PS3 Heavy Rain Review

This weekend my better half and I played Heavy Rain for the PS3. I must say that it was the most original game I have played to date.

The graphics were absolutely amazing! It was like playing a movie. They had the real actors wear sensors and act out the whole game (just like a movie) so that the movements and facial expressions would be realistic (and they were, sometimes scarily so). I can't remember the exact number of hours recording (I think it said 137 hours) and 90 actors to make the game.  And when you see the real actors it is amazing how much the characters in the game look like them.  The did a most excellent job!  I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work that they put into this game.  Even the music was awesome (full orchestra to record 4 movies worth of music).

The controls were designed and executed very well. Instead of controls like X to shoot and O to jump, the controls were displayed on the screen (kind of like one long quick-time event) and were made to mimic the actual action being performed. For example, to open the car door you moved the right analog stick over and down around, like you would with your hand in real life. If you were trying to pull yourself up onto a rooftop it would have you press X repeatedly until you climbed up. Some of the actions needed to be performed slowly, like when applying ointment to a burn (do it too fast and the patient will freak on you for hurting them) or opening a window from inside a burning apartment (too fast and the fire burns you). One part when we were making our way through a power plant required two people (I suppose you could do it if you used your tongue or a toe) because we had to hold L1, L2, R1, R2, circle, x, and square to climb through electrified wires, and if you didn't hold them for the correct amount of time then you got electrocuted. It was pretty intense!

Another difference between Heavy Rain and other games is that if you kill one of the main characters then he/she is just gone from the game. We didn't experience this until the very end when one of our characters died so we were no longer able to use him. I think we will go back and see how it handles other characters dying at various parts in the game. Although, with the moral decisions you are forced to make and the realism of the characters, purposely letting them die may be more difficult then I think! (You get super attached immediately.  I was just watching and it was a total emotional roller coaster ride!)

In this game, you always seem to have a choice when it comes to decision making: do you help the hooker or not, cut the finger off or not, drink the poison or leave. It's all up to you. The game keeps going but it will definitely affect the outcome of the game when it comes to the end. Will you catch the killer or will he get away.  (Our ending was a total surprise to me, but my better half had it totally figured out!)

I say it's well worth a play, or even a watch if you're not really into actually doing the controlling.  And there is already download content (which I should be able to play by the time I get home from work today)!  I would say it was about 15 - 17 hours of awesome gameplay, which isn't bad nowadays.  And I think it offers re-play-ability to see what happens if you make different choices (such as kill the drug dealer instead of letting him live).  It is definitely rated M for mature (lots of nudity, swearing, violence, drug abuse, etc.) so don't buy it for you kids!  They wouldn't like it anyway.  The situations and decisions that need to be made in this game can only be appreciated by an adult (and it will even be lost on some adults).  If you want a no-brainer, point and shoot game, this is not what you are looking for.  If you want a mature game that requires making moral decisions in real-life-like situations and amazing graphics, play Heavy Rain!