Sony is well aware of the project's potential, too. One of four major titles highlighted on the event's main stage during the first day's presentation (Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, and SOCOM Confrontation were the others), Heavenly Sword is being positioned as THE "must have" PS3 action title of the fall by the PlayStation's PR machine
Whether or not it will be is the big question. Certainly, it has quite the prospectus -- in addition to its lovely looks and kick-ass main character, the combat is easy to get into and deeper than your average fishing pond. For a game like this, one that's already being compared to the likes of Ninja Gaiden and God of War, a strong battle engine is incredibly important and it seems to have that... as well it should; the team spent the entire last year fine-tuning it.
Another good point to build on is that the newly-updated AI is noticeably better than the weak but aggressive examples we previously faced at E3 and TGS. Your opponents will now learn player tactics and patterns and even coordinate their attacks to best handle a precarious situation. And precarious it is: lead character Nariko brings some serious heat and boasts three different stances (speed by default, power via R1 and ranged via L1) that have their own assortment of uses and combos. Special moves and ground kills (think mini-tornados and gut-stabs) are in there too, and Ninja Theory co-founder Nina Kristensen confirmed that any object in the environment can be used for offense as well (including corpses of the fallen). Would-be warriors can even earn style points that allow them to pull off "Superstar Moves" which are essentially specialized kill moments.
Traditional combat isn't the only sort of gameplay that fans can expect either. Much like Tomb Raider or the aforementioned God of War, Heavenly Sword also has several contextual cinematics that require tapping the appropriate button to further the scene along. In the stage we sampled, for example, Nariko begins her journey with a full-on sprint down the length of two highly-extensive ropes that are only possible because of quick rhythmic presses of the X button. An occasional tap to the left on the analog stick and another few key inputs finishes the scene with our heroine arriving at the lair of her enemy by pushing a structure on top of them. Cool, cool stuff.
Scheduled for release this fall, Heavenly Sword looks more and more promising every time we see it. Unfortunately, we've only been exposed to it in small bursts so it's still hard to tell if the combat, enemy scenarios and eventual boss fights will hold up to prolonged play. Even so, with the high-end production values (Gollum ] himself, Andy Sirkus, is directing the cutscenes, while the same audio crew from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon does the sound), great art style, and everyone-friendly "pick up and play" design, it's looking pretty hot.