Heavy Rain is something extremely different. It’s not a game in the traditional sense. It’s not a movie. It’s an experience that I hope more people take the chance to play.
Two weeks ago I wrote some of my initial thoughts after playing the game’s demo, but really that pales in comparison to what the game truly has to offer. After the 30 minute demo I was kind of meh. The new take on the QTE was a cool advancement, the thought/choice decision style design was a fresh idea, but the story didn’t grab me. This completely changed when I played the real game.
This game is pushing the boundaries of what defines a video game. And I love that they’re taking a risk in making gamers do more than just try for a high score.
Weirdest surreal experiences you’ll have in Heavy Rain:
- brushing your teeth
- shaving, while trying to avoid nicks
- drinking OJ
- carrying groceries
- chopping stuff
- making scrambled eggs
- unhooking a bra
- actually remembering things IRL (using MY brain)
Dark and Disturbed
Heavy Rain is one of the most intense gaming experiences I’ve had in a very long time. Part of this comes from knowing that your main characters can die at any time and there’s no going back. This is proven very early in the game when [*minor spoiler*] one of your children dies [/spoiler] and you’re left to live with the consequences.
I’m still not sure why this affected me so much, but the first hour of the game was very emotionally draining. I have no kids. I didn’t grow up in a divorced family. I’m part of the MTV generation that is emotionally detached and feels neither highs nor lows. But this game really made me sad, and weirdly emotional. If this were a movie, I know I wouldn’t have been so invested and attached to the characters. But the way the game draws you into the people’s lives, by doing the daily mundane tasks, it’s a whole other level of immersion and it truly works to make you feel for every character.
The fact that I can choose to sit and watch TV, or go outside, or have a snack, or go to the bathroom, or not wash my hands afterwards, or kill or not kill the bad guy is amazing. And the best thing about these little (and big) decisions is that they definitely make an impact on the story. It makes the story mine. Since beating the game I’ve listened to lots of reviews, and it truly is mind-blowing how many outcomes are possible for this game. Every player really has a different story based on their decisions.
What I liked best about Heavy Rain:
- intense emotion AND action
- cinematic presentation – loved the use of split-screen and 24-like presentation style
- suspenseful musical score really adds to the atmosphere and tension
- pre-rendered cutscenes characters look great – very finely detailed
- extremely hard to put down once you’ve started and are invested in the story
- truly makes you think and regret the choices you make/didn’t make
- there is no “game over”, the story always continues regardless of whether you hit the button or not
- there are A LOT of WTF moments where I actually screamed that at the TV
- the decisions you make are very difficult
- the story is very adult, and I mean in the mature, not sleezy, way
- it’s something extremely different, and different is good.
What’s lame about Heavy Rain:
- MAJOR plot holes and red herrings! After the end credits rolled I literally sat there and said “What about this? This part doesn’t make sense! How could they not even address this thing?”. Maybe it was my path choices though. Perhaps some parts would have made sense had I make a different choice along the way. Who knows? I guess this is like life where you don’t find out all the details along the way.
- in-game character animations are stiff and difficult to control at times
- antiquated character ‘tank controls’ (see above bullet)
- terrrrrrrible voice acting (some reviews say it’s better to play with the original French voices and use English subtitles)
- the uncanny valley is super distracting at times, and very noticable in our post-Avatar world
- they didn’t need to add the nude scenes. I feel it would have been a classier move, and more adult, if they actually left them out. This still reminds me that games can be juvenile and are largely targeted at teenage boys. Even though I say this, it’s not gratuitous or any more than you’d see in regular rated-R movies nowadays.
How Heavy Rain might change the future of games & movies:
- Branching story paths - this can already be seen in recent games like Mass Effect 2, but with Heavy Rain ALL your characters may die… there are 20+ possible endings. Imagine if future home DVD/Blu-Ray movies offer your the chance to change the ending… what if I wanted Jake Sully to not join the Na’vi?
- Stronger narrative – FPSs like CoD:MW2 are fun and extremely popular, but sometimes I really want something more than just blowing stuff up.
- Mature content – to steal a phrase from Jerry Seinfeld, this game is “dark and disturbed”. There’s no doubt that the content in this game will inspire other developers to think differently. This game also features TONS of violence and gore - if you so choose – but it’s justified and in context. Unlike most of today’s games, you really need to think before you pull the trigger and you may pay the price for it afterwards.
- Immersive controls - aka “finger twister”. I think there was one point in the game where I had all 4 shoulder buttons pressed, plus 3 of the face buttons and I literally pressed another button with my nose! But in the context of the situation, it all made sense. When the character on screen has their hands full doing lots of difficult things, so do you. It totally adds to experience. You definitely feel the tense struggle that the character is going through. It may sound strange, but it works.
Now that I’ve written this, I NEED more people to play the game. You won’t believe how hard it is for me to keep biting my tongue not telling you WHO the Origami Killer is!!
Two things that would have made this game more PHENOMENAL:
- Avatar character graphics and motion capture
- Project Natal
