Published by: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developed by: Quantic Dream
Release Date: February 23, 2010
Available on: Playstation 3
INTRO: The long awaited game from Quantic Dream has finally arrived! Heavy Rain is a follow-up to an earlier effort called Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit, depending where you live), which was an awesome game. This one is not a sequel but rather a game that uses a similar engine, where the game is dependent on context sensitive button presses to play. It’s difficult to describe, really but I’ll touch more on that in the gameplay section of the review.
GAMEPLAY:
This game tells the tale of a murderer who is targeting children by drowning them in the rain. The killer leaves an origami figure and an orchid on every body and as such is known as the Origami Killer. You take control of 4 key people involved in the ordeal- Ethan Mars, psychologically damaged father of one (after one boy was killed in a horrible accident), Scott Shelby, private eye who is looking for clues about the killer, Norman Jayden, FBI rookie on the case, and Madison Paige, a journalist caught in the middle who seems to be falling for Ethan.
I can’t review this game like I review every other game because this is a groundbreaking game. This isn’t a game that introduces an okay idea and then half develops it and deserves a bit of praise, but instead I think this game deserves to be called an innovator. Heavy Rain is an interactive experience that fully engrosses the player in every action that is made. This is a game where there are consequences to every move and you will be forced to make decisions that could even lead your character to die. And when I say die, I don’t mean ‘you are dead, start over’, I mean that character is dead and done for, not to be seen for the rest of the game.
That’s the beauty of this game. I’ve never played a game with such rich characters and such amazing storytelling. The different viewpoints are woven together so smoothly and it works wonderfully. The game holds your hand a little at the start, but even then you’re building strong connections with each character. You will literally live your character’s lives. You answer phones, you brush your teeth, towel off, make food, tuck kids into bed, pour drinks- you name it, you do it. The mundane actions really serve as foreshadowing in a way because things are normal at the beginning of the game and you’re living your life, rather than hunting a murderer.
The way the game is played is quite different from any other game. You walk (awkwardly at times, frustratingly when the camera angle really messes with your input), and everything else is done with a button press. The face buttons will be your talking prompts as you choose what to say and how to react. Almost all other actions are done with the right stick, from getting up off the couch to chopping a carrot. To open a fridge door, you might turn the stick a quarter turn to the left. To chop the carrot, you might go up and down with the whole controller. To drink a drink without spilling it all over yourself, you might have to tilt the right stick up slowly, otherwise you look like a fool. These are the little details that make this game awesome.
Big events like fights or car chases and the like are done with a lot of quicktime movements like the ones mentioned above, except all in a row. You can miss some, but if you miss too many you’ll fail the scene and won’t reach your desired outcome. It has the most intense moments I’ve ever had in my own videogame history, and that’s saying a lot. Many of these scenes are white-knuckle and force you to contort your hands to press buttons you never thought you could reach in that way. It’s not a perfect system- there were times (especially when you actually have to physically move the controller) when I’d be sure I hit a motion but the game disagreed, and as I mentioned before the camera could use work, but those moments didn’t distract me or bother me too much.
I’m not going to give away anything about the plot of this game. The plot is what makes the game what it is, and it changes if you play through more than once (although the killer remains the same). You’ll find yourself cursing your decisions at times and begging to go back to see ‘what if’. That’s the beauty of the game and the moral at the same time- living with the decisions we’ve made and how we soldier on afterwards. You will experience moments of joy, sadness, anger and fear, I can almost guarantee it. Heavy Rain isn’t painted with black and white, there are a lot of really tough calls you will have to make.
Each character brings a fresh perspective to the game as well, leaving you wondering truly what’s going on. I’m pretty sharp but I was absolutely wrong with my first 2 guesses about who the killer was. As the characters pass through each other’s lives, you find yourself more interested in influencing them to help out one of the other characters. You slowly learn more than the characters do since you jump from character to character. I can’t say I liked any character more than another, each one had standout moments.
This is a game for adults, thinking adults. It is a mature game with scenes of violence, sex and drug use. If you just like killing things and blowing sh*t up, this won’t be your cup of tea. But, if you like immersive experiences unlike anything you’ve seen before, you’ll love Heavy Rain.
Gameplay: 9/10
GRAPHICS:
This is a beautiful, beautiful game. It really strives for realism and nails it. The facial mapping and animation is incredible, the animation is almost always awesome and the environments are rich and detailed. This game will show off the beauty of your PS3- even the loading screens are amazing, showing close-up shots of the character you’ll play as next.
Graphics: 9/10
AUDIO:
This is the only part of this game that could use work. The orchestral score is amazing and adds a ton of punch to this dramatic endeavor, while the voice acting can be really hit and miss. For the most part, the actors are quite good but there are times when some of the actors sound quite hammy. Ethan has some lame moments, the two boys at the site near the end sound really, really french (this was made by a french development team), and there are just some goofy deliveries at times. This is extra noticeable since this game relies a LOT on their performances.
Audio: 7/10
FINAL VERDICT:
I love this game. I think it’s a moment of gaming magic and I loved almost every minute of playing it. It’s tense, engaging, well written and the different play style is intuitive and lends itself well to this type of game. Not everyone will enjoy it, it is a different sort of game that won’t be for all types of gamers. However the moment I was done, I wanted to play again and that’s not something I can say often about most games. On another positive note, this game joins the list of about 4 others that give PS3 owners something they can really brag about.
Final Score: 9/10
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