Game: Heavenly Sword

          Heavenly Sword (a PS3 exclusive) came out a year after PS3 was released.  Many games have come out since then and yet I still can't really think of any that are acted out so well.  The writing and the voice acting are incredible. The characters in Heavenly Sword are great.  When all this comes together the result can only be an unforgettable game. I enjoyed the cinematics,  not only because of the need to know how things progressed but how these scenes were acted out. HS (Heavenly Sword) truly blurs the line between the movie and gaming industry.

          HS's backdrop is that there was a great war threatening mankind.  An evil Raven King lead a massive army that destroyed everything in their path. (Kind of like Sauron from Lord of The Rings.) When all hope is lost the heavens sent a warrior to face the Raven King.  With the "Heavenly Sword" at hand the warrior dispatches the king and restores peace to the world, but that peace didn't last.  Once he killed the Raven King he disappear leaving behind his weapon.  Man quickly  became corrupted by the power and began to kill each other to posses it.  That senseless violence is what started the clan, they take the sword (never using it) in hopes to end the bloodshed. They release a short five episode animated series as a prequel to the game.  Poki3 over at youtube did us all a favor and combined all five episode into a short ten minute video. (Yes, two minutes per episode average.)

          The game has beautiful vistas.  The scenery in each chapter are like works of art in themselves. You fight through a snow fortress, forest temple, and valleys bridges that seem to be linked by castle-like pillars. (check out chapter 2, if you didn't get that last one.) This coupled with the soundtrack creates rich environments, that are gratifying. The best term I can come up with to desricbe the music is ethnic orchestra. (It is so good that I got the soundtrack on my iPod.)  In this orchestra they mix traditional western instruments with eastern instruments to form a powerful, yet organic sound.

          You play as Nariko and Kai.  Both are part of the clan that has been protecting the sword for centuries.  Nariko is skilled with swords and face to face combat.  She is the one who actually breaks the sacred code, never to wield the Heavenly Sword.  Once Nariko starts using the sword you can use it in many ways.  The default stance, known as the speed stance has an equal amount of speed and damage.  In this stance the sword takes the form of two blades.  In range stance, the sword become two chain blades that she uses to to kill enemies at a distance.  Range stance is the fastest but the weakest of all three stances.  Finally the power stance, is the strongest and slowest of all stances.  It takes the form of a giant two handed sword.  You can quickly switch between all of these to preform some interesting combos.

          Kai is an archer.  Usually when you play as her, she is stationed in one spot from which she must kills everything in sight. (It's like a sniping mini-game.) Here you are going to get acquainted with what the game refers to as "after touch".  After touch is a feature in the game where you use your SIXAXIS controller's motion-sensing capabilities to guide projectiles to their target. (Kind of like sniping with Max Payne, only you can control the bullet after you shoot it.)  I think there's one stage where you actually walk around with Kai.  In it you come to find she can't fight, so your best bet is to keep bad guys away.  If they get to close run away, turn and shoot.

          Okay now to address the elephant in the room, God of War.  God of War I and II were both release before Heavenly Sword.  The developers over at Ninja Theory admitted that the games had an influence on their project.  They even put Kratos's armor  (from GOW II) and weapons on display in a section of the game to pay their respects.  To pay To me the one of main similarities is the red and white design of both Nariko and Kratos.  The only other thing that comes to mind is Nariko's range stance,  where her weapons are exactly like the one from God of War's.  After that there are none. Besides, it's another option when your looking for an action-adventure game.  I don't see anyone complaining that FPS (First Person Shooters) are all just reskined guns and enemies of each other.  

 -Don't Just Be A Robot, Be Happy

Game: Medal Of Honor

          Medal Of Honor was published or developed by EA. (you swear I know the game industry lingo, or care for that matter. Their logo is on it. That's all I need to know) I use to hate them, when all they did was sports and movie games, but this isn't about EA this is about their game.  I rarely play campaign on FPS because all I want to do is get online and fuck people up.  As I'm sure you know the PlayStation Network has been down for over a week, so with no other choice I played story mode. (That's right I am a PlayStation man.) My only real complaint with MoH is that it was short and easy. (I beat it in three days with no serious playtime and little effort on the hardest mode available.) 
          The craziest part for me was that you keep switching between characters throughout the game. You play as Navy Seal "Rabbit", Delta Force operative "Deuce", Army Ranger "Adams", and Apache Gunner "Hawk".  The transitions between character was also done really well. (Now I'm not going to ruin the story.) For example Adams team was in desperate need of air support and when it finally does arrive it's Hawk.  You then start playing as Hawk flying all over the mountain destroying various enemy camps.  When all is said and done Hawk starts making his way back to base when an Anti-Air gunner is about open fire on the helicopter. The gunner is picked off before he could shoot a single shot by Deuce (Who you then start playing as.)
          It's these things that make this game awesome as far as the story goes, but like I said from the start I play online more then anything else.  When your online you can play as three classes; Rifleman, Special Ops, and Sniper.  To me Rifleman and Special Ops are interchangeable. (They are the run around and shoot everything with your machine guns guys) Sniper = Campers. (Far far away campers. Who kill you when you least expect it, because your taking the route no one who's "In the battle" takes.)  Now don't get me wrong I do my share of sniping, but God do I hate you guys.  Like any other FPS it has a death match & capture and hold.  What's unique for the game is the Combat Missions. (when I think about it-it isn't all that unique.) In Combat Mission you start on one end of the map and have to complete various objectives (depending on the map) to progress.  The opposing force has to stop you and hold out until your reinforcement runs out.
          You as a player gain experience points for the class you play as.  As you level up you will unlock more guns and attachment for those guns for that class.  Once you reach level eight you will be considered Tier 1.  Being in Tier 1 changes your appearance and give lower Tier players more points for killing you. (You should be good by now.)  Very little replay ability on the campaign side.  On the multi player side? You can play it everyday for five hours for two months before you want another FPS. (Your the reason this economy isn't a full blown depression yet.)
                                                                                                    -Don't Just Be A Robot, Be Happy