Some Pretty Heavy Rain - Page 2

Seil · 02-15-2010, 04:49 AM

You know, I looked at some of these games previously, and I said they looked neat. But then again, I also recommended Home.

Haha Mirai hates Dante's Inferno.

EVILNess · 02-15-2010, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NonCon

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 · 02-20-2010, 11:02 AM

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 · 03-04-2010, 02:36 PM

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.

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]

Quote:

woman who gets naked in the shower

Redundant post is redundant.

Seil · 03-04-2010, 03:08 PM

It's pretty awesome.

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

Meister · 03-04-2010, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seil

It's pretty awesome.

Knew there had to be one. Thanks for digging up the link so I can merge 'em.

Azisien · 03-04-2010, 03:39 PM

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 · 03-04-2010, 03:42 PM

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

Mirai Gen · 03-14-2010, 06:48 AM

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 · 03-14-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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]!?"

03-04-2010, 03:08 PM	#15
Seil Super stressed! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: British Columbia Posts: 8,081	It's pretty awesome. How do you find the detective mode clue hunting bits? Do they break flow? Last edited by Seil; 03-04-2010 at 03:12 PM.

03-04-2010, 03:42 PM	#18
Bob The Mercenary Bob Dole Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bob Dole Posts: 5,606	My bad. I went looking and didn't find one. __________________ Bob Dole

03-14-2010, 06:48 AM	#19
Mirai Gen We are Geth. Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 14,032	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. __________________

02-15-2010, 04:49 AM	#11
Seil Super stressed! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: British Columbia Posts: 8,081	You know, I looked at some of these games previously, and I said they looked neat. But then again, I also recommended Home. Haha Mirai hates Dante's Inferno.

02-20-2010, 11:02 AM	#13
Azisien wat Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,177	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.

03-04-2010, 03:39 PM	#17
Azisien wat Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,177	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.