and enemies to customize your experience.

7. The game will be more interactive with the environment.

8. The game will have you on a storyline with replayable missions, as opposed to an open world.
We don't know if there will be a new main character or not. Remember, this is labeled as a rumor.

[Rumblings About Heavenly Sword 2]

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sounds cool but I'm not so sure about the main character, Nariko was one helluva main character (especially her design) to let her go that easily.

Anonymous said...

I didnt play Heavenly Sword. Mainly because I havent purchased a PS3 yet, but if I had already, at most it would have been a rent. Why you ask?

Even though I know virtually nothing about the story, or gameplay mechanics besides videos and trailers I have seen, the game seemed to me, to be at best a god of war rip, it didnt seem to bring anything new to the table. I couldnt help but smirk when reading how they are going to "make their next title the best game possible". It seemed to me, Heavenly Sword was supposed to be "it". So in that, they pretty much answer why it didnt sell.

Saying that, I developers cant always throw every feature they think of in a game, and that its impossible to forsee what the gamers will like or dislike, but ask yourself, why are games like Gears of War, Halo, Smash Brothers so addicting, fun, and sell millions of copies? They ALL brought "something" new to the table.

So why play Heavenly Sword when I can play God of War?

I dont like to play games that feel the same, I want to experience something new in each game I play, or I feel im just wasting my time.

incredibilistic said...

I understand your argument but at the same time it's almost impossible to play something wholly original these days. And when you do find that rare gem chances are that you're playing a niche title, not a multi-million dollar seller. But of course there's an argument to that but that's another conversation entirely.

True, HS stole a lot of what was great about GoW but was able to make the game different enough that it felt like something different when you played through it.

GoW has epic battles but I've never seen Kratos take on nearly 1,000 guys at one time. The cut scenes were also the best the system had seen (although I think Uncharted took the crown in that area).

I can't disagree that, at this point, that HS would be nothing more than a rent. There are so many other great games out now that HS, while still an excellent title, is not the must-have game it was when it was first launched. At the time there was almost nothing good to play so HS was a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Finally, I also don't think you drop Nariko like that. Okay, she died in the last one. I think everyone will forgive Ninja Theory if they magically bring her back. Or maybe they're planning something where she comes back in the third game to complete the trilogy. I sure hope so. Nariko is an awesome character that deserves to be fleshed out more.