Heavy Rain is very much a film noir. The combination of drama and action, dialogue and exploration, puts the player into situations that test their moral boundaries, allowing you to reflect on your choices through the actions of the game’s characters. The tagline “how far are you prepared to go, to save someone you love?” seems very apt from this initial taste.
The game revolves around a serial murderer dubbed ‘The Origami Killer’, whose drowned victims are discovered four days after they go missing alongside a folded paper figure. There are several main characters with parts to play, and these comprise of:
Ethan Mars: a grief-stricken father who has lost his son and marriage.
Scott Shelby: a former cop of 20 years, now a private investigator.
Madison Paige: a photographer who lives alone and suffers from insomnia.
Norman Jayden: a dedicated FBI profiler sent to support the local police.
The demo compromises of two levels and a tutorial which introduces you to basic control as you walk down a dark alley. During this introduction you get to play as P.I. Scott Shelby and FBI agent Norman Jayden; both sections give you a modest taste for the mechanics of gameplay and their overarching narrative possibilities.
The first level is based in a seedy hotel. You take control of Scott Shelby trying to gain information from a mother of one of the victims. You make your way to her room, have a conversation with varied results (depending on how hard you feel like pushing her), leave and then have an asthma attack. While this is happening, a man approaches her apartment and forces his way in. You hear a scream – do you help?
Assuming, like me, that this would lead to something interesting, you head back to her apartment. Once inside a fight ensues, and whilst I won’t divulge the details, it’s safe to say that it’s lengthy and brutal. The button sequences and speed of response make you feel drained, ensuring you feel almost like you were in the battle yourself.
The second level is much slower paced. You take the role of Norman Jayden, arriving at a crime scene in what appears to be an industrial part of town near a train track. After admittance, you proceed to find your Lieutenant and quiz him for information, but he doesn’t seem particularly helpful or even interested. At this stage you can investigate the scene using Jayden’s all-in-one CSI-style tool. Entitled ARI (Added Reality Interface), it comprises of a pair of high-tech sunglasses and accompanying glove.
Using this tool you are able to change your view and discover clues, which pop-up as you scan the area. Evidence is then examined by crouching down with the right analogue stick when prompted. The area you’re allowed to investigate is large, and after a period of finding very little and trying to talk to non-cooperative police, the Lieutenant re-approaches to tell you he’s heading back to the office. At this point you can leave, but be sure to look out for a complex sequence involving a lot of slipping and sliding.
The future-tech element of the ARI does seem a little strange and out of place in this demo, but we’ll have to wait and see how it fits into the universe at large. There are a few little things that a slower pace will uncover but the more headstrong might miss, so it pays to play close attention to your surroundings.
Overall, the demo hints at an experience with a lot of choices and possibilities that lead to you revisit those few scenes again and again just to try and get different results. I’m on my third playthough as I write this, and it’s certainly something I could recommend that everybody should try – even my girlfriend wanted to get involved at one stage.
It’ll definitely make its way into my PS3 on the 26th of February, how about yours?
For early European access to the Heavy Rain demo, head over here
I'm a comic reading, movie loving, game geek!nnMy games HAVE to have decent story to keep me hooked.nnI own a PS3 and love it – not out of XBOX hate but more out of a wierd sense of loyalty.nnWhen I was younger I was a SEGA man had MasterSystem, Megadrive, Gamegear but never moved onto the Dreamcast…..instead being drawn in by this new fangled Playstation – the rest as they say is history!nnWhat lies in the future? Who knows! "
3 Comments
its games like this that make me wish i had a PS3
There are quite a few reasons now dude… time to get saving!
Want, want, WANT!!
Thanks for letting me put my first article up – hope you all liked it!
And thanks to Manny for putting the finishing touches!