PS3 Review: "Heavy Rain"

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Quantic Dream

Release Date: February 23, 2010 (USA)

Premise:
Heavy Rain is a 2010 Drama-Thriller game about a father who's son is kidnapped by a man known only as "The Origami Killer." The game consists of venturing through the world in search of the Origami Killer as well as the kidnapped boy.

Gameplay: 

The unique thing about this game is that the control mechanisms are vastly different from the majority of games. Instead of running around shooting and exploring, Heavy Rain's gameplay consists of following a scripted set of scenes that are setup like an interactive movie.You play as Four (4) people throughout the game: "Ethan Marston" who is the main-main character. "Scott Shelby" who is a Private Investigator. "Norman Jayden" who is an FBI agent. "Madison Paige" who is simply a woman caught up in the drama.

When cutscenes are over, players are able to take control of their character and move around using the Right Trigger (R2) and can interact with their environment as well as delve into the minds of each character through on-screen button presses.

There can be consequences for your actions as well, leading to some undesired incidents that you cannot go back and change. These moments can sometimes lead to frustration, though, as making mistakes can forever alter your game and therefore change the experience in a significant manner for better or worse. The mechanics can feel a bit sluggish at times, though I chalk that up to simply making it more realistic, as it's more realistic for a man to take a moment to get up to speed or change direction.

Graphics:
The graphics in Heavy Rain are some of the best-looking I have seen in a game to date. The focus is on water, more specifically rain. It is raining nearly the entire game and the water effects in the world are astounding. The character models have very high polygon counts and seem very lifelike thanks to the use of MoCap. The character movement leaves something to be desired, though, especially when there's a lot of fast action on screen.

Textures are amazing and the foliage really brings the world alive.

Sound:
The soundtrack in Heavy Rain is fitting. There are some very somber acoustics during the sad and depressing moments and than the traditional fast-paced combo music for chase-scenes and high-action times. The music in the game, overall, is extremely well done.

Length:
The entire experience takes about 8-10 hours on average for your first playthrough. This can be shortened or extended based on how you play and what happens in the game.

Value:
It's tough to determine what a game is really worth. Some say a games worth is in how long you can play it, while others, such as myself, value the experience the most. In my opinion, Heavy Rain would be worth buying at $59.99 if you had a job and spare cash to spend. If you're on a budget but want an experience, I would save up and feel comfortable spending at most $30 for this game.

There is replay value in that there are several different endings and ending cinematics that can take place based on your decisions in game, but for me I beat it once and never played it again. I looked at it as if it were a piece of art and once I experienced it I didn't want to alter that experience for the worse by doing it again, though the option is always there and it will bring new experiences if you should so choose to do it.