Editeur: Sony
Développeur: Ninja Theory
Type: Beat'em all/Action
Demo PSN: OUT!!!
Sortie: 19 septembre 2007
Site officiel: http://heavenlysword.eu/

                                               
 
                                          ***HEAVENLY SWORD: PREMIERES IMPRESSIONS***
 
 
Telecharger la video "Cinematic Production 1080p" en mp4: http://www.gamersyde.com/leech_3643_1_fr.html
Videos Heavenly Sword: http://www.gametrailers.com/game/1679.html
 
   Certains jeux ont la lourde tâche de nous faire rêver en attendant le lancement d'une console. Heavenly Sword est de ceux-là. Alors qu'on avançait vers la date de mise à disposition de la PlayStation 3, on pouvait remarquer sa plastique et l'intensité des combats constituant l'unanimité de son contenu dans pratiquement toutes les bandes-annonces que Sony diffusait pour vanter les performances de sa machine. Depuis, le jeu, approchant de sa sortie, a fait encore beaucoup de chemin et son héroine, Nariko, est bien décidée à faire régner l'ordre en distribuant de nombreuses baffes, y compris graphiques...
 
 
 
   Un petit mot du scénario, histoire de débuter sur de bonnes bases. Tout commence dans des temps immémoriaux alors que les hommes affrontent une entité maléfique, le Raven Lord. Ce démon est en passe d'annihiler la race humaine quand descend des cieux un combattant divin qui le défait en deux temps, trois mouvements. Les témoins de la scène pourraient croire à un rêve ou à un miracle si cet ange n'avait pas laissé derrière lui son épée planté à la verticale dans le sol. Le quidam qui s'en empare va déclencher à son tour des années de combats singuliers car l'épée, arme très puissante qui offre à son utilisateur un avantage certain, a surtout le don d'exacerber les convoitises. C'est pour protéger les hommes des ravages causés par cette envie de la posséder qu'un clan récupère l'épée et la garde précieusement en empêchant quiconque de s'en servir, souvent par la force. Des années passent jusqu'à l'avènement d'un tyran appelé Bohan dont les troupes envahissent les terres du clan. La fille du chef du clan, Nariko, va décider de s'opposer à cette invasion et, pour mettre toutes les chances de son côté, retire l'épée de son autel. Elle va vite découvrir que la puissance dont dispose l'épée s'alimente de la force vitale de son possesseur. Et comme la demoiselle n'est pas d'essence divine, l'épée lui ôte la vie petit à petit... Dans sa quête, elle sera vite rejointe par la fantasque Kai qui préfère se battre à distance et de manière plus discrète. Et si tout cela vous rappelle plus ou moins Le Seigneur des Anneaux, vous allez bientôt constater que les rapports avec les films de Peter Jackson ne se cantonnent pas au scénario.
 
 
 
   Fi de ces blablas, place à l'action ! Et, croyez-nous, de l'action il y en a dans Heavenly Sword. Les niveaux auxquels nous avons pu joué sont riches en estoc et taille alors que Nariko se fraie un chemin au milieu d'un flot d'ennemis. Elle peut, entre autres, donner un coup simple, esquiver, prendre son épée à deux mains pour donner des coups plus puissants ou encore dissocier les deux parties qui constituent son arme pour les faire tournoyer au-dessus de sa tête et toucher ses adversaires à distance. Mais ce n'est pas tout. En fonction des réussites du personnages, une jauge située en haut, à gauche de l'écran se remplit. Elle propose trois degrés dont chacun, une fois qu'il est atteint, permet de lancer une attaque spéciale. Cela va du moment où Nariko saute sur les épaules d'un ennemi, le tabasse jusqu'à le faire tomber et lui brise la nuque jusqu'au coup ultime où elle emprisonne un adversaire dans ses chaînes et le fait tournoyer. Très lourd et encore armé, l'homme va se transformer en fléau capable de vider complètement un niveau de tous les malfaisants qui en voulaient à la charmante Nariko.
 
