Some Pretty Heavy Rain

[Seil]

Heavy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKPPdgBK3r8&feature=related) Rain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_6a9f4Prt8&feature=related)

Now I've been interested in this game for a bit, since I heard of it a year or two ago. Now that the demo is available over the PSN, I'm able to play it, and it's pretty interesting. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it plays out like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, only instead of having two options at the bottom of every page, you can flick the analog stick while you're having a conversation with a prostitute whose son was recently murdered (girl from "Rain" link) and knock on the door, pay her for information... Seemingly mundane things you wouldn't completely remember from a movie, but in a game make for pretty heavy immersion. It's worth a look.

http://www.cad-comic.com/comics/cad/20100212.jpg

The demo for Heavy Rain hit the PSN yesterday, for those of us that didn't care to play the ARG for early access. I've been keeping Heavy Rain on my radar for the last few years, as I was a big fan of Indigo Prophecy. Now that it's a mere couple of weeks from release, there's been a lot of coverage and early reviews, and all signs are pointing towards a solid, unique experience.

I'm mostly drawn to the game for what it does different. If you've played the demo, you know that the control scheme is something fresh and new, and for the most part, works beautifully. It does suffer from Resident Evil syndrome due to the fixed camera angles. You'll be walking in one direction, and then the angle changes and then you need to reorient yourself. As an additional quirk in the mix, a trigger causes your character to walk forward, with the analog stick only pointing him left or right. I have a feeling you're going to spend the first twenty of minutes of this game making your characters look like idiots walking in circles and into walls.

Rather than a HUD, or a universal action button, everything in the game is accomplished via a pretty nifty integrated UI which suggests button presses or analog stick directionals or even movements of the entire controller to accomplish a variety of tasks. In this way, the game plays out like a giant, elaborate quick-time event, and it works. For the most part, you're able to guess what actions the simple commands will perform, which is a great testament to the design.

The demo deposits you in a couple of sections of the game, the same ones you've probably seen two or three times over by now if you've been following the game at all. While this gives you a great glimpse at the gameplay and the UI, it does absolutely nothing to draw you into the game. If you don't go in with an idea of what the whole game has in store for you, I don't think the demo will turn you into a believer.

For those asking the question "What's this game about", the big draw is choices. It's one of those games that advertises choices, and different outcomes based on those choices. However it doesn't bridge those choices with lots of action gameplay, like Mass Effect might. Instead Heavy Rain seems to be all about choices. And people. Apart from the occasional quicktime fistfight that gives you a dose of action, Heavy Rain's gameplay seems to focused at a much slower pace.

And this is one of the other things that intrigues me about the game. It's trying something different with no apologies. The idea of walking your protagonist through brushing his teeth, or setting the dinner table is not one that immediately shouts "fun". But in the context of a murder mystery with interwoven characters, all of whom are drastically affected by the choices you'll make in the game, this slower paces seems to offer a chance to know and appreciate your characters better. I'm looking forward to finding out if the game's focus creates a more emotional experience that might otherwise be lost in "gotta get to the next quest, gotta get the next big gun".

And finally I'm interested in seeing how drastically the choices feel like they change the game. A lot of games advertise this nowadays, and to be honest, Mass Effect is the only title that really made me feel like I was changing my story. And even then, it was only recently with Mass Effect 2 that I felt like "Wow, I'm making a lot of decisions here that could be effecting not only this game, but Mass Effect 3 as well." If Heavy Rain can deliver even more of that, I'm anxious to see it.

[Azisien]

It's the first PS3 game I've been interested in for months! Though on the other hand I'm not sure I want to play a game that is purely QTEs for however many hours the game is. I got bored of Guitar Hero years ago.

[Seil]

It's not really QTE's in the definition of QTE's. Quick-Time-Events are when you jump on something and press SQUARE TRIANGLE SQUARE CIRCLE in quick succession in order to ride a cyclops like a bull, to use God-ish, War-ish game as an example. If you end up failing this, you lose a bit of health and have to try again.

