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Heavy Rain has finally arrived and after many months of discussions over visuals, a controversial control scheme and Quantic Dreams’ ability to deliver solid titles, we finally got to see what all the buzz was about.

By now most of you know that Heavy Rain is not your traditional videogame. Some have had trouble calling it a videogame at all while others believe that it’s the next step in interactive story telling.

We put on our raincoats, opened our umbrellas and ventured forth into the storm to bring you the full review, after the jump.

[Please note: As Heavy Rain is entirely story driven, we have ensured that the review remains 100% spoiler free]

The Story Of The Origami Killer

Heavy Rain draws you into the world of 4 different characters brought together by a twisted and dangerous serial killer known only as the “Origami Killer”.

Each have their own reasons for being involved in the mysterious case as you live their lives over the span of a few days. Each character is a unique, deep and fleshed out individual that you will come to care for and to make matters even more interesting… they can die.

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Each of the four characters leave their lives in your hands

Quantic Dreams set out to create a story of mystery, tension and intrigue, and that’s exactly what they have done. This is not your traditional videogame, and that’s putting it lightly. The videogame is driven completely by the plot, with every other element serving only to further its progression.

While the story still works towards a definite goal, your actions will create your own path through the game and allow you to experience a different story than the next player. Replaying scenes when you are done and making different choices rewards those who go through the effort of discovering what might have happened had things been handled differently.

The story takes a couple of hours to actually get going, but it serves it’s purpose and allows the game to build up the necessary tension required to completely immerse you in the plot. Once the real story begins, prepare to be glued to your seat for a good deal of time.

Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes

With the exception of walking around and the thought/conversation options, characters are almost completely controlled by making gestures using the controllers various buttons or utilising the sixaxis motion functionality. Scenes that require anything more than a basic command will have you participating in quick time events (QTE) that will require you to string together many different gestures, or hold down certain buttons to achieve the movement or task at hand.

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A penny for your thoughts?

Much of the tension is also relayed to the player by having the characters thoughts (which circle around them and are linked to different buttons) jitter and move at different speeds, which while sometimes frustrating, is an almost perfect translation of what it feels like to gather your thoughts during a stressful situation.

To put it simply, Heavy Rain has been designed so that the player will interact with every element and scene in the game based on the spirit of the moment, utilising the control scheme to make you feel like you are a part of it. Does it actually work? Yes it does, and well.

Everything from slight gentle movement as you quietly open a door, to violent swings of your remote as you fend off an attacker will work to immerse you into the scene, allowing you to experience the pace of the scene at hand and help you to understand what the character is going through. There are a few hiccups with the walking mechanic as well a few frustrating QTE moments here and there, but not in a game-breaking capacity by any means.

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Some scenes will have you investigating crimes scenes with some very neat tech

 

Through The Looking Glass

One of the most important features in Heavy Rain, and equally one of the most impressive is that of the overall visual presentation.

Heavy Rain is not only a pretty looking game (a look at the screenshots make this obvious), but it is an incredible cinematic experience overall. The directing is some of the best that I have ever seen, and that includes actual Hollywood films. Add to that some inspired art direction and conceptual work; and you have a visual tour de force.

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Heavy Rain’s directing is on par with some of Hollywood’s finest

All of the characters have been modeled on, voiced and motion captured by real actors bringing an even more authentic feel to the plate. Some great camera effects, incredibly high-res textures and heavy polygon counts really bring the characters to life and are only let down by the occasional odd animation or scene. This game needed to feel as realistic as possible, and while not perfect just yet, is pretty close.

For a game like Heavy Rain, music and sound is incredibly important. The orchestral score will rush into your ears and add even more to the experience as you sympathise with characters or need to feel the tension of a stressful sequence. Voice acting feels natural and real and can also be attributed to the real life actors brought in for the game.

In many ways, Heavy Rain cannot be classified as a videogame. At the same time it is definitely not just some film. It’s a new form of interactive storytelling, that allows you to immerse yourself in a story like never before. If anything, it could almost be classified as an evolution of what point-and-click adventure games used to be (as well as old FMV CD-Rom titles such as Phantasmagoria and Ripper).

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Videogame, or movie? How about neither?

Heavy Rain is an intriguing, mature, tension-driven story, crafted in a way that allows you to alter it’s path and decide its outcome. There are some rather large plot holes and a decent amount of issues that prevent it from being truly great, but it does many things very right and succeeds at creating what could possibly be an entire new form of entertainment for the modern world to experience.

Heavy Rain may not be for everyone, but it is highly recommended for true videogame enthusiasts interested in a new and interesting way to experience their favorite hobby. Ironically, casual gamers may find it to be a fairly non-complex way of enjoying a new form of interactive entertainment.

[Side note: If you are a developer creating games based on TV series, please, by all means, shamelessly rip this game off in every way. Thanks.]

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: February 22, 2010

Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain is not a videogame, nor is it a movie. It is a vision and a pioneer of a new form of interactive entertainment and one that I am hoping to see more of in future. A highly recommended interactive experience.
9.5

26 Comments

  1. I really can’t wait for this. Only 2 more official days to wait.

    Reply

  2. WitWolfyZA

    February 22, 2010 at 13:17

    Sweet im so getting this.. thanks for the awesome review. Is it true that, some of the dialogue doesnt feel like it fits in the atmosphere of the moment?

    but still ill get this… I read some where it comes with a 200+ mb update to fix some bugs… maybe the player control might be tweaked?

