A few years ago when the next generation consoles were first being announced, Quanitc Dream released a technical demo of their new game called Heavy Rain. The demo showed a startlingly life-like woman on the screen delivering an intense monologue about the loss of her son and how she desperately wants revenge. After the video of the demo went live on the internet, Playstation fans had a new weapon in their arsenal against other systems. Years later and Heavy Rain has finally been released on the Playstation 3. Does the game reignite that flame that coursed throughout the industry or does it arrive all wet?
Before anything is said about the quality of the game, I feel like I need to justify that Heavy Rain is indeed a video game. Essentially, Heavy Rain is an interactive movie that the player progresses through by completing optional “quick time” events (a la God of War and nearly every other action game out there). The quick time events are optional because the player is literally in control of the events on screen and the multiple outcomes of that event. For example, while controlling a character who is in the grocery store during a robbery, you can either attempt to sneak up behind the robber, shoot the robber, hide in the corner, say something, continue shopping, etc. No matter what you do or do not do, the “movie” in front of you does not wait, it just keeps going. Yes, the player seems to have a passive role in what some people call a “9 hour cut-scene” but the more interactions the player commits to, the more the game shines and plays.
Heavy Rain is a mystery/thriller about a serial killer named the “Origami Killer” who abducts children and kills them. You take control over four different people who are all somehow invested in the apprehension of the killer before he claims his next victim. Each character has a different background and journey, some of which intersect during pivotal moments in the narrative. Depending on the choices the player makes and also their performance, the storyline morphs accordingly which provides a personalized campaign.
YAY:
- The bright areas of Heavy Rain lay in its core gameplay. Every single time that you engage in an action, you are offered with the tools to make it happen. If you do not press “X” and “O” when it is presented, then any number of actions can follow. This allows every single context sensitive set piece to be very suspenseful. Even the prompts to walk down stairs feel like if if you mess up, it means a terrible demise for the character you are controlling. Very few games have this quality of “what if?” that presents a vast amount of worth to the game itself.
- The character development for some of these characters is just remarkable because you are essentially responsible for it. One character in the game is first playable after waking up from a night’s sleep. When his wife and kids come home, it is up to the player to decide whether or not he is an active family man or a downright selfish, egotistical bastard who really hates his life. If Quantic Dream has contributed anything new to gaming it is this union between the player and a random, virtual stranger.
- The interactions themselves are amazing then they give a new and refreshing experience. One in particular that sticks out is when one of the characters is asked by his son to play him. There was something really emotional about this moment (if you say yes) that hits all the perfect notes to make it genuine and not artificial (nintendogs comes to mind).
- Overall the production values here are top notch, if not then they are some of the best that the industry has ever seen. The virtual character’s faces contort with fantastic realism and they even show some depth which leads them to be surprisingly human. The voice acting, though, is a bit spotty but should not bug anyone who watches anime or foreign films as they are usually worse than the performances here.
NAY:
- The story is probably the most disappointing part of the game as it is the driving force behind its entire being. Many parts of it are fantastic and experiencing them is certainly worth the price of admission but as a whole, it just does not come together very well. The narrative is comparable to one of those movies that advertises itself off of some kind of “twist” so the audience spends money just to find out that the twist just plain sucks. However, it is not exactly the plot twist that is the problem, it is a rather good one. What makes it so terrible is that a MASSIVE plot hole is what makes the plot twist possible. You’ll know it when you see it and it pretty much makes you want to turn off the game.
- The movement in Heavy Rain is just trash. Everything about it from the mapping of the buttons on the controller to walking animations of the characters is just bad. This certainly takes you out of the experience and can even hinder on your desire to pick up the controller at the beginning of each chapter.
Heavy Rain is truly new and innovative but just not worth a $60 price tag. The Quantic Dream development team should be heralded for their accomplishments with this game as it does bring new opportunities for video games and their connection with not just the player but audiences in general. Let me put it this way, I would much rather a future where the movie theater were filled with games such as this but rather than the player choose the direction of the whole experience, the audience in general will have a crack at it. If you do choose to play or buy this game, play it with close friends and pass the controller around. There is nothing like watching a flick with your buddies and sharing the responsibilities of the narrative with everyone.
