Heavy Rain

[MinisterofDOOM]

This is out today (23rd). I got the demo early a couple weeks ago through their online game dealie (thanks to Kotaku posting the solution, which crashed the server for almost a day due to everyone trying to get the demo at once).

I was very impressed with the demo, despite my initial reservations about the control scheme. It's very contextual and fits the flow of the game well. I'd almost describe it as the controls conforming to the events of the game, rather than vice-versa. They're predictable, but not predefined, in that the gestures to perform certain actions are naturally fitting. Putting a piece of paper down on a table, knocking on a door, etc...when you see the prompt icon pop up, you have an idea of what will happen, even though that control is entirely context-sensitive and consists of nothing more than a gestural symbol. Very well done. But the game can also use this to throw you off, and introduce a human element that isn't as presentable in a game with predefined controls. What if the gesture you choose does something you didn't expect? You still chose it. The game can use this to represent panic or help make situations feel more tense. It really helps build atmosphere, as the player is not some omniscient, all-knowing being, but actually stuck in the same spot as the characters on screen. If the character's having a hard time, the controls will represent that.

On the opposite end of the control spectrum, I'm not hugely fond of the movement system, which has you holding R2 to walk forward, then pointing your character in the direction forward needs to be with the left stick. But it works well enough to get by and is easy to adjust to, if awkward at first. I realize why it was done this way...it just feels a bit clunky.

In the demo, you get to play a short scene with each of two of the 4 main characters. One is a PI, and you question a woman and get in a sort-of-quick-time-event fight scene (but again, it flows to fit the events as I described above, not just random buttons popping up as in God of War). The other's an FBI agent with some magic techno-glasses that allow him to see "clues" around the crime scene, which you investigate. The FBI agent also has to climb a muddy slope, which has you struggling to mash buttons in an attempt to emulate his struggle to keep his grip. Then, on the way back down, you quickly press buttons to maintain his balance as he slides back down the same muddy slope.

The biggest complaint I have so far is some of the voice acting. During the interview when playing as the PI, the woman being interviewed is not even barely managing to fake an American accent. It's pretty horrible, and really distracting.

[SkinnyKibbles]

I loved playing the demo, I'm going to pick the game when I get a chance to.

[MinisterofDOOM]

So far it's interesting, but horribly sad. Definitely not a happy game.My favorite character by far is Scott Shelby, the private investigator. He seems like a genuinely good guy and his sequences are definitely the ones I enjoy the most. He also drives an awesome (but beat) 1940s Buick.

The game does a great job of making it feel like events are always just beyond your (or, rather, your characters') control. You're never on top of things, never in a position to make GOOD decisions. Everything is constantly spiraling out of control. It's a neat change from traditional adventure games that let you take the leisurely path and explore every item, every dialog option, etc. until you feel comfortable making a choice. And it really helps drive home the atmosphere of the story. It's a very immersive way to direct an adventure game, and one I hope catches on elsewhere. There's never a "wrong" choice; you can't "lose" at Heavy Rain. But there are definitely better and worse options available, and you know it when you pick them.

[SkinnyKibbles]

So many options/choices. I'm gonna have fun trying every combination lol

[s13jus10]

I'm scared to get this game just because I know I'm gonna be sucked into it lol.. I won't have time to balance this and BC2. I'll most likely pick it up once all my hype for BC2 drops a bit.

you have the game MOD? my coworker was explaining how the game starts.. I reeeeeaally want to play it.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Yeah, I have it. I'm several hours in, now. The story is starting to come together. I have to admit I'm growing a bit weary of the action sequences. For the last couple I found myself thinking "So...is this going to end at some point...?" by the time they were about halfway through. They were fun at first, but they need to trim down the length after the first few.

I also feel like I have the story pretty well sorted out. What I hope, though, is that the game is really just letting me think I have it figured out, and the plot twists I see coming will actually be quite a bit different than I am expecting.

As a neat touch, the game comes with a specially printed piece of paper. While the game is installing (6GB install, IIRC) it offers instructions for folding it into a copy of the origami piece from the game's cover art.