 
 
   Histoire de varier un peu les plaisirs et de ne pas proposer qu'un pilonnage continuel du bouton "Action" de la manette, des séquences précalculées vous feront réviser toutes les autres touches pour, par exemple, permettre à Nariko de rejoindre le surplomb d'un piton rocheux en courant sur les cordes tendues au-dessus du vide. Problème : les soldats de Bohan qui l'ont repéré commencent à couper les cordes. Il faut donc se précipiter puis sauter d'une corde à l'autre au rythme de l'apparition des boutons représentés à l'écran. Au tout dernier instant, Nariko fait un magnifique saut de l'ange pour atteindre le promontoire alors que clignote la touche "Carré". Si vous appuyez dessus à temps, elle entrera sur la zone en tuant un des ennemis puis fera une cabriole et atterrira sur ses pieds en ayant sorti son épée, prête à en découdre. Sinon, elle se réceptionnera comme une crêpe et, avant de pouvoir faire face, devra déjà encaisser quelques coups. Il faut donc être en permanence en alerte ce qui rend le jeu très intense.
 
 
 
   Signalons également qu'Heavenly Sword ne proposera pas que des combats à l'épée. Par exemple, on y trouvera aussi une bataille durant laquelle Nariko se retrouvera derrière un canon, tentant de repousser les milliers d'hommes que le Roi Bohan a lancé à l'assaut de la forteresse du clan. Et comme on pourra aussi parfois diriger Kai, on devra à un moment tirer à l'arbalète sur les gardes d'un château pour pouvoir y pénétrer. Au sujet de ces différents niveaux, précisons que le jeu gèrera la fonction 6-axis de la manette PS3, permettant de diriger précisément les projectiles jusqu'à la cible en déplaçant la manette dans l'espace. Très pratique quand, dans le cas du niveau avec Kai, le moyen le plus efficace de se débarrasser des ennemis consiste à faire passer la flèche en vol dans un brasero pour atteindre des caisses remplies d'explosifs.
 
 
 
   Outre son contenu, Heavenly Sword pourra compter sur une réalisation très soignée et de toute évidence inspirée par une volonté de "faire cinéma". Cela passe notamment par de longues séances de motion capture réalisées dans les locaux de Weta, la société d'effets spéciaux fondée par Peter Jackson pour "Le Seigneur des Anneaux". Cela passe aussi par la participation d'acteurs réputés. On notera surtout la présence d'Andy Serkis. Celui qui fut Golum dans "Le Seigneur..." et Kong pour Peter Jackson, s'est prêté au jeu et campe le Roi Bohan. Le plus troublant, c'est qu'on reconnaît sans difficulté les traits et la manière de jouer de l'acteur sous les atours du tyran, ce qui en dit long sur la qualité technique des séquences intermédiaires. Les sentiment transparaissent vraiment dans les attitudes des personnages vitruels.
 
 

                                                   
                                                                ***Preview IGN***
 
   July 13, 2007 - Thank the maker, there's more to Heavenly Sword than just arena battles! As most of you probably remember, our biggest concern for the game was that it was made up of segmented fighting sequences and nothing else. Luckily Ninja Theory put that fear to rest at E3, when it unveiled a number of new details and sections that nobody had seen before.
 
   The first new sequence on display was a cool little "defend the castle" mission that puts Nariko in control of giant fire cannons. Her mandate is simple: destroy the approaching enemy force before they pound her stronghold's walls down. The enemies here are made up of three main types -- kamikaze dumb-asses inserted into flaming rolling barrels, massive tank-like structures with multiple layers of armor, and a horde of foot soldiers whose sole purpose seems to be getting blown up.
 
   Another fun little scenario was a small side-scrolling challenge that played out on the surface of a bridge connecting two castles. Nariko's only goal here was to knock off as many fools as possible. Sure it was a little simplistic, but the backgrounds looked great and at least it proved that Ninja Theory was trying to mix things up a bit. Oh, and as an added bonus, we also learned that the difficulty level has been increased quite a bit (to best exploit your three different fighting styles).
 
   Next up was a boss battle with King Bohan's enormous fatty son. Playing through this segment shows off what some of the more epic confrontations are like. Beating the big bastard takes a bit of "the old God of War contextual reflexes;" Covered by an immense turtle shell and armed with two chopping swords, Bohan's brood has to be systematically defeated through the use of clever timing and the desire to climb a sweaty pile of blubber.
 