In HR, you walk up to a door, and a small box pops up, indicating that you should flick the right analog stick. You can stand there all day and if you do nothing, nothing will happen. If you decide not to, you just walk away. It's like pushing X as the action button for most games - the action buttons are just there.

For conversations, options swirl around your characters head while you talk - and in real time, the person you're talking to will wait for you to answer, and get impatient when you don't for a few moments. Check out some in-game play - this is from the demo:

Only one part of the demo, you choose a section you want to play (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MnQr4k7Afs)

Presumably, yeah, there are going to be actual quick-time-events, but that's probably coming in with the combat or dodge things. From what I've seen, it's pretty much just tap a button to perform an action, like any other game. This is just more immersive in its presentation.

[Azisien]

Hm, that's actually kind of cool yeah. Chalk me up to a little more excited. I like the story-driven games. How I'm going to afford the game, on the other hand...

[DFM]

Game makes me wish I had a PS3.

[TDK]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-mall-heavy-rain/61347

As the trailer plays "Hm, this game looks really immersive, though I don't know how fun it would be but its definitely a neat idea, something innovative unlike all th-OH GOD ITS THE CLOWN FROM DEAD RISING KILLITKILLITKILLIT!"

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Basically it plays exactly like Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy), assuming anyone here ever played that. And yes, there are standard quick time event things; in the demo you get into a fight with this one guy, but the good thing is even if you mess up, the fight contiues uninterrupted. I messed up a few times in that scene, continued fighting, got in some good shots at the guy, but then ultimately lost and... the game continued. Afterwards the dude you fight storms off, you pick yourself up and dust yourself off and presumably go hit the bar.

In fact from a story standpoint losing might actually garner more sympathy from the woman you're protecting, since you don't act like a douche after losing, and the very fact that you even tried to fight off the other guy shows you're a good guy.

Last game had a karma system that made you more or less depressed depending on what you did, (for instance, you could decide to NOT save a kid who falls through a frozen lake, because you might get caught by a nearby cop), so I'm assuming this one has something similar. You could probably not start the fight with that guy and the women might end up dead or something and whoops, there goes a possible source of info later. There will be tons of scenes like this.

Yeah, you can tell I'm more interested after playing the demo now.

[greed]

Just found out this and White Knight Chronicles are coming out the same day down here. Now I have no idea which I want. On the one hand, cool looking adventure game. On the other a Level 5 RPG. Ugh.

[Kim]

On the other a Level 5 RPG. Ugh.

Everything I've heard about White Knight Chronicles from people who have played it suggests it's actually pretty disappointing.

[Osterbaum]

Any word of this coming out on PC?

[Seil]

You know, I looked at some of these games previously, (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=35209&) and I said they looked neat. But then again, I also recommended Home. (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=32711&highlight=Heavy+Rain)

Haha Mirai hates Dante's Inferno.
(http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showpost.php?p=895155&postcount=1)

[EVILNess]

Everything I've heard about White Knight Chronicles from people who have played it suggests it's actually pretty disappointing.

Only if you don't have an internet connection.

[Azisien]

Okay so I played the first three and a half hours of the game. Based on the in-game estimation of completion, if that's actually what it is, I'm about 40% through the game. Man, this is gonna be such a fun game to review.

I think Heavy Rain has about as many endearing qualities as it has horrific, awful qualities. Mileage will vary from person to person. I played it with friends watching and had an overall satirical comedic good time, but playing the game seriously might make it a fairly terrible game. It's qualities, briefly:

PRO

1) Pretty much all of the tenser action scenes are awesome, even if you're playing a QTE game.

2) The game is quite pretty. The eyes, the goddamn eyes!

3) Despite probably dropping the ball so far on the emotional impact it was supposed to have on me, the game is entertaining enough for me to keep playing for three and a half hours instead of giving up after the boring-ass tutorial.

