PS3 "sometimes horrific, sometimes beautiful"

Heavenly Sword developer Ninja Theory is generally pleased with the PlayStation 3 but admits it can be "an interesting ride" to develop for.

"The PS3 hardware is a bit like a journey into the Marianas trench," said Mike Ball, co-founder of Ninja Theory, speaking to Eurogamer. "There's lots to explore and the deeper you get the more varied the life forms - sometimes horrific, sometimes beautiful."

He added: "Personally I really love the SPUs as they have exceeded our performance expectations and we've got a lot of them to play with."

The comments come after Wednesday night's announcement that the PS3 will launch across Europe on 23rd March at a GBP 425 price-point. Something we hope you know by now.

NDAs have stopped most first party developers talking about the console, but Ball remains excited and optimistic about the future.

"Currently the machine offers a massive leap in gaming and multimedia performance. However, this is only the start of what will undoubtedly be an amazing evolution over the next few years as developers become more and more familiar with the hardware," he said.

Heavenly Sword is a third-person action title for PS3, which combines gorgeous set-pieces with hearty head-chopping sword-play. Sadly it's not confirmed as a European launch title for the console, but is expected in the first half of 2007.

"In summary, PS3 exploration is an interesting ride for developers and that can only result in amazing games for players," Ball concluded.

Have a gander at what we thought when we saw the game at TGS last year, or high-kick your way to Eurogamer TV for the TGS trailer.