Heavenly Sword 2, XMB and more rumours from the Official PlayStation Magazine

By now PSlegion know that the PlayStation Official Magazine is out, and the big news is its review for Grand Theft Auto 4 (perfect score PSlegion might add). However their rumour machine, featuring 'Insider whispers', also provides interesting reading:

- Want more on the PlayStation Store? Well bite size episodic gaming will hit "before the end of the year"

- Heavenly Sword 2 will feature a male lead and will take place ten years after the original (as long as Kai is still involved and we are still able to play 'twing-twang').

[Fishy Fingers]

“The bizarre Linger In Shadows, complete with flying dogs and deadly black smoke, will be a PSN download”

I assume he just means the actual video? If is indeed a game, theres no way it will be a PSN title. Will it?

[paul_war]

I asume the game, don't know why they would include a roumour for a video.

[Shadow Flare]

Its gotta be just a video. The big games like that are usually always just on bluray. But i don't think LingerInShadows is a game, its just a techdemo. People thought it was a game because they thought this was what that BBC reporter saw. I mean, what kind of game has giant flying dogs chasing giant cats and a wierd black cloud snake thing? Tech demo

[meepmoopmeep]

no way it's a game, it'll be the trailer but i'd like to watch it on my hdtv anyway.
hs2 was a given since ninja theory said they're making a trilogy.

[Ghoul]

it's a techdemo not a video, so expect it to run in realtime and useable camera controlls.

[sonarus]

wtf heavenly sword without a girl as lead is lame. in game xmb better make it out in the nxt update. I hope ps3 gets accomplishments in time for MGS4 too. MGS4 is a game i plan to finish to the fullest

[Qbanboi]

So...who else is thinking that:

Heavenly Sword + Male Lead = God of War.

Lol, come on, the big diference between god of war and heavenly sword, was that one was a big, bad ass killer of gods and the other a sexy, bad ass killer of kings.

[Amanosenpai]

Agree ^^,

Yey Kratos with boobs... wait a sec... UGGG

Heavenly sword is special cause its main char... the sexy red hair.

I mean, a man???.... what about prince of persia or GOW

[CaptainHowdy]

Going for God of War's fanbase with an even MORE obvious charcter rip is not the way to go. I'd rather they pull a Gandalf, a Neo, a Prequel, or SOMETHING! Anything other than getting rid of Nariko.

[mindedone]

You took the words right out of my mouth. Why would they change the main character to an unknown when they already have a (small) following with Kai?

[Corrupt]

Nice.

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

I`m w/ you.

Ready @ Dawn Working On The PS3, Equals A Massive Win.

Male Lead In Heavenly Sword, I dont know about that.

[ruibing]

Hmm since Ninja Theory is currently working on a cross platformer and Sony owns the rights to Heavenly Sword, I wonder if it's possible that Ready at Dawn, having made a pretty damn good GoW for the PSP, is now making Heavenly Sword 2 for the PS3.

[SIX]

Has a male lead!? That would kinda suck.

[tweaker]

The story has to continue and unfortunately Nariko died at the end of the first game. Kai would've been a good lead but she is not worthy of the Heavenly Sword.

[Diugu]

Huge, massive, impressive, outstanding spoiler.

If I had not finished the game already, I would chase you and commit murder.

Have a nice day.

[Sev]

I was hoping the Heavenly Sword would "revive" Nariko.
One of the things that made that game unique was Nariko being female and the flowing flame red hair.

I am very disappointed.

I really liked HS too.

[SUP3R]

Well thanks for ruining the story.
Thanks a lot.

[tweaker]

I thought by now everybody played HS1. Sorry, my bad man.

[Diugu]

I am quite sad I never bought the game... I would love to re-play it. Unfortunately I don't know how I can purchase it here where I live and I am not about to spend a huge sum of money to import it.

Anyways... I hope this isnt true, and there is another female character. If not, I am sure it will also be great, male or female main character.

[ikiru3385]

i remember in the beginning nariko saying that the Heavenly Sword would kill its user and she said she was dying so......her dying isn't really a spoiler.