   The biggest surprise, of course, was the introduction of a brand new character, Kai. Nariko's younger adopted sister, Kai is completely devoid of melee combat skills. Instead, she employs a crossbow that has a Resident Evil 4 viewpoint in which the arrows are controlled with the Sixaxis tilt (much like Nariko's thrown objects). Ninja Theory describes the new heroine as a "crossbow savant," and in addition to her mad missile skills, she can also run and jump over any surface with crazy monkey-like agility.
 
 
 
   Some other tidbits worth mentioning -- switching to "range style" allows Nariko to deflect arrow attacks; players can go back to already-unlocked stages if they want to play them again; and performing more stylish moves unlocks secret goodies like additional moves, behind-the-scenes videos, and a two-part anime based on Nariko's adventures. Oh, and the game's facial animations are fantastic. Andy Serkis deserves a medal.
 
   In closing, we left Heavenly Sword with more optimism than we had before. It doesn't look anywhere near as repetitive as we thought it might be and it has some very nice texture work and cool lighting. We do have to give the Sixaxis tilt support a bit (it's a little too touchy it seems), but with a PSN demo coming soon, we have plenty of time to get used to it.

                                                   
                                                        ***First Impressions by Eurogamer***
 
   Heavenly Sword is one of those annoying games that everyone has heard everything about, but nobody actually knows anything about. Of course you've heard of it; how could you not? It's one of Sony's great white hopes, one of the much-vaunted PS3 exclusives which have the unhappy fortune of being pivotal to the next salvo in the Great Console War of 2007.
 
   But know about it? Well, we've known marginal details; we've known that it's a third-person action game starring a red-headed lady with a fine line in swinging around very large swords. We've known that it's being developed by British studio Ninja Theory, and that renowned actor Andy Serkis (you know, Gollum!) is involved with it...
 
   ...And, despite this being one of Sony's headliners, that's actually all we've really known about Heavenly Sword, with the primary source of info being an incredibly short, restricted demo which is now around 15 months old. Since then, next to nothing. Until now.
 
   Now we've played an up-to-date version of Ninja Theory's opus. Pull up a pew, and we'll tell you all about it.  
 
In the Beginning
   Our heroine, Nariko - an in-game shot, not a render. Ninja Theory aren't kidding about the effort that went into their characters.
The question, really, is where to start. When Ninja Theory showed off Heavenly Sword to us in London recently, they started with the cut-scenes - something they're understandably proud of. After all, they had New Zealand's Weta Workshop (you know, Lord of the Rings!) break new ground in the motion capture technology used for them, and Andy Serkis (you know, Gol... Hang on, we've done this one already) as dramatic director for the whole thing.  
 
   (We like the idea of a "dramatic director"; we imagine it to be something like Stephen Spielberg, but with vastly exaggerated hand gestures, a mysterious personal gust of wind which blows his hair around at opportune moments, and regular tearful flounces back to his trailer to post on LiveJournal. But we digress).
 
   Cut-scenes play well to a wider press audience, we suppose, and Heavenly Sword's cut-scenes more than most. They've certainly lifted the bar in this area, so much so that they look almost like a movie, and they've got that chap who played Gollum and King Kong so that's probably good for a photo piece in a newspaper or maybe in the back of Heat magazine.
 
   Okay, stop twitching. We know. It's Eurogamer, not Eurocut-scene-watcher, no matter how much we like Metal Gear Solid. So, with all apologies to the lovely Mr Serkis (who played Gollum, you know), we were somewhat concerned when half an hour of presentation about the cut-scenes ended with five minutes of brief talk about the game. Thankfully, the game was in residence to speak for itself. Let's talk about the game. [Yes, let's. - Stern Ed]
 
   The lady in action, in Fast stance. This is an early stage - the background detail is particularly impressive.
Heavenly Sword is, by Ninja Theory's own admission, a resolute attempt at creating a new videogame icon (and, by extension, a new videogame franchise) in the form of Nariko, the heroine of the piece. Blessed with flowing, flame-coloured locks, exotic features on one of the most detailed and expressive faces we've ever seen in a game, a penchant for fairly revealing clothing and a pair of bloody great swords, Nariko certainly fits the bill.  
 
   Most of what you need to know about the structure of the game is right there in the sub-heading; this is Goddess of War. The game sees you progressing through the storyline by beating the stuffing out of countless enemies in an increasingly brutal manner, interspersed with occasional interactive scenes where you need to tap out on-screen button combinations.  
 
