Entry 0747: Blog: 1

I feel rather sad at the moment... and somewhat
empty inside. I am sad because I feel that I have
reached a point in my computer gaming life where
I can honestly say that I finally took on that last 
great boss, won ( or not ), and now realise its all over.
The feeling represents an empty hollow victory, 
which any gamer can identify with, having endured
a game for so long, and yet choosing ourself to end it.
There are so many similarities with life here that it
would take hundreds of words to explain, so I won`t.

The real point here is that Heavenly Sword for me is
a game that transcends computer gaming. Sadly, it is so
intellectually ahead of itself that few playing the
game will truly understand just what happened here.
You would need to have gamed through hundreds and
possibly thousands of scenario's, beaten an equal
number of bosses, whilst also understanding the 
historical context of fantasy art and fiction, and
probably have lost yourself deep in the depths of 
books like Lord of the Rings. I became so absorbed
by this game, and so enriched and invigorated by
its content, that I crave more of the same. Nothing
else will do for me now.... The reality is that its
not gonna happen. Because it will not attract main
stream support under the current regime of taste
dictated by the average computer punter. Even more
sad is this is symbolic of just what has happened
to computing. I have been lucky enough to have
experienced the true wonders of computing and have
wallowed in its rich depth. For others they will
never ever know how truly magical this experience
can be. Unfortunately the world believes that junk
food is nutritious, reality TV is entertaining,
mobile phones give them friends, and downloading
music and movies is what a computer is used for.

Ar hum.....    

And so, what next ? I have played three games this
year... Final Fantasy XII, Lara Croft in Anniversary
and Heavenly Sword. Whilst Final Fantasy was epic, it 
became tedious levelling up and in the end you just
lost sight of the plot. The side quests were dull
and a touch easy for FF. Lara was magic graphically
and the story, though regurgitated, a joy. The 
trouble was that the game suffered as it always 
does with levels that were set at the speed standard
of the creator. You just die, over and over again.
There should be a way out of problems or you do
as I did, stop playing the game. Life is just too
short... Or Lara's is. And so ( big sigh ) to Heavenly
Sword, which in my view has brought to an abrupt 
end the life of any inferior game, my PS2, PS1, XBOX
etc... And why ? Well its just too dam perfect. And
as such I will not now tolerate anything less.
The graphics and production are unequalled in anything
I have ever ever played. The story line is totally
believable, and the pace of the game keeps the
story going. I have no criticism of its length.
From the off you know its a five day adventure
and that she dies. It tells you this in the first
scene. Had this game been any longer it would
not have been true to the story line and then
it would have become a level 'upping' kind of
game like FF. This is no Final Fantasy... It is
something quite different. You can really throw
everything else away, if you love a good story
and like playing games. You will fall in love
with Nariko and Kai and desperately help in
their struggle to rid the world of the evil
tyrant boss conquering their land. 

I am lost now. I have resisted killing the boss
in the final battle, cus I have seen the final
cut scene on YouTube. I just don`t want to end
it. The more significant problem is trying to
find anything that even comes close. The bigger
problem is one that I cannot ever deal with. As
I have said earlier, the world now deals in utter
trivia. A throw away society which whilst
proclaiming to be interested in matters affecting
us all, are really only interested in the quick
fast fix for entertainment. I would love to think
that games like Heavenly Sword could stimulate
a large audience, but I doubt it would be worth
doing so financially. The bigger more concerning
problem is that this game was a flagship for the
PS3, which sadly is doomed. And like my first
epic voyage on the Amiga, this most glorious
of ships is about to run aground. And all will
be lost. 

Where to then ?    Retro :-) 

scuzz
http://www.commodore-amiga-retro.com