Heavy Rain is a peculiar game, if "game" is even the right word to describe it. It's an impressive attempt at an interactive movie, with a gripping plot and thrilling set pieces. It's a game about choices, and the decisions you make throughout Heavy Rain affect the path which the story takes. Control may be limited to walking and pressing the correct buttons at specific times, but Heavy Rain grabs hold of you, and drag you deep into the action. By making some tough and emotional decisions, you bond with its characters, and with some clever use of the SixAxis controller, Heavy Rain will have you hooked from start to finish.
The story of Heavy Rain is centred around the Origami Killer, who has a history of kidnapping young boys. The boys are found dead a few days after going missing, having been drowned, and left with an origami figure in their hand, and an orchid on their chest. You play the role of four characters, who each have their own motive for finding the identity of the Killer, and the location of his latest victim. The protagonist is Ethan Mars, the boy's father, and he is supported by Madison Paige, a journalist, Norman Jayden, an FBI agent, and Scott Shelby, a private investigator. Their individual stories intertwine as they race against the clock to save not only Ethan's son, but also themselves. In an interesting twist, the four main characters can die at various points in the plot, and if this happens, the story plays out in their absence. It keeps you on your toes, and the knowledge that no character is safe from the consequences of your actions means that you never quite know what to expect.
Due to the importance of the story to the game, it's hard not to go into too much detail without running the risk of spoiling the enjoyment of anyone who is going to play it. As the decisions the characters make throughout the game affect the path the story takes, the journey to the climax of Heavy Rain will be different for most, although the main plot will remain largely the same for all. The conclusion certainly urges you to replay the game, and it is interesting to see how the game would play out, if you made different choices to those on the first play through. There are, however, some glaring plot holes, which only become apparent when the game has been completed, but these do not affect the enjoyment of playing through the game on the first occasion. It's slow to start, but this is mainly to familiarise you with the game's controls. As soon as the plot thickens, and the action heats up, you won't want to stop playing until you've unmasked the Killer.
The gameplay can be separated into two distinct types; there are quick time events, which accompany most of the game's action sequences, and decision making, in which players are presented with a list of options and asked to choose one. Both the quick time events and decisions have an impact of the game's progression, albeit in different ways. During the quick time events, failure to press the correct buttons in time as they appear onscreen will have repercussions later in the game, which vary in magnitude. These range from having to walk around with muddy trousers, having failed to climb down a slope, or sporting various cuts and bruises from taking too many hits during a fight sequence. The ultimate punishment for failure is the death of the character involved, and this can happen at multiple points throughout the game. The decision making is perhaps less glamorous, but arguably more important, as they have a greater impact of the path of the story. There are some truly difficult decisions to make, and although Gamestyle never got past an ”it’s only a game" mentality, no game has made us think as hard about how to make a character behave.
This is echoed in the trophy support, which is excellently utilised in Heavy Rain. The vast majority of the trophies are hidden at the start of the game, only to be revealed when they've been earnt. A trophy is usually considered to be a reward for a good achievement, but in Heavy Rain you get awarded trophies for all the outcomes of the key decisions made, so you are never aware of which choice is "right" or "wrong". Some work better than others (in a game that's supposedly about choice, it seems strange to be rewarded for doing a task in one specific way), but during the first play through, your trophy collection starts to represent your character. The game reveals more surprises as the trophies gradually become unlocked, and it's interesting to see what importance is placed on how you played the game, depending whether it's gold, silver, or bronze.
Although Heavy Rain is entertaining from the start, there are several flaws that hamper the enjoyment. Although the quick time events work well with button presses, the motion controlled aspects aren't as reliable. Gamestyle often found themselves failing to complete the events perfectly, simply because their waggle wasn't registered. This frustration is echoed with the movement of the characters, and the clunky controls are wholly inadequate and inaccurate. Thankfully this isn't much of an issue, as controlling your character in this way is a relatively small part of Heavy Rain. On the occasions where you need to complete actions in a certain amount of time, however, the controls do little to help. This is also true of the camera angles, which flick and change at, will, leaving your character turning on the spot whilst you adjust. Heavy Rain's biggest crime is perhaps that it makes choices for you if you delay in making a decision. The options float around a character's body, and can at times be hard to read, often being blocked by the characters themselves. When some of the choices involve a degree of careful consideration, it is frustrating that the choice is made for you, if you don't react in time. You can understand this, when situations call for a split-second decision, and the lack of time to think about it reflects this, but this is not always the case. In a game where the choices you make are critical, it's incredibly frustrating when one is made for you, especially if it's not one you would have opted for.
Heavy Rain is not a game, but an experience. At times you make feel like a passenger, but the ride is worthwhile, and extremely enjoyable. Gamestyle welcomes this approach, and hope that inspires more interactive adventures of this kind. With a well-written story, and excellent characters, Heavy Rain strikes an superb balance between watching the tale unfold, and determining the outcome. The quick time events are well-executed, and some of the best seen by Gamestyle. The clumsy controls can at times be frustrating, but the reward and satisfaction of seeing the game through to its conclusion more than makes up for this.
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