    Reply

    • Nick de Bruyne

      February 22, 2010 at 13:23

      Im not sure what you mean about the dialogue, but its mostly appropriate.

      I actually played the first half of the game without the update and the second half with the update and I didn’t feel any differences in the controls

      Reply

      • WitWolfyZA

        February 23, 2010 at 08:02

        by that i mean sometimes when he shouts it sounds so …. flat or lame… like when your calling your son in the mall.. the same tone …. they should of made like 4 different lines for when u shout his name atleast

        Reply

        • Nick de Bruyne

          February 23, 2010 at 12:46

          Oh yes I understand, yes the have one or two version of a scream, but the second one will then only be used and it sounds really flat, you are right. That really could have been handled better

          Reply

          • RSA-Ace

            February 25, 2010 at 07:26

            “Jason…” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason!”

            Yeah that really is something they could’ve improved on. Even if it was just to stop you from pressing X constantly. I would’ve beat my kid before he got 3m away from me.

          • WitWolfyZA

            March 23, 2010 at 09:33

            “Jason!…Jason!…Jason!…” “arrrggg forget it!!! Your mom should’ve had an abortion”

  3. evilredzombie

    February 22, 2010 at 14:08

    Want it.. But still busy with bioshock 2… Can’t wait to play

    Reply

  4. Uncle

    February 22, 2010 at 14:12

    I really wished I had a PS3, not enough money to own all consoles :cwy:

    Reply

    • Reaver

      February 22, 2010 at 15:03

      I’m thinking about finding a PS3 rental place as well. As much as I would love to play this game, I just cannot afford a PS3 right now.

      Reply

  5. Nick de Bruyne

    February 22, 2010 at 14:14

    Aren’t there any decent console rental places these days?

    Reply

    • Naudran

      February 22, 2010 at 16:35

      I know the video shop close to me rents PS3 & 360 games… but I don’t really think any have the consoles for rent.

      Reply

  6. Ruslan

    February 22, 2010 at 14:37

    Great game, control scheme takes a wee bit to get used to but it will not detract from the initial experience of the game. On your first run you will definitely get lots of “shock & awe” moments. :biggrin:

    Reply

  7. V@mp

    February 22, 2010 at 20:34

    I’ll definitely be getting this,but with all the hype about the “evolution of games” etc…everything everyone
    mentions,they’ve already done in Fahrenheit???

    Be that as it may,I see this as Fahrenheit HD – which is
    more than enough reason for me to get it :tongue:

    Reply

    • Nick de Bruyne

      February 23, 2010 at 04:28

      Unlike Fahrenheit though, this game is getting a lot of attention in the mainstream areas due to the large growth of gaming in general since fahrenheit released. Sometimes an evolution is just about timing.

      Reply

  8. Worm

    February 23, 2010 at 06:39

    I have to say, I would have preferred just a tiny bit of freedom when it comes to the story line. After making the wrong decision or leaving an area, I would have liked to have the option of going back. But still can’t complain, awesome game!

    Reply

  9. WitWolfyZA

    February 23, 2010 at 08:00

    Bought this games yesterday… The 226MB update took like an hour to download… BUT wow what an awesome game. I can see myself finishing this at least 2 times

    Reply

  10. pantsula

    February 23, 2010 at 08:37

    Personally I loved Fahrenheit, but don’t have a PS3…damnit…

    Reply

  11. WrathZA

    February 23, 2010 at 08:42

    I’m buying a PS3 specifically for this game. I miss excellent game story telling. It’s been a while since KoTOR and something similar.

    Reply

    • Nick de Bruyne

      February 23, 2010 at 12:47

      Mass Effect 2?

      Reply

      • WitWolfyZA

        February 23, 2010 at 13:16

        bitch slap?

        Reply

        • Nick de Bruyne

          February 23, 2010 at 13:58

          LOL. Firstly ME2 was made by the same folk who did KOTOR. Another thing WitWolfy is that while the overall story was not incredibly compelling, the depth of the characters and their stories made up for it.

          Reply

          • WitWolfyZA

            February 23, 2010 at 14:54

            Never really liked KOTOR, Mass Effect 2 is awesome and one of the best games i bought the whole year. but for me Heavy Rain is in a whole different dimension. Story wise and graphically

  12. Tawas

    March 22, 2010 at 21:12

    This really looks like an awesome game…I wonder if any of the xbox game developers have anything like this on the cards.

    Reply

  13. Fred

    March 23, 2010 at 08:21

    Halfway through now and the attention to detail is amazing , wish I had time to do it all in one sitting.
    Above my expectations.

    Reply

    • WitWolfyZA

      March 23, 2010 at 09:35

      “Jason…” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason!”
      “Jason…” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason!”
      “Jason…” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason!”
      “Jason…” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason!”
      “Jason…” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason…” “Jason!” “Jason!”

      Its like a creepy broken vinyl!!!!!

      Reply

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