When it comes to video games, publishers like a sure thing. For example, you can always count on another Call of Duty or Madden game every year. These games are a known quantity and will always sell well as long as small innovations are made to keep the series interesting. What truly drives innovation in the game industry rarely comes from a staple series. Instead, it comes from experimental side projects. Heavy Rain is one of those projects.
Heavy Rain started out as an internal tech demo meant to show off a way to convey emotion in a virtual character. The game that has evolved from that demo is so unlike anything that has come before, that the developers themselves hesitate to even all it a game. The best way to describe Heavy Rain is as a “choose your own adventure.” Instead of taking control of a specific super powerful hero, the character makes the decisions for five separate characters. None of these characters are all important either, as even if you lead them to their death the story can continue without them.
The story itself is the main focus of Heavy Rain. You play through the stories of five characters who are each in some way affected by the Origami Killer, a serial killer who is plaguing the city. The outcomes of you actions with each character shape the story, based on what clues you find along the way. For the most part you may not see a big difference in what scenes you see during each play through, but your choices along the way will determine one of an incredible array of endings.
Some early criticisms say that the game is one big quicktime event. While coordinated button pressing is important, it is far from the classic “Press X to not die” events that occur in other games. The combat actually has more in common with Guitar Hero then God of War. Rather then dying and restarting if you don’t time your button press correctly, you will simply miss a punch or fail to dodge an attack. Yet depending on how you do, the sequence could play out in any number of ways.
Heavy Rain is a game everyone should check out. While some of the visuals are a little rough and the voice acting isn’t spectacular, Heavy Rain pushes the boundaries of the gaming medium. It shows that video games are more then just points, kills and levels. Video games can be a story telling device as good as any book or movie.
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