After purchasing a PS3 I decided i needed to look at titles that were available and exclusive to the system when it came out. Doing so led me to this gem.
Reviewing an older game can be tricky. As time goes on we see graphical improvements and companies pushing what a system can do there. When i sat down with this game, I went in knowing it might look a bit rough. Perhaps because I was expecting the worst (so to speak) i wasn't let down.
In this game you actually control two characters. The majority of the time you play as Nariko. The semi clothed, sword swinging, main character of this story. The other part you will play as her counterpart Kai.
Kai's character was actually the first thing I was disappointed with while playing this game. Let me illustrate. In the opening of the game we see our characters retreating and most people are running to safety. Ok, to me this makes sense. As I am watching the scene I notice Kai on the other hand felt the need to cartwheel to safety.
I do my best to let myself be immersed and taken in by a game. Little things like that ruin it for me. It's nothing huge but 5 minutes into this I had to roll my eyes at both that action and her overall mannerisms. For whatever reason Kai is intellectually underdeveloped and views "twing twang" (read: killing people with arrows) as a game and not reality. A reality that Nariko briefly addresses later in the game.
To be fair I actually enjoyed Kai's segments of the game more then I did Nariko's. With Nariko you have your basic hack and slash which consists of stylistically destroying enemies and moving forward. With Kai you find yourself utilizing a bow and arrow. The six axis comes into play here. By holding down the square you are able guide your arrow to it's intended target. A simple tap of the square button will fire the arrow to where ever your sights are aimed.
The six axis isn't limited to Kai. Though it's the only real place I felt that it worked. It was satisfying to try and protect Nariko's father by guiding arrows into various parts of approaching attackers from afar.
With Nariko you can virtually pick up any object, throw it and guide it along. The only real purpose this serves with Nariko is to trigger switches to advance to the next part.
The final area where the six axis comes into play is utilizing a cannon. On paper this sounds rather cool. In reality it doesn't really come together. The first mission that you utilize the cannon you need to net a certain number of kills. This becomes a task that becomes rather thoughtless. Fire, guide into group of guys, adjust aim, rinse, repeat.
Later on in the game this approach is improved upon. Now I'm not sure if it was just me but the last mission that you utilize the cannon was rather difficult. Not only do you need pin point accuracy but you need to do it in a timely fashion. The wall you are on has a health bar and can consistently take damage. This mission is where I notice that subtle movements either are picked up by the controller accurately or not.
The story was good but not great. Some characters hit the mark while others don't feel as though they have a solid place in the story. Whiptail's (a woman/fish character) seems more like an after thought. We see her a bit in the beginning and battle with her straightaway. Whereas Flying Fox is slightly built up in a flashback and over time and really shown to be the villain.
I won't comment on particular missions to leave it as a surprise to people that haven't yet played the game. If you haven't, utilize the now low price point of the game and treat yourself to something fun. Its a nice way to mix it up and experience something that is an exclusive to the platform.
The PlayStation 3 may not have been the strongest generation for Sony, but there were still some diamonds in the rough that deserve a revisit as PS5 remasters.
Even if they could just remaster and put on PSVR2, some would still look great as VR titles and could do a whole lot to bolster the headset w these exclusives! I'd imagine the investment of reworking these titles into VR would be way less than building new games from the ground up, and they could be amazing experiences, and VR often makes flat games feel fresh again. The Resistance and Killzone games are particularly what I want to see!!
I played killzone 3 in 3d and it really changed the game per being immersive.
In vr, that would be even more awesome.
Funny you mention that... my son wanted to play some PS3 games in 3d on my PS tv and he was blown away by how good KZ3 was. It really was a great addition to the game. Im surprised there have not been more 3d games from that era being ported to the PSVR/VR2.
resistance 1-3, killzone 1-3, uncharted 1-3, uncharted golden abyss, folklore, socom 4 , motorstorm, twisted metal, MAG, heavenly sword
Killzone 2+3
Sly Thieves in Time
Crack in Time
God of War Ascension
Motorstorm
Modnation racer
Infamous 1+2
Killzone trilogy in VR would be amazing bonus points if they offer shadow fall.
There was a psvr1 Killzone project that supermassive was working on at one stage which wasn't up to scratch and Sony brand it back in house I was hoping we would see that on psvr2 eventually.
Personally I'd love to see some more love or acknowledgement of psvr2 from Sony in general it was a expensive headset and Sony barely acknowledge it's existence
The amount of work needed to remaster these games wouldn't be beneficial on a financial and business sense.. MGS4 would probably be the best bet as it would need the least amount of work!
The time is perfect for a resistance fall of man game campaign coop multiplayer
The resistance series is str8 trash to me. Socom 3 I would welcome. Or killzone MP.
Resistance was ok but Warhawk and Starhawk was better and kept me coming back for almost a decade of fun and petty revenge on the loud mouth unskilled players 🤣
Edit I loved capture the flag dropping the pot on the flag carrier was extremely satisfying as well as transforming your plane in bot form and stumping them to death 😱
In this interview, we will delve into the creative process of David Brochard. Behind the scenes with concept artist David Brochard, showcasing his creative process in gaming industry from Call of Duty to Dark Souls 3 and Star Citizen. Discover how his passion & skills bring immersive worlds to life.
Grab your katana, and slice your way through this list featuring the best hack and slash games the PlayStation 3 had to offer.
Dante's inferno... an excellent GoW inspired game. So sad the sequels will never be.
I recall enjoying it well enough at the time, but it wasn't a patch on God of War 3 which came out around the same time I think.
I own it and fired it up on my PS3 about 6 months ago and time hadn't been particularly kind to it although it still very much nailed the atmosphere and it is a cool as he'll setting and universe.
Dante's Inferno needs the GOW treatment. No cut camera, with a real hellish depiction of the 9 circles and a story as dark and as serious would be amazing.
Still pretty amazing there was a PSP version that was actually pretty good. I remember playing it 10 years ago. I had the PS3 version when it first came out and loved it.
Yup, I remember being blown away with Heavenly Sword. I remember holding out hope that they would go back and add trophy support as a incentive to go back and replay the game, but I don't think they ever did?
I couldn't beat the final boss though! Spent several days trying but eventually gave up, lol. Still enjoyed it though.
heavenly sword was such a short, but amazing game. that game should be prime material to be made into a download only remaster.
I really enjoyed Castlevania, but struggled to get into it again reattempting it a few years back. I still think it does another of things well; story, presentation, level varietily and art style at least. Gameplay maybe has not stood test of time unfortunately which makes it a chore to get through.
Really loved HS.
Think it had alot of potential for a sequel.
Man, it's not fair to give the graphics a score like that. It would be at least a 9 for the time it came out. You have to include this in your review since it's written 4 years after it came out. I think HS was and still is a great game and I truly hope there will be a sequel (by another developer). Other than that good job!
I remember this game.. I must pay it another Visit
I picked this up a few weeks ago myself feeling the same thing, that I needed to play some games I missed out on earlier. I found it fairly fun, but agreed about the gun/cannon missions, I find them really awkward and tough at times, but I appreciate the idea and trying to mix things up, not just sticking to hack n' slashing through the whole game. But I got stuck at one of those cannon parts and never really felt like going back to it since I got a few new games lately, I really ought to get back into it.
Nice review btw.