Through The Looking Glass

One of the most important features in Heavy Rain, and equally one of the most impressive is that of the overall visual presentation.

Heavy Rain is not only a pretty looking game (a look at the screenshots make this obvious), but it is an incredible cinematic experience overall. The directing is some of the best that I have ever seen, and that includes actual Hollywood films. Add to that some inspired art direction and conceptual work; and you have a visual tour de force.

Heavy Rain’s directing is on par with some of Hollywood’s finest

All of the characters have been modeled on, voiced and motion captured by real actors bringing an even more authentic feel to the plate. Some great camera effects, incredibly high-res textures and heavy polygon counts really bring the characters to life and are only let down by the occasional odd animation or scene. This game needed to feel as realistic as possible, and while not perfect just yet, is pretty close.

For a game like Heavy Rain, music and sound is incredibly important. The orchestral score will rush into your ears and add even more to the experience as you sympathise with characters or need to feel the tension of a stressful sequence. Voice acting feels natural and real and can also be attributed to the real life actors brought in for the game.

Conclusion:

In many ways, Heavy Rain cannot be classified as a videogame. At the same time it is definitely not just some film. It’s a new form of interactive storytelling, that allows you to immerse yourself in a story like never before. If anything, it could almost be classified as an evolution of what point-and-click adventure games used to be (as well as old FMV CD-Rom titles such as Phantasmagoria and Ripper).

Videogame, or movie? How about neither?

Heavy Rain is an intriguing, mature, tension-driven story, crafted in a way that allows you to alter it’s path and decide its outcome. There are some rather large plot holes and a decent amount of issues that prevent it from being truly great, but it does many things very right and succeeds at creating what could possibly be an entire new form of entertainment for the modern world to experience.

Heavy Rain may not be for everyone, but it is highly recommended for true videogame enthusiasts interested in a new and interesting way to experience their favorite hobby. Ironically, casual gamers may find it to be a fairly non-complex way of enjoying a new form of interactive entertainment.

[Side note: If you are a developer creating games based on TV series, please, by all means, shamelessly rip this game off in every way. Thanks.]

For Fans Of: Quantic Dreams, Adventure games, Cinema, Mystery Thrillers

Scoring (not an average)

Gameplay: 9.0

Character controls can be fidgety at times but the possibly revolutionary QTE systems have taken controls to a new level and truly allows the player to feel the essence of the actions taking place in front of them.

Presentation: 9.5

Some of the best looking visuals seen in gaming, despite some issues. The directing belongs up their with the best that Hollywood can offer.

Sound: 9.8

Great voice acting and fantastic foley work, but it’s the musical score that steals the show and almost features as the star of the game.

Value: 8.8

The game will take roughly 8-10 hours to complete. The ability to go back and experiment with different outcomes reaps great rewards to those who do it. The fresh experience alone warrants a purchase to those interested. DLC is being released that will slot into the story.

Heavy Rain is not a videogame, nor is it a movie. It is a vision and a pioneer of a new form of interactive entertainment and one that I am hoping to see more of in future. A highly recommended interactive experience.

[Reviewed on Playstation 3]