Heavy Rain

I played Heavy Rain straight through, from the moment I opened the box, until the very last name on the end-credits rolled.  I guess I could have played in separate sittings, but to be honest I was so compelled to continue playing, that I couldn’t help myself.

Heavy Rain is not a “video game”.  It’s not quite a “movie” either.  I would call this, and I’m not alone in calling it this, “interactive fiction”.  What would you call Grim Fandango?  Or the entire Monkey Island franchise?  I would call those interactive fiction as well.  There are times where you can engage in combat, and maybe even die, but that is not the focus of those types of games.  The focus of those types of games is becoming a necessary part of the world around you in order to piece together what is going on.  Myst is a great example of this.  So is Starship Titanic.  These games are sometimes defined as “Action-Adventure” which they are, but I would say the difference between calling something action-adventure and calling something interactive fiction is this:  the first is a genre, the second is a medium.  If you go see a movie, then you’ve seen a movie.  Whether it’s horror or comedy, it’s a movie.  If you play Heavy Rain or you play Virtua Fighter you are playing a video game, but one is interactive fiction and one is a fighting game.  Comprende?

Heavy Rain interweaves four storylines that all revolve around the Origami Killer.  His name derives from the Origami he leaves on his victims.  Each storyline revolves around one of the four main characters, a father, a journalist, a government agent, and an aging private detective.  Four storylines.  Crazy huh?

Four storylines can be a lot to manage sometimes, so mentally the game is very challenging.  Also, since the game has a couple of different endings, you really have to choose your actions carefully.  Every single aspect of the game’s actions have consequences in some way or another.  Perhaps your actions won’t directly affect the game’s ending, but it will somehow affect something later on in the game.

Also, I cannot possibly say that the game isn’t exciting.  Every aspect of this game’s set-pieces is exciting.  There’s a section where you are playing at the private investigator, and you are buying something-or-other in this gas station/convenience store.  Some guy comes in and tries to hold it up, and your actions, basically based on your level of observation, as well as your reflexes, result in a variety of consequences, some good some bad depending how you look at it.  I saved right before this, so I played each outcome, and seriously my palms were sweating.  I was so excited.  As that scene ended, I really had to sit back and recall the last time a game made me feel such a crazy run of emotions.

I couldn’t remember!  I mean there are my list of top games of course that inspire those emotions, Grim Fandango, Starship Titanic, Braid, Shadow Of The Colossus, etc, but in the past few years, I can’t seem to recall a game conveying such emotional depth and commitment to its characters other than Braid.  It is these qualities that make games great, not great graphics (which Heavy Rain most definitely has), or good gameplay (which Heavy Rain most definitely has).  It’s a good story.  OK some games don’t need a good story to be good, like Fifa or something, but if you are playing a nonsports game, story is EVERYTHING.  Gameplay can definitely help, especially if it is unique gameplay, but story is so important.  Think of games that have a good story and unique gameplay?  Braid, Trine, hmmm….wait a second, Assassin’s Creed, Grim Fandango, Starship Titanic, I’m seeing a correlation here!!!  Great story + unique gameplay = Amazing game.  Just think about it, you’ll see I’m correct.  There’s a reason most first person shooters, and MMORPGs and tactical strategy games, and RPGs all end up sucking.  It’s because they lack one of these two elements that make up all great games.

Heavy Rain features music by Normand Corbell.  I have not ever heard of this guy, that doesn’t mean he isn’t famous or something, but he sure kicked ass.  He did a great job of matching up sonic imagery with visual imagery.  I have spent a great deal of time listening to the score for Heavy Rain, and on its own, the soundtrack is a dark masterpiece, filled with contempt and mystery.  It captures the essence of Heavy Rain perfectly.

Heavy Rain is a landmark in gaming, and should be in your catalogue.  It may be expensive, but it is worth purchasing, although the game’s creator David Cage came out to the public stating that he only wanted people to play through the game once, forget everything he said, and play through this game a whole crapload of times.  It’s amazing, and you have never ever played a game like it.  Seriously.  Go get it.  Now.

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