“How far would you go for love?”
A first in interactive digital drama, Heavy Rain brings the player into the hands of 4 characters, whos fates are unknowingly bought together in an effort to catch a serial killer named the Origami Killer.
You take on the persona’s of four people throughout the game – Ethan Mars, an architect who suffers from depression and agoraphobia after losing his elder son prior to the main story; Madison Paige, a photographer who later assists Ethan after staying a motel; Norman Jayden, an FBI profiler who has been called in to assist on identifying the Origami Killer after years of searching and Scott Shelby, a private eye hired by the families of the victims of the Origami Killer.
Based on the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Heavy Rain manages to capture a unique noir-style thriller in its storyline. Whilst focusing primarily on the story rather then over-the-top gun action, Heavy Rain still manages to induce a few fast-paced moments based on its unique control system, which is largely made up of QTEs (Quick Time Events) to make the player feel more involved and engaged with the characters. The rest of the interactions in the game are largely involved with listening in on the characters thoughts and interacting with the surrounding environment accordingly.
“Make choices, face the consequences” is certainly true, as whatever decision you make for each character can lead up to 18 different endings. Ultimately, you’re the one who is in control of this drama; there is no right or wrong way of completing the game – it is up to you to decide which choices are made.
The scenery and graphics are beautiful, and in my opinion Quantic Dream have done a magnificent job of capturing different blends of American life into this game. From contemporary nightclubs to abandoned powerplants, you can really feel a vibe and sense the realism in the environment – not the mention the highly detailed facial features and expressions shown in the cutscenes using motion-capture technology.
Real thought have been put to the characters personalities, as each of them are unique and play an important role in the central plot of the game. When making choices or decisions for each character, I really had to think and decide on it – if I was this person in real life, what decision would I make? Would this fit the characters state of mind/persona? Though that is ultimately left to you to decide.
I have to say that this is a definite “M” title, as this game really sets itself apart from all current-gen games with mature adult themes and no supernatural themes. Heavy Rain is unique, fresh, and offers a relaxing change from the usual, lackluster shooter. It isn’t a game which you requires your fastest APM average, but instead requires you to think and put yourself in the shoes of the cast.
My criticisms of this game are minute; the only real noticeable problems I saw were some obvious screen tearing but that didn’t detract away from the experience. I also felt that some of the choices given were too obscure and not explained well enough in order to decide whether to make that decision or not.
Also noticeable was that I would’ve liked to see more of Jayden’s ARI (Added Reality Interface) glasses, as I felt it was a very unique, promising idea but was lacking in how much it was featured in the game.
A lot of questions remained unanswered to a lot of enthusiasts in the ending, including me; though Quantic Dream will be releasing a series of episodic content through the PSN store, which will provide players who want a deeper analysis into the plot of Heavy Rain more material. Owners of the Collector’s Edition have already received the first episode, titled Chronicle 1 – The Taxidermist, which looks into an incident relating to Paige’s career before the main story.
We need more games are Heavy Rain, as they steadily redefine the gaming industry and reflect the changing tastes of the gamers. A lot of people I know are getting sick and tired of generic FPS which cater to the majority of gamers, but to the niche clique out there Heavy Rain certainly satisfies. This is either a game you’ll love or hate, but it all depends to how open you’re willing to let yourself go to expect the unexpected.
9/10
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