PS3 Fanboy

Europe, rejoice! You're not being left out in the cold. Those amazing LittleBigPlanet preorder bonuses will be available on both sides of the Atlantic. So far, we've spotted Nariko hanging out over at Play.com, but there's no sign of any of the others. At least, not yet. The Nariko Sackgirl (who is actually a Sackboy playing dress up, but don't let that put you off) is downloadable via the PlayStation Network. Instructions will be sent out during the week of release, according to Play.com, so don't expect to be playing with your new heavenly pal on launch day.

Now, where's that Kratos Sackboy got to? We're sure he's hiding around here somewhere.

Yesterday, Kotaku posted a rumor saying Heavenly Sword 2 was in fact in development ... but that it had been canned by the Sony higher-ups. Details of a potential sequel to Heavenly Sword were leaked to the public from a focus group a few months ago. However, since then, developer Ninja Theory has moved on to a yet-unannounced multiplatform game.

According to the Kotaku report, the Heavenly Sword franchise is not seen as commercially viable, in spite of generally favorable reviews and respectable sales figures. Supposedly, Ninja Theory has "grown increasingly bitter about their treatment at Sony's hands." The bad blood between Ninja Theory and Sony has supposedly caused the developer to move offices, further away from Sony Cambridge.

If there is any truth to this rumor, it would be the third major game canceled by Sony's European arm in recent memory (The Getaway and Eight Days being the last two games canned). Today, SCEE responded saying "I think it is fair to say that we do not comment on rumor and speculation, especially about games that have never been announced." In addition, the rep wants to remind everyone that Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift are all from Sony Europe, emphasizing that first-party development in Sony Europe is not in any kind of trouble.

Update: Speaking to Gamespot, Ninja Theory confirms that the relationship between Sony and Ninja Theory are good. "We are moving, but it's completely amicable," Ninja Theory cofounder and chief development ninja Nina Kristensen told GameSpot. "We move mid July and have been planning it for the best part of a year; there's nothing nefarious about it. We are excited about the move--our new premises are considerably bigger and in an excellent location near the town centre." According to the report, Heavenly Sword 2 was offered to Ninja Theory, but the team declined to work on it.

Unfortunately it seems that Ninja Theory are definitely not currently working on Heavenly Sword 2. Nina Kristensen, co-founder of Ninja Theory, confirmed the news during an interview with GameIndustry.biz. Instead, the development team is working on a new multiplatform intellectual property, potentially leaving the Sony owned Heavenly Sword franchise for another developer to play with.

Kristensen also mentions that they're thinking of producing a CGI movie to accompany their new project. Nothing's confirmed yet, as the two and a half year development cycle has only just started, but the potential of using the game engine to produce a movie is something they're definitely interested in. The full interview will be published on GameIndustry.biz later this month, where Kristensen will discuss their new project in further depth. In the meantime, check out the concept art for the game that was found on the new Ninja Theory website.

What does a real PS3 fan do to show his love of Heavenly Sword? He makes one. "Linkin Park Fan" from Game Grep created his own wooden replica of the titular sword in wood shop. "Instead of making some stupid cabinet or a DVD shelf like the rest of the class, I decided to make something a little more original ... The sword is about 3 feet long and about 1 and a half feet high. To my surprise and others, the sword barely weighs anything. Light as a feather, Feather that can kill."

We love it. Check out more pictures here. And yes, it does it cut.

[Thanks, Jamie T.!]

It seems a focus group got together, thanks to Chatter Inc., and talked about Heavenly Sword 2. At first, the questions were standard survey stuff -- nothing too meaty, just reactions to the first game. Later, though, tidbits were unveiled about possibilities with the sequel. What were they? We'll list them below, but if you hate spoilers, we'd recommend you turn your monitor off and bathe in clorox until all the pigment is gone from your skin.

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.

It seems like it's all speculation, but we can kind of see how the game will turn out if they follow some of these ideas. Instead of being compared to God of War, it seems the game might turn more into a Devil May Cry presentation style. Just so Kai isn't so ... weird. Take this rumor with a basket of salt.

Ninja Theory's brief, but beautiful, action game is finally available for a discount. It's currently available at amazon.com for $40 -- that's $20 less than retail (and probably less than what GameStop is asking for it used). People have been divided in their opinion of the game: some think it wonderful, while others find it repetitive. Regardless, there's one thing that everyone can agree on: it's pretty darn short. If you haven't had a chance to play this PS3 exclusive yet, this might be the deal you've been looking for.