[Corrupt]

God of War also showed Kratos falling off a cliff to what was seemingly his death at the beginning, but what do you know, he's in GOW2. So, yes, it is a spoiler.

[NOLA]

only trouble is, i managed to finish it in 6 hours. so long as the 2nd one plays as well as the 1st but just LONGER i wont mind
I want Kai to be the new lead too :)

[TheExecutive]

tweaker... i am seriously taking a bubble for that. I am at the final boss battle. thanks dude.

[Foliage]

I was hoping to continue with Kai. Her gameplay moments were sometimes the best part of the game. I thought she was a lot more original than Nariko. If this is true it is a shame.

I do hope HS2 is in production. The story was great in the first one.

[EZCheez]

You've got to at least warn people before you do that. The games not that old.

[ravinash]

No, I hadn't finished HS yet....I was stuck on the last level and was taking a break until rumble came out in the UK.
Oh well, Ho Hum....

[PS3GamerFix]

Heavenly Sword never got the credit it deserved due to its short length and word got out quick about it. I found the game had an amazing story and had great potential overall as a series. But wtf?!? Killing Nariko was the downfall of this series as she is what made the game what it was. I don't get the whole idea of killing a character that had so much potential to become a franchise figure. I loved the game BUT this whole male lead character idea will flop unless they really make a good job at making him extremely unique and not seem like a Dante/Kratos/Prince of Persia kind of hack and slash macho stereotype that you see in so many games.... hopefully Wet (by Sierra) may surprise us with a better female lead character.

[ban fans]

I haven't played the game, but a male lead just seems stupid. Why not make a prequel or something. I know the last thing we need is another action game with a sexy female lead jumping around, but the ABSOLUTE last thing we need is an action game with a muscular guy jumping around. Besides, the hair was cool!

Oh well, she'll probably be unlockable or downloadable or some such thing anyway. I doubt they will cut her out completely.

[ICUP]

You F@CKIN ASSH@LE, i was going to buy the game, thank a lot F@CKER.

[themyk]

i just got heavenly sword today from game fly. and just got done playing about an hour of it. and came here and read this.

not that i care about the spoiler. i just got it to play. i never really cared for hack n slash games. but what the hell.

long live solid snake.

[tweaker]

I seem to piss a lot of people with this. lol. Console fanboys, take notes! You could use this to your advantage. ;)

[Bolts]

Nariko was pretty much doomed as soon as you get to the level select screen so the game already clued you in to her fate. Its not like the game just came out, at some point you gotta stop minding the spoilers.

[Kain81]

i think the last Boss fight agianst the Raven Lord was Epic.
I hope there is a sequell

[MikeGdaGod]

yeah that was a great boss battle

[TheJBag]

That boss fight was so STUPID.

[paul_war]

The boss fights were not the best, very old school. Learn their attack pattern and you're sorted.

[NOLA]

the cut scene where andy serkis becomes the raven king is completely awesome though

[Kleptic]

yeah that part was insanely awesome...as was the scene with Serkis and Nariko takes up the HS...those were all in game right?...I know a lot of them were, but for some reason that last scene with the Raven King coming to be looked a little too good...can't remember...

the game was awesome at times...undeniably great motion capture...but yeah, the actual boss battles kind of sucked...my least favorite being that serpent girl in the water...you just keep rolling away from stupid wave after stupid wave...

[PStriple703]

HS2 FTW

[name]

Damn that was one hell of a spoiler. I'm definetly not going on n4g when MGS4 arrives.

[Fishy Fingers]

Spoiler? Do you mean them revealing a male lead for HS2?

Its not like you could of escaped that information until launch, I'm sure you'd be to tempted to look at the first screens or videos. I know I will.

*side note* Did everyone see the concept art for Ninja's next game? It was quite futuristic looking and as HS2 is set only 10 years after the first I doubt that art was for HS2 like many claimed.

[Corrupt]

I'm quite interested in that concept art too. Heavenly Sword destroys the world confirmed!!

[Kleptic]

fishy fingers...he meant the spolier a few lines up where someone gave away the ending of HS1...luckily i had played it, but apperantly a lot of people are still in the middle of it...

