Heavy Rain – The MMOMFG Review

Heavy Rain

It is rare when a game puts total control in the hands of the player. Thrust into the shoes of the game’s four protagonists, emphasis is placed on every single action, thought and decision, where even the slightest button press or thought can (and will) affect the outcome of the game. As one of the most involved and engrossing experiences in recent gaming history, Heavy Rain rises above its competition and downpours visual and storytelling perfection.

Sony and Quantic Dream have delivered a truly original IP that places the gamer in control of four distinctly unique characters. By unraveling the story of the Origami Killer, players must use logic, reasoning, moral decisions and keen investigation skills to track down the city’s most ruthless and elusive murderer. Will you have the skills it takes to stop the Origami Killer before he adds another victim to his ever growing list of unsolved mysteries? Well, that all depends on how you play the game.

Heavy Rain offers one of the finest console gaming experiences in the last ten years and with the amount of control, investigative decision making and morally driven choices you have at your disposal you may just be left gasping for air, not wanting to come in from the rain.

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What’s Good

You had me at first drop – Heavy Rain is a visual experience that one does not typically come across in gaming. The depth of each scene, the multiple views while controlling the main characters and even the environments surrounding the action have had countless hours of thought put into them. Throughout playing the title, one can’t help but sit back and take in the sites, sounds and detail placed in even the minutest moments of the game. You’ll feel like you’re watching a movie, while being in control the entire time. Even with loading screens (despite Evan looking like Thom Yorke), you’re aware of which character you’ll be playing next and it helps the pacing of the game, keeping you on your toes. In addition to the gorgeous environments and character development, moving on to the next chapters of the game will unlock bonus content, such as the making of the game, concept art and video diaries from the creators. I spent at least an additional hour going through the concept art and background information in the game after beating it.

Total control can mean so much – Just to clarify this, Heavy Rain is a taxing game, both mentally and physically. The advanced control scheme will have players actively involved in every process of the game. Despite some reviews stating the game starts out slowly, it helps build the understanding of how the control system involves the player, down to the smallest actions like shaking an asthma inhaler, stretching your legs while sitting, changing a baby’s diaper, or even brushing your teeth. One might find the level of control a bit daunting, as every single action in the game requires the player to utilize the controller to act them out, such as shaking the PS3 controller up and down, pushing the X button at a certain tempo or slowly moving the Right Stick in a circle. Second and third playthroughs can be expected, as players will get to do the actions they didn’t take advantage of the first time (stupid me for not making Madison strip in the dance club). Heavy Rain even allows players to select the difficulty in terms of how familiar they are with the motion controller, granting the most novice players additional time during Quick Time Events and the seasoned pro to have to make split-second decisions. Total control is really the only way to describe the experience.

Is this real life? – I’ve got five fingers, okay, now I’ve got four (David and the Dentist spoiler alert). The voice acting is definitely much appreciated in telling the story of the Origami Killer. The use of professional stage and screen actors from a variety of backgrounds adds to the realism of the story and helps make it all feel more like a movie. There have been so many games ruined by weak voice acting and it is appreciated that Heavy Rain went above and beyond to ensure the sounds and voicing were as equally as impressive as the visuals.

I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more ARI – Heavy Rain offers a futuristic technology called ARI that is basically the most bad ass set of sunglasses ever made. If you thought the lame Ray Bans in Men in Black were cool, you were sadly mistaken, my friend. When controlling detective Norman Jayden, you’ll feel like a regular CSIer or a sexy JAG. With space age technology, Jayden can really read a crime scene from the smaller details like the owner of a shoe print in the mud, a hair follicle on a carpet, tire tracks in the rain or even trails of Orchid pollen in the air. The best part about ARI is the way Jayden can transform an entire setting from something as mundane as a dingy office into an underwater aquarium, the Red planet or even a forest setting somewhere off in the woods. I definitely logged a few good hours playing with ARI, monitoring crime video, deducing evidence and clues, and playing the mini-games ARI had to offer. Can I pre-order my ARI on Amazon yet?

David Cage, you weave a beautiful tale – Having previously delivered two heralded titles, David Cage chose Heavy Rain to be a dark, film noir thriller with mature themes for his latest dip into gaming. Avoiding the sandbox style of gameplay generally found in open-world titles, Cage decided to deliver a thriller with huge sets involving massive crowds, heavily populated areas and gaming aspects that take advantage of the player’s surroundings, as well as smaller moments involving direct one on one interaction. The pacing of Heavy Rain can drastically change at any moment, where one character may be alone in an office deducing the mystery in one scene, moments later you’re avoiding a police chase while driving the opposite direction through traffic. Does that work better? Cage has crafted the perfect tale, where the most inept gumshoe can piece the story together step by step, or a true modern day Sherlock Holmes may notice the smallest of details and wind their way through the story at break-neck speed. Cage is a master storyteller and the tale of the Origami Killer is not one that will be quickly forgotten. I still don’t know if I’ve ever been as nervous while playing a game, as well as emotionally drained following certain unnamed moments throughout Heavy Rain.