   Those interactive scenes seemed pretty regular from the sections which we played, and often play a role in combat with bosses or powerful enemies (much like God of War). More lengthy interactive scenes see you pressing buttons to navigate through astonishingly cinematic feats - in the first demo level we saw, Nariko slides down massive anchor cables to a suspended platform, flipping from cable to cable as her enemies cut them off in an attempt to dislodge her. It's epic stuff. We strongly suspect it may be one of the first levels.
 
The Lady's Not For Turning
   A later stage of the game. Although it's set in a medieval fantasy world, Heavenly Sword draws much of its artistic inspiration from eastern history and mythology.
Once you're on the platform, it's time to go crazy. Nariko wields a remarkable blade which has three different modes, or stances. The default stance is "fast", in which you slice and dice at relatively close range with a pair of blades. Hold down L1 and you switch to ranged stance, swinging around your blades on the end of chains. Hold R1 and you're in heavy stance, which inflicts massive damage with a single, slow blade.
 
   There are only two standard attack buttons - triangle and circle - so most of the game mechanics are built around this stance system. You can flick between stances instantly, which allows for combos to be built up using moves from multiple stances, a technique that in turn allows you to build up some fairly unique and powerful move-sets.
 
   The block system is also based off your stance. Each enemy attack has a certain glow; blue means you'll block it in Fast stance, yellow means you'll block it in Heavy stance. Red means you can't block it at all, and getting the hell out of the way would be a fine plan. Finally, tap the triangle button at exactly the right time (a little flash on screen indicates this) and you'll execute a counter move.
 
   The objective, according to Ninja Theory's developers, has been to create a fighting system which has enough depth to work like a beat-'em-up in one-on-one fights, but which is also fun in large brawls and even on massive battlefields. The game's battles do range from taking on single enemies to running around a battle with 2500 participants, taking in just about everything in between along the way. Overall though it's a tricky proposition, and certainly ambitious.
 
   Based on our play time with the game, Heavenly Sword takes a damn good stab at such a tough challenge. The controls feel fluid and dynamic, with incredibly well choreographed moves blending together to form great-looking combos even during our earliest fumbling experiments. Little tactics like doing a spinning Ranged attack to knock back a scrum of approaching enemies came naturally, while chaining attacks from different stances together seemed to be the key to hitting the weak points of armoured or shielded foes.
 
   No game of this sort would be complete without some satisfyingly brutal finishing moves, and Nariko brings plenty of those to the table. As you play, you charge up "orbs" for special attacks, which can then be executed using the circle button - one special for each stance. These specials can be eye-wateringly brutal (we're really not fond of the Heavy stance special attack which sees the sword slammed into the crotch of a retreating enemy), but also sport some tactical depth. The ranged special, for example, clears a breathing space around Nariko by swinging around a single impaled enemy on a pair of chains - ideal in a tight corner.
 
   Nariko was just as surprised as everyone else when the captain's crotch suddenly exploded in the middle of the fight.
Unfortunately, we don't feel like we've played enough of the game to say whether the combat is as good as God of War's, but what we can say is that there's absolutely no reason why what we've seen of Heavenly Sword couldn't blossom into a combat system as deep and satisfying as God of War's over the course of the full game. It's all very promising.
 
Very Special Moves
   The game has some tricks of its own to bring to the table, too. Almost every object in the environment can be destroyed, and as you fight the various levels will pile up with corpses and the debris of shattered furniture and fittings - all of which is subject to physics, and makes a glorious mess.  
 
   You can also pick up the bulk of the objects in the game and hurl them at enemies. This even demonstrates an actually rather sensible use of the Sixaxis functionality of the PS3 - there's a little bit of aftertouch on everything you throw, which means you can steer objects in flight by tilting the pad.
 
   Later in the game, there are also points where you play as Nariko's companion, Kai - a younger girl who seems half-feral, and is armed with a very big crossbow. Her stages are specifically laid out as shoot-'em-up stages, from what we saw, and have a unique set of puzzles - we especially liked one which required that you set arrows on fire by shooting them through torches. Oh, and the crossbow bolts, too, have Sixaxis aftertouch on them.
 