[heyheyhey]

male lead????

thats kinda retarded, seeing as Kai would be the perfect option- as she would've matured by then and become worthy of wielding the sword

but hey, as long as i can get some more excellent HS slashery- im fine, considering they make it at least 10 hours this time

[ruibing]

Yeah it would have been nice to see how she has matured physically and mentally in a decade's time.

[name]

@ fishy fingers

No I mean the fate of nariko spoiler.

[Fishy Fingers]

Ah, yes I see and understand your frustration. Perhaps coming into a thread regarding the squeal wasnt the best of moves.

Trust me though, it wont spoil the game for you. Just perhaps the story :(

[Anego Montoya FTMFW]

Sorry for you NAME.

I can`t believe...

1. you haven`t finished it yet.
2. you haven`t heard the ending yet.

Here a BETTER ending....

Nariko Lives! Kai Becomes Nariko and both get down w/ each other. While riding the HEAVENLY SWORD like a mechanical bull.
And both die for LOVING it too much.
That`s what playing Twing-Twang was.......
LoL.

Remember that and go finish it.

[wAtdaFck]

Wow, and I was gonna play Heavenly Sword later this month.

Curse the Gods.

[ravinash]

Wow....looks like I've been plying with the sword wrong all this time.

[blade206]

ico didn't either but look at it now people want to kind that game bad and all people want is the next team ico game don't get mad because all m$ has is rare lol

[Corrupt]

People need to at least tag spoilers if they're gonna post them :(
Luckily I've already completed it.

[Goldsack]

ninja theory said its not. next game will be a multigame!!

[Iamback]

They are not working on HS2, have you guys forgot that interview with guys from Ninja Thoery where they confirmed to be working on multi platform game(for PS360)? They are smaller studio, cant work on two games at the same time. I call this rumor bogus.
Same for rady at Dawn, even they said same...multi platform game for PS360Wii.

[heyheyhey]

no offence, but....

its the official magazines word over yours, after all- they are the ones talking to devs every day, not you

[ravinash]

Ninja Sigma and HS came out in quick succession when PS3 first started and they were working on NG2, so I'm sure they can handle more than one game at a time.

[Iamback]

Dude it is not "my words", there were interviews with those guys that i mention, and they said what i wrote. Why dont you search internet a little bit and find them?
And this is not "official" this is RUMOR, do you know what that means? It means bogus. I believe what developers said not some "rumor".

[heyheyhey]

erm......

reading is fun isnt it??

i said its coming from the ->OFFICIAL<- magazine, i didnt say the info was official

also yes there were interviews, but they are relatively old- OPM are always in contact with devs and get new info almost every day

[Mwaan]

They might as well call it something else now. It's rare to have an awesome lead character in a videogame. Nariko was one of the best. Way to go morons.

[heyheyhey]

yeah, but by sacrificing her they made the story much more dramatical

you win some and you lose some i guess

[Mwaan]

I suspected that her soul was trapped inside the sword and that it was going to resurrect her. There's your sequel right there.

[heyheyhey]

well thats not half bad

the male lead idea is bollocks

[ravinash]

Yeah, I'm sure they can bring Nariko back....after all the first story started with her dying.

[avacadosnorkel]

everything else...who cares?

[yowoe]

While most of us would like a hot girl as the protagonist, I think the average guy buying it wants a guy so that they can feel like they are the guy in the game. I mean look at MMOs- how many guys make their characters female? And recently I saw a survey poll for which final fantasy xii game people wanted more, and by and far more people wanted versus.

Personally I prefer female characters- because they are hot and the mostly male devs tend to put more effort into character detail and animation.

[Darrius Cole]

I don't like them changes the lead character, well, not unless they are going to set the next game so far in the future that all of the characters in the first game had to have died, like 100 or 200 years in the future. Then Ninja Theory could reasonably reset the story.

Heavenly Sword was clearly rushed. It was graphically the 2nd best game released last year (after Drake's Fortune) but the combat system needed more development. As it is now I think Ninja Theory has yet to fully develop Nariko; I mean both Nariko as a story character, and Nariko as a playable character (movelists, blocking system, etc.)

