Heavy Rain (PS3)

Heavy Rain is the best game I've ever bought that comes with origami paper and directions to keep you occupied while the game installs.

It's also the only game I've ever bought that comes with origami paper and directions to keep you occupied while the game installs and, let's face it, that's a darn shame. More developers should give us something interesting to do while the game installs! Why didn't my copy of LEGO Batman come with a LEGO Batman figurine to put together and pose on top of my television?

Being an owner and fan of Quantic Dream's two previous efforts, Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy and Omikron: The Nomad Soul (though I'm yet to complete the latter), buying Heavy Rain was something I had planned to do since I first heard about its development. Heavy Rain, unlike the previous two games, places the emphasis away from surreal science fiction and more emphasis on a psychological thriller style tale of murder, but is still the story based puzzler that I've come to expect from the developer.

It really feels like the natural evolution of the Quantic Dream formula. Indigo Prophecy moved away from Omikron's open world and more adventure gamey style into a post adventure format where half of the puzzles were keeping character's emotions stable and the fight scenes and shooting scenes (which weren't particularly brilliant in Omikron) were replaced by copying screen prompts in a simon-says style manner. Heavy Rain sees this formula developed into a very strange hybrid creature which plays something like The Sims mixed with a standard adventure game. You have to do all the actions the character does by holding down buttons, wiggling thumbsticks, all to open drawers, have a shower, prepare food or investigate crime scenes. I understand this is to build immersion but at times it does feel a bit annoying.

This gameplay, however, takes second stage to the story of the game; it's clear that David Cage is trying to push games towards interactive movies, and Heavy Rain has a script that has some definite high points. There's intense drama and some very sweet moments as well - and it's a very adult game; drugs, violence, nudity and swearing - Heavy Rain doesn't hold back on any of these. The graphics are some of the most realistic I've seen in a game yet - a playthrough of this game would look like a rather drawn out CG animated movie, and this helps convey the atmosphere very well. At one point in the game I was quite disturbed by one of the actions the game had tasked me to complete (of course, it was optional, but I wasn't going to give up that easily).

The fact that the game lets you make choices without actually failing is a positive in my opinion. You can have a major character die and still not lose the game - here success isn't measured, you merely affect the outcome of things in the story. I like this as a concept, and I will be interested to see if/whether it gets explored more and more often in games in the future.

However, despite all of these points which seem to illustrate how wondrous Heavy Rain is, there's definitely some weak points. As I mentioned, as interesting as the control system is, I can't help but feel it's a bit offputting and annoying. I much prefer the post adventure gameplay employed in Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (minus the action and stealth sections). Also the story, while almost consistently well told, takes a turn at one point that I couldn't help feeling disappointed at, and there were elements told beforehand to setup this twist that simply weren't rationalized in a way that satisfied me. At that point in the game (quite near the end) I felt that the narrative - which until then I had considered to be very well delivered - was ruined and I found myself much happier accepting the outlandish science fiction stew that was the second half of Indigo Prophecy than the disappointingly cheap twist employed here.

Overall though, the game does what it sets out to do well, and for those looking to create immersive interactive stories, this shines as a beacon of ideas that are generally well executed and delivered. The success of the game speaks volumes about the appeal of this style of game if done well, which is a very encouraging thing indeed for adventure game fans like myself.

A wordy review, but Heavy Rain is one of those games that demands discussion simply because of what it is trying to be and the success it has received despite it's unconventional style. It is by no means what I considered a perfect gaming experience, but I enjoyed the game and like many of the ideas has showcased to the gaming world. Quantic Dream will be people to watch.