Short Games
In my frustration at my 360, I figured I could use some righteous anger, so I started playing Heavenly Sword over again from the beginning.
I finished it at 5:30 this morning. Yeah, one sitting. It’s a lot easier the second time around.
Despite its shortness, I totally get what they are trying to do, but I doubt its effectiveness. It’s really nice to see a game with a fairly good storyline sans fluff, but I feel like video games do a better job of telling environments than they do telling stories (Bioshock is an example of a game that does an excellent job “telling” an environment, rather than necessarily a simple story).
However, they did mention in the “making of” that they realized how bold and shocking a female main character was for a video game, but I think they failed to recognize that this would be an incredibly bold move for a movie as well. In addition, it was necessary for her character to be female, because confronting and conquering sexism was an integral part of the story, one which I doubt most people would immediately recognize.
Honestly, I feel like Heavenly Sword was a breath of fresh air for women who were feeling stifled by the video game industry, but I feel like it never really got to the right audiences, maybe because the Playstation 3 was still more luxury than the 360. (Believe me, I know which of the “next-gen” systems I’ll be recommending from here on out)
As much as I love it, though, I can’t help but think that the “interactive movie” idea was not the best for the game’s success, and tended to cut down on the length of the game considerably (which really isn’t a good indicator, for sure, but people seem to care).
Oh well, it’s good, and the escapism feels real to me for once.
