sprites & bites

Gaming, iPads and a few biscuits on the side…

Heavy Rain

A few months ago I talked about a new game coming called Heavy Rain on the Playstation 3. If you recall, the game is about a serial killer called the Origami Killer and you play a number of different characters in the game in the pursuit of the killer and to find a missing boy who has been abducted. I spoke about how the game was controlled mostly by quick time events – pressing particular buttons on the screen at the correct time to interact and make decisions on how the story progresses. It also forces you to make some moral decisions and promotes emotions within the player.

Well the game is out now and has gone straight to Number 1 in the all formats chart. I purchased this game on release day and I have to say it is one of the best games I have ever played. Actually it is not really a game it is more like an interactive movie with many different endings depending on your choices in the game.

I was so immersed into the story of the game I was actually upset that I made a single wrong button press ending in the death of a minor character that I had to restart that chapter again and do it properly because what I did felt so wrong and this is how the moral decisions within the game play on the players emotions.

Like all games, Heavy Rain is not perfect and sometimes suffers from confusing controls especially during moments of intensity like a car chase or a fight and confusing scenes are made more confusing because the more stressed the character gets, the faster the commands display on the screen. Fortunately if you are struggling with this aspect you can turn the difficulty down and play it a little slower.

Despite the niggles, I will now whip out my thesaurus and list some words which describe it – amazing, brilliant, unique, gorgeous, memorable and breathtaking. Yes the game and the ending was so brilliantly executed that when the credits rolled at the end it left me breathless and truly lost for words.  EXCELLENT/10

Out now on Playstation 3 only. Rated 18 years

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