In general - sad as it may be - movies based on video games don't live up to their original counterparts. But why do we watch these movies anyway, even if we know they'd never live up to the game? Only one answer came to mind: because we love the game.

Thus the idea for this QuickList came about: what are the movies that we'd watch simply for love of the game? Read the five movies you might consider watching (even if they sucked) in the full article.

A few days back, we were able to post the second part of The Making of Heavenly Sword. Also, there were the first two parts of The Legend of the Sword animated mini-series. Today, we get two videos, both of which are the Part Threes for each respective feature.

The first lined up is The Legend of the Sword: The Rise of Evil. In the short clip, we see how King Bohan came to be on the throne. It's a ruthless plot of how one king - the champion of peace in the land - was overthrown. Well, not so much as overthrown as over-intoxicated... Like, fatally. Now, to see King Bohan in Samurai Jack art style is weird. For some reason, my mind is still trying to fit Gollum Andy Serkis into the picture.

Now that's over and done with, get another serving of popcorn for the next video. It's The Making of Heavenly Sword Part 3; this time, it centers on motion capturing. Yes, Andy Serkis is there - he does a rather strange dance at the 2:20 mark (hilarious!) - looking all so Bohan. The actresses behind Nariko, Kai, and one Whiptail are interviewed as well. There's a cool character montage towards the end too, so you might want to look forward to that - it's more new game footage.

Click the Full Article link below for the other Heavenly Sword video!

Andy Serkis was the actor behind the infamous Gollum and the tragic primate, King Kong. Now he lends his talents to Heavenly Sword's own King Bohan, the dictator emperor who wants to keep the sword for himself.

In the interview, Serkis talks about how his motion-capturing experiences - how they aren't really all that different from acting, once you know the kinks of the medium. According to him, instead of being the actual actor, you're more of a puppeteer who controls the actor. He further explains:

Well, I'm slightly ambivalent about the difference between playing a character and being motion-captured. It's no different from being in costume, except that instead of having synthetic materials on your face you've been captured in a game. Simple as that.

One interesting thing the interview covered is how Serkis prepared for the role of Bohan. While he studied apes for "King Kong," it probably came natural that he study dictators to get into Bohan's mindset:

Bohan was this dictator that created his own moral universe where he was right. Rather than just playing an evil guy, you have to sort of believe in what you're doing - most dictators do. So I've been reading about dictators.

Not being an experienced gamer of sorts, he also talks about how he tries to familiarize himself with games:

I'm pretty hopeless at games, but I've been getting familiar with them. I love playing Shadow Of The Colossus, just riding round on my horse looking for colossi. I haven't actually found any yet, though.

In this video of The Making of Heavenly Sword, we are not only treated to a series of in-game sequences and commentaries from the developers of the game but also some footage of Andy Serkis who performs the voice and motions of King Bohan, the bad guy of Heavenly Sword. If you don't remember Serkis, he's the one who voiced and performed as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and also King Kong.

We are also given a little info on the game's engine which is responsible for the beautiful effects of the Sweep Style Move where everything goes in slow motion and the camera zooms in on Nariko as she kicks someone's ass. The engine is powerful enough to support a battlefield of 2000 enemies. We are also shown some footage of Kai, who players will be able to control in parts of the game and has her own "unique control system."

Tameem Antoniades, who the video credits as "Chief Creative Ninja," says about the game:

Our goal was to try and make one of the most beautiful games ever created. Me, like a lot of people [...] you go and watch Star Wars, or you watch some big epic movie and you walk around the street pretending [...] that you're in that movie. What we wanted to do is make that fantasy real. So not only can you see this epic unfolding before your eyes but you can take part in the adventure and everything you do feels like you're in the movie. so it's kind of fulfilling a base childhood fantasy in all of us.

Heavenly Sword will be out (finally) this September 12. And now without further ado, here is the video:

After what seems to be eons of waiting, Ninja Theory's Heavenly Sword demo is finally up, and last we heard - as Bj commented - Europe's PlayStation Store also has it as well. So, have you already ditched plans with your girlfriend for a date with Nariko tonight? We assume jimbo777 already has.

The demo starts with a bit of intro cinematic with Nariko telling of how her father and his men were taken by King Bohan (finally we know how to spell his name). Our heroine stands atop a plateau with her friend Kai, and orders her to keep watch - told her to find a hiding place since they might "play twing twang" later - see, I told you they have a Xena-Gabrielle relationship going on.

Once you get control over Nariko, you have to move over to the left side of the cliff edge and trigger a cutscene - the tight rope scene, which some described as pretty "tight" (nyar-har-har). Nariko descends onto the top of a pillar and you must clean it off of them baddies.