I had hoped that Ninja Theory would continue to develop and properly finish the game with downloadable content.

[PSWe60]

I'd stick with Nariko, she was a kick a$$ character

[Doctor Strange]

I just hope Kai plays a big part and you can still play as her.

[juuken]

I haven't played the first one but I heard it was pretty short. If they do go ahead with this, I hope it's longer.

[ShAkKa]

Well if is a male character i hope they make the game rated mature, cutting people with no blood is not that fun.
They should also spend more time on the game than in facial motion this time.

[Relientk77]

Heavenly Sword 2 with a male lead

yea um how bout no... we keep it different from God of War and have a female lead.. so no one gets pissed off?

[Descendant]

Wasn't the whole draw of the game to have a half-naked female kick ass? I suspect that part 2 might sell less than part one if thats true...

[J@D]

I'm looking for the XMB and my in-game music ^__^

[mindedone]

Nariko was shunned and almost killed as a child for being a woman. She was thought a curse because the savior of their tribe was meant to be a man. Making the lead a man would negate that whole arc.

[Ureval]

Heavenly Sword looked like such a great game. Beautiful graphics, solid enough gameplay. I know it was short but why did it get such low reviews?

[supahbad]

a few months ago journalists were questioned about what they would like to see in this game, they were asked how they felt about a male character . it was on kotaku a few months back

[RealTimeWeaponChange]

LMFAO. I guess those female devs learned their lesson. What should I start calling the new one, "Homo Sword"?

Vote today with the disagree/agree of your choice. Disagree if you think I should keep calling it the name I invented, "Lesbian Sword" cuz all the devs are actual lesbians, or Agree if you like "Homo Sword" for the new one.

HAPPY VOTING.

[Merkaba]

What do we vote for if we don't care.

[LinuxGuru]

I'll just hand you an off-topic report, and a negative bubble, rather than take part in your little voting contest.

Have a nice day!

[RealTimeWeaponChange]

ditto :)

[Big Jim]

A male lead would ruin heavenly sword. I don't even think would play heavenly sword 2 if it had a male protaganist. They should make Kai the main character and put her in a french maid outfit.

[LinuxGuru]

ahahahahahahhahahaha

[papertiger201]

If you watched the unlockable "Making of" videos in Heavenly Sword, Ninja Theory mentioned they had thought about making it with a male lead, but it just didn't work for them. I guess since this is a sequel, and obviously a different story line, it could be true, but I doubt it.

[ROCCOZILLA]

she is one bad ass chick,if your looking for a blood bath this is your game,not that garbage called viking.i cant wait to play HS2!!PLAY B3YOND!!!!!

[ROCCOZILLA]

i loved HS,it was one of the best games ive played to date.it smokes DMC4 an VIKING.i might pick it up again and see if it has rumble option.that would be SICK!ive downloaded the stick controls for my LAIR,cant wait to start playing that to.PLAY B3YOND!!!!

[LinuxGuru]

Oh come on people, stop b|tching, get a men in black memory eraser flash pen thingy, erase your memory, and then go play heavenly sword.

Duh!

Men In Black - providing you with the tools you need!

[timmyp53]

the previews and etc all talk about Nariko's inevitable fate. Once she branded that sword her destiny was sealed. It was pretty much reiterated througout the entire game also. I don't really see how that's a spoiler to be honest. It didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.

[Tyrael]

I hear Heavenly Sword suffered from the same problem that Gears of War did; a really short campaign. Hope they fix that for the sequels to both

[JD_Shadow]

"- Want more on the PlayStation Store? Well bite size episodic gaming will hit “before the end of the year"."

WHY? This could piss off the 360 fanbots, but does anyone else suspect that this is talking about the GTA4 stuff that those 360 fanboys think the PS3 will never, ever get? That, my friends, could be THE bombshell, not the HS2 thing.

Again, my take: That's talking about GTA4!

[sumfood4u]

is this game part 2 more than 6 hours?