Review
Heavy Rain
By Jorge Figueiredo - March 15th, 2010
A city on the US East coast is being terrorized by the ‘Origami Killer’, whose victims are all discovered drowned, four days after they go missing. And now, once again, a child goes missing as the rain pours down, hammering the city. Four people each mount a desparate search; the Origami Killer may yet claim another victim. How long will it be before they find the missing child? Will they be able to find him before he dies like all the others, drowned in rainwater accumulating because of Heavy Rain?
And so begins the experience that will lead you on a thrilling roller coaster ride of emotions.
Heavy Rain is the latest offering from Quantic Dreams, and it is fresh and new; a thrilling interactive drama like nothing I have ever played.
The plot centers around four characters, who are each tied in some way to a mysterious figure who is only known as “The Origami Killer” due to the calling card that he leaves on all of his victims: a small origami figure and an orchid. Each character is very different, and the game is laid out in chapter format, each of which stars one of the primary cast members.
The game starts very slowly, placing you into the everyday life of one of the characters. He’s an architect; he works from home; he has a wife and two kids; did I mention that the game starts slowly? While it may sound like I am complaining, I am merely revealing my thoughts from that particular junction in the game. Even though the pacing is not as fast as most people would want it to be, there is a reason: it is an incredible tutorial. This chapter in the game forms the foundation for the gameplay in a way that is both helpful and entertaining. It is also the only part of the game that is not full of darkness and rain, a recurring motif later on.
While not exactly a sandbox-type environment, there is a lot of freedom in regards to how deeply you explore the large sets that you are given. Interaction with your environment is key, and the tutorial that was nicely presented as the first chapter of the game allows you some measure of comfort in the way the game works. You use a combination of one of the triggers and the left analog stick to move your character around at varying speeds. Objects with which you may interact with display a control cue adjacent to them as you approach; the right analog stick is usually the method of choice for these things, but other buttons may be used separately or combined to activate the object.
Having played games like Dragon’s Lair and Assassin’s Creed II, which are laden with quick time events, I wondered how Heavy Rain would feel with this similar sort of interface. In truth, I forgot the control scheme as a separate entity very shortly into the meat of the main plot. Whether interacting with inanimate objects or performing a complex sequence, everything fit perfectly. Another nice feature is the “thought” feature. You can hold down one of the left trigger buttons to see what your character is thinking. By pressing the corresponding button, you can enhance the situation or make a mess of things, depending on the response that you choose. Both the object interaction and thoughts can be displayed as clear in calm situations, or “fuzzy” in situations that are stressful, adding another layer of challenge. Kudos to Quantic for the amount of thought they put into these elements of the game.
Visually, the game looks unbelievable. The motion capture and the appearance of the overall environment is definitely top drawer, serving to draw you into the game very quickly. Usually mocap can be awkward in games that have this sort of pacing, but it works very well here; very few glitches in movement are to be seen at all. The ambient score is eerie and sad, reflecting the overall mood of the game; the action sequences are accompanied by very appropriate music as well. Top it all of with a solid cast of voice acting and this game feels more like a movie than many other games that I have played. These different pieces of the puzzle add up to creating an experience that makes your controller hard to put down.
Quantic Dreams has a winner on their hands. Heavy Rain is an absolutely fantastic experience that will keep you guessing from beginning to end – and if public opinion is to be believed, multiple times! With that in mind, and a healthy batch of trophies to win, I will be revisiting this game very soon.
Heavy Rain is available for the PS3.