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What’s Bad

The game has its faults, let’s just get this out of the way – Right off the bat, I’ll state that Heavy Rain has its flaws. A number of screen tearing issues, game lockups (freezes) and glitches in gameplay led to some unsavory moments throughout, but luckily I never felt it ruined my experience. One scene in the park involved Ethan and Shaun playing on the swing set. I walked Ethan to the swings and noticed Shaun glitch the F out and morphed through the set and glided across the other side of the street and disappear. That effectively ended that scene for me, as I could not progress any further. I reloaded my game, luckily to a spot right before this event and continued with my game. In another scene, I failed a Quick Time Event and my character died. Not a big deal, as I could just reload my game, except that it froze and I had to turn off my PS3. That angrily led me to quit playing for that night. You’ll also notice that the smallest actions can drastically affect the story, so be ready for that to come up. I did not want to screw up, but I guess like real life, you’ve got to be quick on your toes and willing to pull the trigger, literally, when necessary.

Exclusive DLC can lead to bad things – With pre-orders from certain locations such as GameStop or FMV, only certain players will have immediate access to the DLC for Heavy Rain, separating game play experiences for the game from a large demographic. It is unfortunate, as DLC in North America had been delayed until March 4, but not all gamers will still have access even at that date. Luckily for Europeans, they had day one access to the four episodic pieces of content. If you’re going to add exclusive content to a game, make it a unique item or function in the game, not an entire set of episodic stories that will leave some players out in the rain. Hopefully Sony will release all DLC to the general public, as the story must go on!

If you don’t do what I’m telling you, controller, you’re going out the window! – It takes a while to get used to walking by pressing R2 and aiming your direction and at times, you may get frustrated with your character’s route, causing him to back peddle, walk around aimlessly in a circle, or worse, completely screw up an entire event. In fact, you may get so frustrated in pressing the wrong button during a Quick Time Event, or walk in the wrong direction during a chase or combat scene, that you may just want to smash the damn controller. Heavy Rain is not without its flaws, but when utilizing an entirely new control scheme, players should take things with a grain of salt.

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Worth Remembering:

I hate to say it, but just about everything. Heavy Rain is about as good as it gets when it comes to PlayStation 3 games. You should honestly consider buying a PS3 if you don’t own one already, solely for Heavy Rain. If you are into story driven games, especially ones where every decision has an effect on the outcome, then Heavy Rain is a must purchase. There are enough plot twists and turns and beautiful visuals (I’m not just referring to Madison’s shower scene) to keep you playing it for a long while.

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Worth Forgetting:

Other than a few glitches here and there (and potentially a game reset due to a freeze), Heavy Rain does not have much worth forgetting. You might get pissed off at times due to the controls, but as Rome wasn’t built in a day, inventing a unique control system for a game can’t always perfected the first time around either. I do admit a few of the accents were somewhat annoying, as I hated the way Norman Jayden pronounced a few words, as well as Shaun (or any child in the game, really).

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To quote Guns-N-Roses, nothing lasts forever in the cold November rain. As it rings true with every incredible story, there must be an ending. Sadly, Heavy Rain came to an end. I didn’t predict the ending, and I was happy about it. I avoided all spoilers and loved that I unraveled the identity of the Origami Killer successfully. When the final credits rolled, however, I felt a sense that I wanted more from the title. I realize now while writing this review, Heavy Rain did everything Quantic Dream and Sony intended it to do. It captivated me, left me on the edge of my seat and, honestly, had me downright nervous at times. There aren’t many games that can I can say have had that affect on me, both mentally and emotionally. I’m the guilty one for wanting more, as Heavy Rain delivered just about as fine a gaming experience as one can offer.

So now I’m officially torn when deciding my favorite PlayStation 3 title. I thought Uncharted 2 wouldn’t be challenged any time in the near future after boldly claiming coveted title of my favorite game of 2009. Heavy Rain has set the bar extremely high for other PS3 titles coming out in 2010. It is not often when a game can throw you into a storyline and completely captivate you the way Heavy Rain does. I did not want to put the controller down and if it hadn’t been for real life and work, I probably would have played the game through in one sitting, as the story is that damn good. Quantic Dream and Sony have a winner of a title on their hands and you’d be a damned fool to not own a copy for yourself if you are a PlayStation 3 owner. Now to patiently wait for the DLC coming out March 4 in the States, offering a prologue of the four main characters and a chance to step into the shoes of the Origami Killer before Shaun’s kidnapping.

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