Walk In The Heavy Rain...

Anyone still holding out or finding reasons to buy a PS3? Well, here's another damn good reason to get one if you haven't yet.


Since buying the game yesterday, I've been nothing short of impressed about Heavy Rain - the latest Playstation 3 exclusive to come from the minds of Quantic Dream and Sony Computer Entertainment. Today's graphical standards in gaming are pretty high when expectations come into the picture, but this game takes the cake when delivering a full blown 3D game that almost borders into realism. While there's no question about how great the visuals are, how does the gameplay fare on this one? Well it's pretty much an "interactive 3D movie" experience that's chalk full of quick time events and situations that demand fast fingers and timed button presses, more than your typical action adventure game. It's a pretty linear adventure, but you actually guide characters and their movements. You can play out their thoughts, make their gestures, control their habits, and do just about anything that a normal person would do when the situation calls for it. It's great implementation of the DualShock 3 controller's capabilities, not to mention the SixAxis Motion Control, which has been put to good use in this game, in more dynamic ways than one. In many ways, it reminds me a whole lot of SEGA's Shenmue series for the Dreamcast... minus Ryo Hazuki's kung fu fighting and almost whole world exploration.

Story wise, I've got to hand it to director/ writer David Cage, he's blended in gaming with a pretty good suspense/ thriller plot that could pass for Hollywood film material. Placing you in the shoes of four unrelated characters that are searching for clues and answers to the whereabouts of the Origami Killer, the mysterious antagonist of the game, the game's plot is divided into several chapters that slowly converge each of the main characters' tales, with every outcome and decision dependent on the actions you make. Yes, there are multiple paths to explore, and characters CAN DIE depending on your actions, though the story will progress no matter what happens to one or two of them. It's one game that truly puts the player in the director's seat, and choices made and what the end of the tale will be is entirely up to you. Take a look at the trailer below, and see how things play out if you aren't convinced by my words yet.

Heavy Rain Trailer
As brief as it may sound, that's about the gist of what Heavy Rain is. I'm not going to go into detail and say what happens, because that's part of the fun and drive in playing the game. As far as reservations go, some sound cuts and hanging issues because of disc loading can be a pain, but you'll be mesmerized by the visuals, and caught up in the story so much that you'll want to see everything to the end no matter what. As short as I found it when I wrapped up my playthrough of the game, everything was worth the dive and experience. Based on the critical acclaim and reception the game's had so far, I'm hopeful we'll be seeing another title of this presentation in the future.