When you're done, you cut the final rope that's keeping the pillar tethered and, since our heroine seems to be intent on having big entrances, you land in the thick of battle with quite a big bang. After lopping off more heads and unleashing Nariko's PMS, three armored guards appear - thus ending your playtime for the demo.

More impressions, implications, combat Stances, twing twanging, and a comment on my l337ness right behind the Full Article link below!

Following in the wake of an interview with Andy Serkis, we now hear more from Ninja Theory and their feisty PS3 title, Heavenly Sword. We've got two videos today from ThreeSpeech, one on character design, the other on combat systems.

We've embedded the first video below, as found on GameTrailers. In it, ThreeSpeech gets the 411 from lead character artist Laura Kippax. She talks about how she was able to directly work on modelling and designing everything about Nariko (from the hair to the martial arts). Not only that, but we also get a glimpse of what seems to be Nariko's "partner."

Hey, if Xena had a Gabrielle, Nariko should definitely have a Kai... Check it out:

Now we could also embed the other video interview - the one on combat systems, with lead combat designer Sia Tong Man. However, we'd have to leave that behind the jump. Some of you guys may have heard about the combat system before, but as usual, you can also find some new game footage every now and then in these vids, so keep your eyes peeled!

You can click the Read link below to head on over to ThreeSpeech for the Combat System Interview video.

Andy Serkis is getting quite a bit of the limelight treatment lately - limelight here meaning green screens, as in motion capture sessions, in a sense. And it's no secret - unless you've been living with Gollum under a mountain for the past few months - that Mr. Serkis is lending his talent to the much-anticipated PS3 title from Ninja Theory, Heavenly Sword.

No, silly. He's not doing motion captures for red-haired heroine, Nariko. Serkis is playing the role of King Bohan (Botan, Bothan, depending how it's spelled these days), the game's main antagonist bent on trying to acquire Nariko's people's Heavenly Sword.

Throw in all the ruthless campaigns launched by Bohan to claim the Heavenly Sword from Nariko, and you've got quite a heavy role for Serkis to fill. Thinking about it though, based on previous projects he's been involved in, he's probably cut out for the job already.

In this video interview from ThreeSpeech, Andy Serkis talks about his role and the nuances of motion capturing for Heavenly Sword. If you want some eye candy, there's a couple of new game footage flashed every now and then as well.

However, since HTML embed codes can sometimes elude certain writers, this particular blogger would have to redirect you over to the Read link below. Enjoy!

We've dug up something in YouTube and Sony PlayStation 3 fans will be thrilled to know that Heavenly Sword was recently showcased in London. As in previous posts, we were quite impressed with how this game is shaping up and now you can see a bit more of the gameplay in this video. Check it out:

Three Speech was there at the Mayfair hotel and they got the chance to see CGI actor Andy Serkis who plays the part of the evil king in this game and is best known for his work in King Kong and as LOTR's Gollum.

Ninja Theory developers were also there to explain a few things such as how motion capture made the realism in the visuals possible and how the PS3's power was just what they needed to pull it off. Heavenly Sword is set for a September release. We'll keep you posted for more.

We all have a blast whenever Andy Serkis talks about his new precious: Heavenly Sword. The actor is of course playing the part of King Bothan and he is also got his hands full with being the project's dramatic director, and now we have here a video of Andy Serkis' motion capture session for Heavenly Sword. Prepare to be amazed and then click play.

You know what really grinds our gears with this video? We can't see the result of the session! Serkis was in his element and it amazes us that he could just shift to being normal after that intense session. We'll surely be waiting what Serkis and Ninja Theory has for us come its release date.

Good news readers! The official PlayStation site for the UK has just updated its release calendar for PSP and PS3 titles and we so love to share it with you. And from the look of things, May will be the month to watch out for.

On the PSP side, fans can kiss their waiting woes goodbye as SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 is slated for a May release. Actually, the FPS video game has been available for Continental U.S. ever since November of 2006 though we guess that it's about time for our UK counterparts to join in the fun. The new game features a truck-load of improvements from the last version, among which include multiplayer support.

PS3 fans, on the other hand, get a combo as both Heavenly Sword and Lair were listed. Unlike SOCOM, these PS3 titles haven't been launched anywhere else, so this is a first for them, unless Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) says otherwise. And then there's Lair... need we say more?

Heavenly Sword is a marriage of movie and video game development. It uses real-life actors, including Andy Serkis (a.k.a., Smeagol / Gollum), to make the movements and facial expressions of in-game characters more life-like. The game is about a dying girl who embarks on a last journey to topple the tyrant king of her land.

If you think launch day was good, May is definitely going to be better. As they say, "It's gonna be HUGE!"