Heavy Rain

[j_garcia]

I picked this one up last night and only had a chance to play for about 1 1/2hrs because I hadn't anticipated how long it would take to install. It took almost an hour to install because there is already an update out for it.

Though I only played that long, I have to say that the demo doesn't quite do it justice. The connection and involvement you get with the characters is immediate and almost surprising. Definitely unlike any other game I've played. The other thing that is clear is this one you will have to play multiple times because even in the opening "training" sequence, there are a LOT of possibilities available - things that you can see but can only do at certain times with the right sequence of events. Though you can wander around and do a wide variety of things or nothing, there are still time constraints. You can explore or sit around and at some point the next trigger event will come and move the story along. As an example, I wandered around the back yard and laid down on the grass, just laying there staring up at the sky. Later when I went back out into the yard, there were things to do that I hadn't seen because the yard is so large, but you can no longer do them. Even simple tasks like setting the table hold a number of options and what appear to be multiple outcomes. As with the demo, you can quickly see that what you say and do affects the way the other characters deal with you.

Though not so much an action game, this game really puts you in situations that require some thought and also gives you a definite sense of urgency and unease at times and that is just the first four sequences!! (three and four are the ones in the demo). It also includes a lot of very small details such as being able to kiss your kid on the head while tucking them in. All I can say is this game has a lot of layers and I think it will prove to be quite an experience.

 

[Serj22]

So, what is the idea of the game then? Would you compare it to a game like Indigo Prophecy? Or is it much different? IF it's like Indigo, I'll buy 3 copies. That was my favorite original Xbox game.

 

[j_garcia]

Someone is murdering young boys in the town; The Origami Killer, and you play as 4 different characters to do the investigation. Each character has a different motivation for tracking the killer, and initially know nothing of the others. So it is almost like playing a movie where you literally control the outcome with your decisions.

There is a card included and instructions on how to fold it to create the Origami Killer's signature figure. The instructions play out during the install which is kind of cool.

I never played Indgo Prophecy.

 

[Serj22]

Indigo prophecy is a game where you snap awake in a bathroom and realize that somehow you have just killed someone. You go through tasks to hide the body, and clean it up as best you can. You can do things like throw the knife away, mop the blood, put the body in a stall, and then escape out the window, or clean the blood off first in the sink, then throw the knife away. The possiblities are endless and the game does not suggest what to do. Then you escape and then play the role of the two lead investigators and you go into the bathroom, and choose weather or not you find everything. The game goes on like that following the main character and what happened, since he has no idea why he killed someone. The game plays out like a movie and you follow the three characters. Some of the stuff is great in the game, and it's awesome. One scene a cop knocks on your door because of a noise complaint, and you have to throw your sheets in the washer, hide some stuff in the dryer, put on band-aids from the medicine cabinet, or do whatever you can so that when the cop walks in he doesn't notice anything while he's there. All is done in split screen kind of like "24" so you see the cop walking to the door and waiting, and do all your clean up work on the other split screen. It's a great game, and it leaves fighting and stuff like that out of the picture. You make lots of choices, like another scene where the investigators wind up in the same park as you, and you see a little boy fall into the frozen lake. You decide weather or not you run in front of the investigators to save him, and face the consequences (if there are any) or let it go.

 

[j_garcia]

Sounds very similar. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the same people worked on it.

 

[Gaigebacca]

The same people did work on it... Quantic Dream is the studio that created Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain.

 

[j_garcia]

Can I just mention that there is a fair amount of nudity (both genders) in this game? The guy even mentioned it when I picked it up. "If your kids are going to play this, you should be aware...." The chick is pretty hot too.

 

[darien87]

Nudity's never a bad thing.

 

[j_garcia]

Nudity's never a bad thing.

That all depends on who is nude...

 

[darien87]

That all depends on who is nude...

Yeah, now that I think about it, Watchmen had a bit too much nudity.

 

[sllik]

I loved the demo and I'm definitely getting this game... right after I beat Bioshock 2

 

[j_garcia]

It is pretty intense. I'm liking it. I like that you can replay a sequence without saving, so you can basically experiment and see "what happens if I do..."

 

[j_garcia]

I finished this for the first time last night. There are a lot of holy crap moments in this game, particularly toward the end. While playing, you can see there are alernatives, but I was still amazed at how things played out. In the last few chapters things start to get more serious though, as one missed button press could mean your character or another important character dies and it can affect the ending of the game significantly. I had to go back and replay one scene because I missed one thing and someone died. If a particular character isn't there, then your possibilities become limited, so keeping them all alive can be quite important. As things unfolded, there were so many questions about "If I had done this earlier, what would have happened now..." The story is so well written, I'd actually say it is better than many movies I've seen and the fact that you are taking part in how and what happens makes it that much more involving. Highly recommended.