[Via CAG]

Who doesn't love Wal-Mart? A lot of people, apparently, but their influence in most things consumer-related is undeniable despite your personal beliefs. This is why we took note of their latest advertisements for the PlayStation 3. They're obsessed. We've got one video above for Heavenly Sword and we've got three more waiting for you after the jump. We know the heart of Wal-Mart is in us all, but by the power of Grayskull, we just can't pass up those deals.

There are some awards our favorite games receive that make us happy they get the recognition they deserve, and there are some that leave us ... well, scratching our heads. Take Playboy's Best of Games of 2007 awards for instance as it awarded Heavenly Sword the "Best Jiggle Factor" award. We're not really sure what it means, but we're pretty sure it's a compliment.

Here's what they had to say about the game: "This game has more than a few rough edges, but we loved its compelling scenario and character design. Nariko is gorgeous but also strong, angry and vulnerable. By the end, you don't just want to date her, you want to marry her."

It beat out other scandalous and lewd games such as Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Conan and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary. With this well-deserved recognition, could it mean that Nariko could have a future spread in Playboy's Girl's of Gaming?

The PS3-exclusive action game, Heavenly Sword recently got a 1.10 patch. Right now, the contents of this 18MB download are mysterious. It has been confirmed that DualShock 3 support has finally been added to the game, for those lucky enough to have imported the rumble-ready controller. But, certainly the patch must hold other surprises. 18MB is a lot of data for just rumble alone ...

The Japanese PSN store has been graced with two new demos. GI Jockey 4 2007 and Heavenly Sword have both had playable nuggets placed online for download. For those of you still interested in Heavenly Sword but not ready to actually pay money for it, this new demo may be for you. Featuring Kai, instead of Nariko, the second demo allows you to play through one of her arrow shooting missions - also allowing you a taste of using aftertouch to guide her arrows.

As for GI Jockey, we're fairly certain that if you're not into horse racing then this demo won't change your mind. Keep your eye out for the Gran Turismo Prologue demo - due to drop on the Japanese PSN Store later today.

Maybe trying to distance itself from the critically lambasted Lair, Phil Harrison told GameTrailers that it did not force tilt controls in Factor 5's controversial dragon game. "[Motion control] was definitely not mandated by us. We've always said all along that the use of the Sixaxis is something that should be decided by the developer in tune with their creative vision for the game, so it's not something we would mandate." In spite of this, it appears that many first-party Sony titles utilize tilt controls in some way. Thankfully, many developers have learned from the mistakes of Lair, and include options to turn off the tilt controls and replace them with analog movement (for example, Ratchet & Clank Future.)

In addition, Harrison doesn't find fault with Heavenly Sword's length -- a deciding factor that has limited the game's score in many reviews (including our own). "You know what? Not that many people finish games, so I think we shouldn't criticize a game for being a story, which has an arc with a beginning, a middle and an end... and actually encouraging all gamers to see all of the story, I think that's something positive." Granted, the experience looks and feels big-budget. But at the end of the day, most gamers probably want a longer journey for the increased price of admission.

[Thanks, njkid1! Via GameDaily]

Sony has recently started up their holiday blitz by releasing three highly anticipated games for the PlayStation 3; Warhawk, Lair, and Heavenly Sword. While Warhawk was released to almost universal praise, Lair was largely met with torches and pitchforks. So where does Heavenly Sword fall? Does it achieve the soaring greatness of Warhawk or is it doomed to languish in the used sales bin at your local videogame store like Lair?

Members of the PS3 Forums have found an interesting easter egg in Heavenly Sword. Kratos' sword and armor from God of War can be found somewhere in the depths of the armory during Kai's mission. Now, that begs the question: who would win in a fight: Kratos or Nariko? (We're siding with the tortured Greek here.)

[Thanks, XxBigP123xX!]

It's a two-way road, this video game business. Developers want you to buy their products so, in turn, if you request something from them then you had better be willing to front the cash. During a presentation and Q&A at last night's Warhawk tournament at 3Rooms, Tameem Antoniades (co-founder of Ninja Theory) was asked what his response was to the criticism that Heavenly Sword was too short. He replied that Ninja Theory are definitely interested in extending the experience via downloadable content - but only if it sells well.

The game has been getting good reviews pretty much across the board, with the most common criticism being that there simply isn't enough game to play. With the marketing push that is happening in Europe (we couldn't get through the paper this morning without being greeted by Nariko's face at least twice) we expect the game to sell well, but will it sell enough to persuade Ninja Theory to release extra content? We sincerely hope so. If you want to see it happen, then put down the money and buy the game.