Saturday, March 13th, 2010
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Heavy Rain (Review)
Written by Jon Clapham
Format: Ps3
Genre: Err…Quick Time Interactive Game..thingy
Sitting down to review Heavy Rain is no easy task – there are times when it barely feels like a game at all, and though it has become clichéd to call this game an ‘interactive movie’, that is what it is.
Quantic Dream’s previous game, Fahrenheit, was their first attempt at bridging the gap between the world of film and games, and while Heavy Rain is leagues ahead of it’s predecessor, it still suffers from some of the same problems in the storytelling department.
Analysing the storytelling is what will take most of the review (spoiler-free, I hasten to add), and yes the graphics and sound are very important, but from this project’s inception director David Cage has frequently commented on the game’s emotional impact and original storytelling, hyping them as something never-before-seen in the realm of videogames.
So has he and the team at Quantic Dream been successful? For the most part, yes.
By allowing you to be able to be involved in the minuet details of each character’s life, be it playing with the children in the backyard or changing a nappy, an emotional bond is formed. When events take a tragic turn it becomes genuinely upsetting to witness, and there is much more of a desire to see the characters succeed than in ‘normal’ games. In most games, as good as a story may be, there is rarely a true bond between the player and the character. One of the main reasons being that games are the only medium where death is simply an annoyance. Any fatal situation can be undone by loading a previously saved game or hitting retry. Whereas, in a film or book, if a character dies they more often than not stay dead.
This is where Heavy rain has an edge over other games – if one of the characters die, the story just continues without them. No extra lives or the chance to continue from the beginning of the level. This fear of death is a powerful thing, especially as we have come to know these characters and their multi-dimensional personalities.
Written by Dan
Mr editor man, so technically the supreme ruler of everything and anything. I promise I won't have a power trip though *trips on laptop cable* (Also known for utterly, utterly terrible jokes)
