Heavy Rain--Quick Time Events (QTEs) have never been so fun
When I first saw the trailer for "Heavy Rain" a few years ago at E3 I was very excited for it. I'm a sucker for a good detective story and the game looked like it had one. But I still wanted to approach the game with a sense of trepidation. The game was being developed by french developer Quantic Dream. Their last game "Indigo Prophecy," which was released in 2005 for the previous generation of consoles, had so much potential story-wise but just completely imploded at the half way mark. It became one of the most disappointing games I've played to recent memory. Now come 2010 and "Heavy Rain" has finally been released. Did it commit story suicide half way through like it's predecessor did 5 years ago? Or had Quantic Dream overcome that poor story telling hurdle and created a truly good "interactive drama?"
The story centers on the actions of the serial killer known as the "Origami Killer." The Killer's MO would be to kill children between the ages of 9-13 and drown them in rain water then leaves in origami figure in their dead hands. The serial killer has kidnapped the son of Ethan Mars (Pascal Langdale) and it is his mission to get his son back before he is drowned. That is the basic plot for the entire game. Although it is full of plot twists and misdirection that I would hate to ruin for you. I will say that the story is very compelling and will keep you guessing and wanting to find out what happens. Just on a side note the movie rights have been optioned by new line back in 2007. However a film version of this game would be nearly identical to the game hence making it completely unnecessary.
One of the games unique aspects is that the player actually controls four characters each with their goal to figure out who the "origami killer" is. There's Ethan Mars, whose son has been kidnapped hence his motivation. Scott Shelby (Sam Douglas) a private investigator hired by the families of the victims of the killer. Norman Jayden (Leon Ockenden) an FBI profiler brought in by the local police department to assist in catching the killer. And Finally Madison Paige (Motion Capture and Some Voice: Jaqui Ainsley, Voice work: Judi Beecher) a journalist who has decided to cover the story of the "Origami Killer." Their paths are eventually intertwined the interesting thing is to see how this happens.
The gameplay is also very unique. The game essentially consists of all QTEs. Now you may be thinking how is that even fun? But trust me when I say that it can be more tense than any action game. Some of the QTEs require multiple button presses at the same time and it can be frustrating when you can't get your fingers to do that. Many of the actions actually have button presses and/or control stick movements that feel somewhat natural for the action the character wishes to perform. Some of the actions can be mundane like shaking the controller to make a character brush his teeth but all of the mundane actions just strengthens your bond with the character. The player is also able to see the inner thoughts of a character at any given moment. So you really feel like you're involved in their world rather than spectate as things happen. It also feels like all of your actions have some sort of consequence even if they don't. It helps that the characters can actually die and their death will have an effect on the story. It almost feels like a video game version of those choose your own adventure books I read as a child. The game has multiple endings, which calls for multiple playthroughs. However after you initial playthrough any other way you play it feels not so personal because you know the results of your actions.
It is a great game but I think it's also a niche game. There is a demo available for the game on the Playstation Network. I suggest that you should try that out for yourself and see if you like the way it feels. Like I said earlier I am a sucker for a good detective story.
But the game has a huge plot hole that seems to get abandoned near the 1/3 mark of the game. It is annoying but with a lot of bullshitting it can be vaguely explained. But still the plot hole is rather big and I think anyone playing the game will notice it's omission. It is a little irritating that it exists but it's not such a huge deal that it ruins the experience.
I was looking forward to this game and I have to say I'm satisfied with it. It didn't let me down or anything like that. The story was not a disappointment like the studios previous effort and the way the game plays is very involving. This rating could be especially high but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I'm going to give "Heavy Rain" a 9/10
The story centers on the actions of the serial killer known as the "Origami Killer." The Killer's MO would be to kill children between the ages of 9-13 and drown them in rain water then leaves in origami figure in their dead hands. The serial killer has kidnapped the son of Ethan Mars (Pascal Langdale) and it is his mission to get his son back before he is drowned. That is the basic plot for the entire game. Although it is full of plot twists and misdirection that I would hate to ruin for you. I will say that the story is very compelling and will keep you guessing and wanting to find out what happens. Just on a side note the movie rights have been optioned by new line back in 2007. However a film version of this game would be nearly identical to the game hence making it completely unnecessary.
One of the games unique aspects is that the player actually controls four characters each with their goal to figure out who the "origami killer" is. There's Ethan Mars, whose son has been kidnapped hence his motivation. Scott Shelby (Sam Douglas) a private investigator hired by the families of the victims of the killer. Norman Jayden (Leon Ockenden) an FBI profiler brought in by the local police department to assist in catching the killer. And Finally Madison Paige (Motion Capture and Some Voice: Jaqui Ainsley, Voice work: Judi Beecher) a journalist who has decided to cover the story of the "Origami Killer." Their paths are eventually intertwined the interesting thing is to see how this happens.
The gameplay is also very unique. The game essentially consists of all QTEs. Now you may be thinking how is that even fun? But trust me when I say that it can be more tense than any action game. Some of the QTEs require multiple button presses at the same time and it can be frustrating when you can't get your fingers to do that. Many of the actions actually have button presses and/or control stick movements that feel somewhat natural for the action the character wishes to perform. Some of the actions can be mundane like shaking the controller to make a character brush his teeth but all of the mundane actions just strengthens your bond with the character. The player is also able to see the inner thoughts of a character at any given moment. So you really feel like you're involved in their world rather than spectate as things happen. It also feels like all of your actions have some sort of consequence even if they don't. It helps that the characters can actually die and their death will have an effect on the story. It almost feels like a video game version of those choose your own adventure books I read as a child. The game has multiple endings, which calls for multiple playthroughs. However after you initial playthrough any other way you play it feels not so personal because you know the results of your actions.
It is a great game but I think it's also a niche game. There is a demo available for the game on the Playstation Network. I suggest that you should try that out for yourself and see if you like the way it feels. Like I said earlier I am a sucker for a good detective story.
But the game has a huge plot hole that seems to get abandoned near the 1/3 mark of the game. It is annoying but with a lot of bullshitting it can be vaguely explained. But still the plot hole is rather big and I think anyone playing the game will notice it's omission. It is a little irritating that it exists but it's not such a huge deal that it ruins the experience.
I was looking forward to this game and I have to say I'm satisfied with it. It didn't let me down or anything like that. The story was not a disappointment like the studios previous effort and the way the game plays is very involving. This rating could be especially high but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I'm going to give "Heavy Rain" a 9/10
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