[s13jus10]

Yeah, the Scott Shelby fight sequence from the demo was about twice as long as I would have liked it to be. I like that the sequence really breaks the tension of the game, so you're not constantly THINKING THINKING THINKING. It's a nice change of pace from all the moody-ness.... but it's just too damn long.

That is a pretty cool touch with the origami paper.. man, 6gb install? I really need to get an external harddrive already.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I just pulled up a picture of the game box...it's 4GB, not 6.

Just upgrade your internal drive. Sony makes it easy to do. Buy a 2.5 inch notebook drive and swap it out for the current one. You can get 500GB for under $100 easy. The PS3 even has a utility to transfer your data from one drive to the other (you have to back up to a third drive, unfortunately).

I'm planning to upgrade mine as soon as I have money again.

[s13jus10]

(you have to back up to a third drive, unfortunately).

..which is why I'd rather just get an external harddrive and back everything on that. I'm not really looking for the most "bang for the buck", I really would have no use for 500GB of storage lol.. I'd be cool with like 250GB MAX. If I could get an external 250GB hdd for like less than $50, I'd be a very happy camper.

..know any good brands or anything as far as external hdd's? anything I should be looking for or staying away from?

[MinisterofDOOM]

The problem with USB hard drives is they are SLOW as hell. Not fast enough to actually play a game from. And they're also much more expensive than internal drives. You can always reinstall your games and redownload your PSN content, and just back up your saves to a small USB flash disk. I'd rather spend $80 for 500GB of internal storage than the same price for half the external storage. One disk, no speed issues.

Using an external disk for backup seems like it'd be a PITA when you can have all your schtuff on one disk for the same price instead.

As far as external hard drive brands, a lot of repackaging goes on, so it's hard to say. If all you're using it for is backup, it's hard to make a bad choice. They're all equally slow.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I just finished the game. I have a big problem with how much weight the game places on late-game action sequences. Screwing up a single button press can completely ruin your game. True, you can't "lose" but you can sure screw things up. Because of this, all the story progression, all your choices, all your investigating...it is all MEANINGLESS unless you get the action sequences exactly perfect. It's really frustrating to go through all that effort and then have it all destroyed by one missed quick-time-event button. A very poor way to design a game that's supposed to be about the STORY. It just seems really backward to me that the developers chose to put so much emphasis on what should have been a sparsely-used combat system for very special events.

Also, I have an issue with game feedback. A lot of times, you can be faced with a quick-time sequence or a "think fast" sequence and after you complete it the game will COMPLETELY FAIL to let you know whether your outcome is what you wanted. At some of these points, the game tries to be dramatic in the same way a film would, and makes you think you've failed only to reveal you succeeded after dragging out your suspense. But that doesn't WORK in a game. Game's are interactive. I just put effort into impacting events only to have events not reflect that effort. At that point, I have to ask what purpose my interaction served beyond keeping the sequence from being nothing more than an in-engine cinematic.

And since there are a lot of horrible things that just happen anyway (outside your realm of influence) in this game, you NEVER know whether you did things "right" or whether you screwed up, or whether it's just the story being depressing again. It really takes a LOT of meaning out of the player's involvement and drags the game down to the "interactive movie" level that the developer was so desperate to avoid being pinned with. When the game gives me a choice with expectation of certain specific outcomes, it needs to give me one of those outcomes. Not a third. That's not fun. It might make for interesting storytelling, but it isn't FUN. And it isn't good gameplay. And this is a game, not a movie.

Just as games with normal controls schemes need to have good responsive controls, Heavy Rain's developers really should have put more effort into making sure the game lets you know whether your inputs (be they single buttons or lengthy sequences) have done what you expected or not. FEEDBACK. Otherwise, the player isn't in control or even interacting, he's just along for the ride.

[MinisterofDOOM]

ROFL:http://www.heavy.com/post/pres...-4539

[ProudNissanFreak]

Lol, I pressed X to Jason 108 times.

[Otto.]

I got 252. :P

[RCA]

433 =)

http://www.escapistmagazine.co...-Rain