CON

1) The in-between scenes, which grossly outnumber the action scenes, are pretty much as boring as one can expect them to be. The main problem with them, as I see it, is that it's become some kind of mundane adventure game. But I really do mean mundane, like don't forget to brush your teeth, asshole!

2) Despite my use of the word "adventure," the game is anywhere from completely linear to minorly exploratory, so it's not really adventure after all? Suffers from a new form of adventure game logic, linear adventure game logic.

3) Some things are pretty, and others are not. Astronomical numbers of polygons enjoy the facial regions (my word, the eyes!!), but animations are stiff as fuck in many, many cases.

4) I can almost consider 1-3 minor quips compared to this one. Because Heavy Rain is like an interactive movie, it can be entertaining to watch unfold. However, this game is largely about QTEs, so you have to be watching intently for QTEs and let me tell you, the button prompts appear where they're "needed" in the game world, and that means you have to constantly scan the screen. I found this detracted heavily from actually sitting back and enjoying the game.

5) The game also suffers from a horrible narrative flaw that made me not believe the game anymore, spoiler: So Ethan's first son dies at the end of the "tutorial" and this is a significant event in his life. But it's fucking bullshit! You're both running across the street, the son being an idiot, and Ethan running to save him. A car is going to hit Ethan's son at like two kilometers per hour, but Ethan fully shields him with his entire body. The son is instantly killed, Ethan in a coma for six months. You even hear the car brake hard beforehand, so the god damn thing had barely any speed. It may be a small thing, but jesus, it made me not really believe the course of the game after that.

[Bob The Mercenary]

Like, all it took were two scenes to leap to my top five favorite games. The environment, music, characters, they're all perfect. Most of my friends have described it as different, but a good different. And the graphics, oh my god the graphics.

http://playstationlifestyle.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/heavy-rain-header-image-05.jpg

Can't you just FEEL his sense of loss?!

I highly recommend trying the demo before buying. But, the opening story was enough to drag me in. So much so that last night I spent FIVE HOURS at a Gamestop where my friends work playing it in the back room. The controls are a little awkward, some of the quicktime sequences are clumsy, but the action keeps you involved.

In one scene you play a divorced father taking care of his son for the weekend. Instead of following the directions and feeding him and making him do his homework, I let him instead sit and watch TV while I grabbed a beer from the fridge. I'm an awesome dad!

If you're going to talk plot, the farthest I've reached so far is the first scene with the woman who gets naked in the shower. I would love to keep spoilers spoiler'd.

[Edit] woman who gets naked in the shower

Redundant post is redundant.

[Seil]

It's pretty awesome. (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=37262&)

How do you find the detective mode clue hunting bits? Do they break flow?

[Meister]

It's pretty awesome. (http://forum.nuklearpower.com/showthread.php?t=37262&)
Knew there had to be one. Thanks for digging up the link so I can merge 'em.

[Azisien]

Its definitely among the best graphics for the console, Ethan's walking posture notwithstanding. Surpassable on the PC, except for the EYES! The goddamn EYES!

I didn't find the FBI portions flow-breaking. Or if they were, then it was a good thing, because the QTEs get a little moldy after a while. On the other other hand, that glove thing is simultaneously awesome and silly.

[Bob The Mercenary]

My bad. I went looking and didn't find one.

[Mirai Gen]

Old thread digging, kinda. It's been like two weeks.

Getting halfway through this game. Really intense. I'm not sure if Ethan is supposed to be this utterly battered but my roommate's really, really bad at the events. Like really bad, embarrassingly so. He's still alive at least, which is good.

Got to the point where the FBI agent (chapter 4) trips out for the second time after they begin to pursue Ethan Mars. I'm glad he echoed my sentiments that him being the Origami Killer was entirely too neat. I felt like it was too easy of a solution.

Enjoying it but...I'm very iffy as to if this is going to be a favorite game. I started out not liking it but once the plot got moving it's pretty hard to put down, especially since the threat of characters dying is really really there.

