Heavy Rain – The Rain Kept Me Up All Night!
Yeah...thats not ink...
by Nik Bartunek
Its really no secret that I am a huge fan of video games, and most gaming in general. Recently I’ve gotten back into it much harder than before, and I’ve divided my time between music and gaming. Eating happens in there somewhere. I can’t remember about the sleeping part though.
For a short time I worked at Gamestop. Yes, it is basically the McDonalds of video games, and the customer service training courses are run out of an Iranian Prison, but I have some amazing memories from that place. The one scarring, demoralizing feeling it left me with though, was that much like movies, there were no new good video games coming out. Monotonous game after game came out, and I would rent them or bring them home from work, and feel very saddened at my choice. When large software developers campaign a game, its much like a presidential campaign. The last guy sucked, so this hip new company comes along and promises you the world. “We’ll make the game as HD as modern technology will allow! We’ll even program the game to make you sandwhiches while you play. If that’s not enough, we’re going to change the face of gaming with our revolutionary new game mechanic blah blah blah” and so on, and so forth. Nobody really does anything much better. They are more concerned with flashing their sweet new spoilers than they are concerned with making sure the game play is great, and that the story doesn’t suck.
Lo and behold oh ye Israelites! The time is near! No longer do we wander in the desert, but we have found the promised land. I’ve been waiting for a title to come out now for a while. Its called Heavy Rain. I had played the demo with some other Picture Atlantic members, and we were floored. Thankfully, one member decided that enough time had passed without the game being inserted into his PS3, and he purchased Heavy Rain.As I type this, it is now 2pm. We beat the game at 9:30am, and started playing the game at 12:30am. Yes….we (well, two of us) stayed up all night to beat the game. And it was consciousness well spent.
I’m a huge sucker for Film Noir, and pretty much any detective flick out there. Mystery novels and TV shows of a darker nature get me in one try. Heavy Rain just happens to be a very dark Noir tale. The story line isn’t even the best part (and it is a fantastic story line). This is finally a game that delivers on its promise of being the next best thing. So below, I’m going to share some videos with you, and also a short review of the game in the hopes that you all sell your houses and buy PS3’s.
As you can see, the game plays like one giant movie. There is no heads up display, only directional stick, and button prompts to cause certain actions to happen. That sounds boring right? Well wrong. The game still maintains a heavy suspense, and there are many times you are fumbling like quarterback for the right button combos. The amount of realism in the game is astounding. During levels that take place inside, you can do anything from turn on any light switch, to see whats in the fridge. Every little detail is of use in some way.
The story follows four characters, who are investigating, or are involved in some way with The Origami Killer, a serial killer known for leaving origami animals at the scene of his crimes. Each character plays a unique part in solving the crime, and you do everything from FBI work , to down and dirty journalism. The game is also based on constant decision making that will effect the outcome of the game. There are roughly six or seven possible endings, so the game never plays the same twice. If a character, such as Norman Jayden, an FBI Agent, dies while on the case, he is permanently out of the game. It won’t actually be the last you’ve heard of him, as the game will add his death into the story line, and will affect scenarios later where he may have been involved. This is also intensified by the gorgeous graphics the game delivers. The faces of each character, are extremely life like, and there were split seconds where I felt I was looking at a very nice photo.
The only downfalls are minor. The beginning is rather slow, but fun for people who like to get immersed in a game, and the game itself doesn’t have a lot of game play hours (as you can see from my sleep schedule). Not too many games can be cross generational like this game is. Its easy enough to pick up, that anyone could play, and the story line is very complex and keeps you captivated. As I mentioned before, its like playing a movie. Everything from the camera angles, to the transitions, make you feel like you’re inside the movie “Seven”.
If you get a chance to play this game, I would highly recommend it on its amazing replay value, and its evolution in how a video game is played. Be safe out there, and don’t let the Origami Killer get his ugly mitts on you!