   The problem with calling this game 'beautiful' is that... Well... It's that we think his dangling, pendulous man-nipples are burned into our brains. We see them when we close our eyes. It never ends.
Of course, Heavenly Sword wouldn't be much of a showcase for the PS3 without having stunning graphics - and that's one area where the game isn't likely to attract much criticism. It's one of the best-looking titles we've ever seen, with incredibly detailed scenery stretching hundreds of metres into the distance - complemented by life-like and superbly animated foes, even in scenes where there are dozens on screen at once.  
 
   Indeed, the whole affair comes across as being simply beautiful - with some points in the game having an almost (dare we say it?) ICO-esque feel thanks to the large-scale puzzles and vast, ancient architecture which reaches off into the distance.
 
   And then you have the characters. Yes, it's cut-scene stuff, but Weta and Ninja Theory absolutely deserve praise in this department. According to Serkis, this is the first time that multiple actors have been motion-captured acting out scenes together, with both their body movements and their facial expression being captured. Frankly, the benefits of the technique shine through clearly.
 
   Shiny motion-blur has never looked quite so lethal. In motion, these effects make battles look incredibly fast and fluid.
The characters are given an astonishing level of depth and emotion by their actors, who imbue the tale - focused on Serkis' wonderfully insane and malevolent King Bohan - with a truly Shakespearean feel. Nariko, her compatriots and her foes don't just have a set of facial expressions to suit all circumstances; they genuinely emote, and react, and provide exactly the sort of powerful character performances that you don't expect to find in a videogame.
 
   Ninja Theory's claims for the game may be somewhat optimistic - there was talk of combining the drama of Kurosawa with the visual flair of Hero, of videogames entering a Golden Era not unlike that of film, all of which may be somewhat premature. However, what we've seen of Heavenly Sword so far suggests a game strong enough to stand up in the face of its own hype.  
 
   It's got killer looks, fluid, fun gameplay, a genuinely superb heroine - and, lest we forget, the best cut-scenes you've ever seen in a videogame. Comparisons with God of War are easy, and not remotely unfair, but if there's a sin in producing a visually stunning, professionally executed title in the God of War mould for a next-gen system, then it's not one our faith condemns. Besides, it's got that bloke who played Gollum in it - what more could you want?
 
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.p [...] 117&page=1

                                                                     ***Les commandes***
 
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                                                                  ***Revue de presse***
 
Gamekult: "Et il faut bien reconnaître qu'en matière d'esthétisme, Heavenly Sword a son mot à dire. Entre Nariko qui, avec son drap courtement vêtu, n'a jamais dû connaître un hiver, et les soldats plutôt bien modélisés qui l'affrontent, le jeu propose des combats bien animés et visuellement très agréables à regarder, dans un environnement qui lors de la présentation ne l'était pas moins."
 
Jeuxvideo.fr: "Cheveux aux vent, la première apparition de la belle rouquine à l'écran ne peut pas laisser indifférent un journaliste à l'affût. Non, on ne parle pas de la charmante demoiselle, mais plutôt de la plastique générale du jeu. Dès les premiers instants, on arrive à sentir cette ambiance si particulière qui s'annonce déjà hors du commun."
 
Playfrance: "Figurant parmi les jeux évènements de l'E3 2005, ce jeu d'action développé par Ninja Theory revient et frappe encore plus fort avec une démonstration manette en main tout bonnement impressionnante. Réalisation somptueuse et design accrocheur font de ce Heavenly Sword l'un des plus attendus sur PlayStation 3."
 
Jeuxactu.com: "Belle profondeur de champ et décors extérieurs donnant sur un panorama d’une superbe vallée, le tout dans une résolution en 720p, Heavenly Sword brille de mille feux !"
 
Gamespot: "This is a very promising game, both for its engaging combat system and spectacular visuals."
 
Eurogamer: "It's got killer looks, fluid, fun gameplay, a genuinely superb heroine - and, lest we forget, the best cut-scenes you've ever seen in a videogame."
 

                                                 ***Galerie 1***
 

                                                 ***Galerie 2***
 

Sony vient d'annoncer que la démo d'Heavenly Sword sera disponible également jeudi sur les autres PlayStation Network.
 
Nous apprenons au passage que cette démo sera identique à celle présentée lors du Sony's Gamer Day, où l'on voit Nariko courir sur une énorme corde, et tenter de garder son équilibre en réalisant des QTE.