[Melfice]

Old thread digging, kinda. It's been like two weeks.

Getting halfway through this game. Really intense. I'm not sure if Ethan is supposed to be this utterly battered but my roommate's really, really bad at the events. Like really bad, embarrassingly so. He's still alive at least, which is good.

Got to the point where the FBI agent (chapter 4) trips out for the second time after they begin to pursue Ethan Mars. I'm glad he echoed my sentiments that him being the Origami Killer was entirely too neat. I felt like it was too easy of a solution.

Enjoying it but...I'm very iffy as to if this is going to be a favorite game. I started out not liking it but once the plot got moving it's pretty hard to put down, especially since the threat of characters dying is really really there.

He DOES get battered up a bit, but it depends on you how much.
For instance, if you can get through the Butterfly trial without getting burned by the electrical wires, Madison won't have to bandage up your chest. Not sure if you can avoid crashing the car or ripping your arms open on the glass, though.

EDIT: Also, regarding the Origami Killer. You won't see it coming (probably), but when it hits, you'll go "Shit, why didn't I think of [Insert Killer's gender here]!?"

[Red Fighter 1073]

Yeah wow I was expecting more talk about this game. I don't have a PS3 so I was unfortunately unable to play it, but I watched an LP of it and wow does the game really suck you in. For every boring sequence where you shave or take medicine or whatever, there are like 10 other sequences where you have to avoid crashing into oncoming traffic or try to escape from a crazy guy's basement and just all other crazy shit.

And yeah like Mirai said, that threat of characters dying always is there, so each sequence makes that much of a difference. For a purely QTE game, it is pretty damn exciting.

[Bob The Mercenary]

EDIT: Also, regarding the Origami Killer. You won't see it coming (probably), but when it hits, you'll go "Shit, why didn't I think of [Insert Killer's gender here]!?"

So it's a girl. Thanks for ruining it. Dick. :p

[Melfice]

So it's a girl. Thanks for ruining it. Dick. :p

Nah.
It's a hermaphrodite monkey you might've seen right in the beginning.

[Bob The Mercenary]

Nah.
It's a hermaphrodite monkey you might've seen right in the beginning.

I THOUGHT that was him! But, everyone was like nah that's too obvious.

[Mirai Gen]

if you can get through the Butterfly trial without getting burned by the electrical wires, Madison won't have to bandage up your chest. Not sure if you can avoid crashing the car or ripping your arms open on the glass, though.
Yeah like I said my roommate is really really bad at this. We decided early on that I'd take Shelby and Jayden, and he'd take the Madison and Ethan.

Part of the problem is that he never owned a PS2, so for like ten years he never saw a Sony console. So it keeps asking him to hit O and he'd hit [], or vice versa. He also has a huge problem with the gentle directions or the Hadoken motions.

So yeah, he'd go through (Chapter 4)the Butterfly trial and fuck up like three times before succeeding, whereas I got into a fight as Shelby and beat the shit out of Kramer's guards.

I also want to emphasize on the first point. The directions and input buttons are really vague, and frequently get changed up for practically no reason. I (chapter 3) accidentally killed the radicalist Catholic dude because R1 came up and I thought I was trying to disarm him like I did as Shelby to the store robber.
Game makes me wish I had a PS3.
On the bright side, you got Mass Effect 2.

[Azisien]

Hitting or missing doesn't matter that much though, which is the nice part of the game.

[Melfice]

Indeed.
While missing too much might mean that character dies, at least it doesn't break up the story by having your re-do it ad-infinitum if you completely suck at that section. (Indigo Prophecy (or, as it's known in Europe, Fahrenheit), anyone?)

[Mirai Gen]

Yeah I just feel bad.

I mean sure that guy was a batshit crazy schitzophrenic with a huge Catholic binge but I was trying to be a good guy, you know? At least he's not doping himself up in my game.