After several piecemeal demos, we finally spend some serious time with Quantic Dream's ambitious thriller.
These two have good reason for looking so dour. Much has been made about the recent resurgence of the traditional adventure game, though it's a format that Parisian developer Quantic Dream never really abandoned. Its cult-favorite Indigo Prophecy (maybe called Fahrenheit in your neck of the woods) brought a level of cinematic detail and mechanical ingenuity to the genre at a time when "adventure game" was tantamount to a dirty word. Quantic Dream's been making a lot of big promises with its follow-up, Heavy Rain, starting with an impressive early PS3 tech demo that boasted a level of grimy realism and jittery tension few games would dare aim for. Giant Bomb recently received a pre-release build of the game which I dove into immediately. It's not without some odd angles, but I can safely say I've never played anything quite like it, and I'm eager to see more.
If you're feeling like you don't have a point of reference here, Heavy Rain is, essentially, a deeply devoted marriage of adventure-game storytelling and quick-time event gameplay. The story of the Origami Killer, as seen from the perspective of multiple characters, is the focus, and it plays like a very deliberately paced police procedural. This is, far and away, the thing that struck me the most during my time with Heavy Rain: the story, the setting, and the characters lack the oversized flourishes and archetypal cartoonishness that even the most serious video games tend to indulge.
Psychoanalysis: The Game! For about the first hour or so, if it weren't interactive, and the characters weren't polygonal, Heavy Rain could pass for a serious and intense modern-day police drama. Its ability to convincingly stage such day-in-the-life activities as waking up in an empty house and starting your day, taking a trip to the mall, or talking to the grieving mother of a murdered child is so engrossing, that I actually found it kind of jarring when some game-friendly, improbable crime-solving technology made an appearance. It's a very dark, cold, sad, and serious game unafraid to dwell on personal loss, alienation, addiction, and other uncomfortable aspects of the human condition. In a format where escapism and power fantasies are in particularly high demand, Heavy Rain is, least in its early going, an M-for-Mature game in the best possible sense.
There's a grit and a pallor to Heavy Rain's presentation that reinforces the everyday weight of the situation. The crummy apartments, seedy motels, muddy crime scenes, and drab police precincts don't just feel like location types, but actual places, thanks to a preternatural attention to detail. Saying it's photorealistic would be irresponsible and hyperbolic, but it looks real enough. One touch that I particularly appreciated was the ability to move about the environment during dialogue sequences. So many games are intent on locking you into a face-to-face two-shot that it's surprisingly rare to see a little walk-and-talk in a game. Beyond some technical hiccups indicative of the non-final software, the only fault I could really find in the presentation concerned some awkward voice acting, which occasionally betrayed the game's non-English-speaking origins.
Architectural Drawing: The Game! There's a volume of generally naturalistic dialogue in Heavy Rain, though you'll also interact with other characters, as well as objects in the environment, through a variety of permutations on quicktime events. There's almost something kind of perverse about the kinds of mundane activities you'll perform through a series of controller gestures. It starts simply enough, flicking the right analog stick about to open doors and flip light switches, though it gets more involved as you create architectural drawings, climb a muddy embankment, and tie a necktie. The closest I saw to action in my time with Heavy Rain involved a sloppy motel-room fistfight, which demanded some specific timing, but otherwise didn't resemble too many video-game fight sequences I've been a party to. In a game that's not as otherwise as fascinating as Heavy Rain, this style of gameplay could be a significant liability. Here, though, it seems justified, and it brings attention to the minutiae of the world that brings the game to life.
I've pretty deliberately avoided talking specifically about the story in Heavy Rain here because, well, it doesn't pack the same punch without the game's greater context, and I feel like it really needs to be experienced whole-cloth to be appreciated. With a few hours under my belt, I'm genuinely intrigued by how this Origami Killer story will unfold, and what the fates it holds for its collection of flawed protagonists. I'm also fascinated by its world of mundane details and the abstract, tactile feel of the gameplay. The lack of compromise promises to make Heavy Rain an incredibly divisive game, and one that will be hard to ignore.
Then they'll go play a fighting game or hack n' slash. This is not the game for that... I can't see why your oddly against a game branching out to try something different.
@SoothsayerGB said:
" I am also not a fan of quick time events, at all. "
All the other previews i've read today on the game mention that the Quick time events never feel bothersome. If you think about it... every game, be it fighter, shooter, adventure has controls are a series of timed button presses that, if not pressed in the right sequence, may get you killed. This just handles that with more apparent on screen icons but still keeps you in control of the choices you make.
One of my most anticipated games. Attention to detail and production aren't usually afforded to games of this type, exploring cinematic and personal issues, so i am going to buy this hot shit and soak it up somethin fierce
I am always left wondering after reading about heavy rain how many people played Omikron: The Nomad Soul, Quantic's game before Fahrenheit (might even have been their first). When it came out I thought, and still think, that is one of the greatest adventure games I have ever played. It was certainly not without it faults, relatively poor attempts to include fighting and shooting segments (although the secret pit fight was always a great way to make money using a save/reload type exploit). Stunning visuals, great characters (from what I remember) and it had David Bowie doing some voice acting/digital performances.
If you like Quantic's other stuff, give it a try if you can get your hands on it
omg... "QL: Heavy Rain" already. This is the game I'm buying a PS3 for... Probably going to pick up the Uncharted series also but... Go go QuickLook!!!!
Ryan did a very nice job with this article. He probably has the most expansive vocabulary I would guess out of the staff, and his use of it brings a nice tone to his write-ups and reviews. He just does a really good job at, well.. what he does.
Did not expect Ryan to appreciate this game as much as he did, or at all really. The press response in general has surprised me. Everything I've come across has ranged from mostly positive to mildly glowing. Good to hear it's shaping up well. Hope it keeps up throughout the rest of the game. And that it doesn't flop horribly.
" Ryan did a very nice job with this article. He probably has the most expansive vocabulary I would guess out of the staff, and his use of it brings a nice tone to his write-ups and reviews. He just does a really good job at, well.. what he does. "
I agree. I also think it helps that the nature of Heavy Rain allows for writers to move past the mechanics and even storyline to explore other aspects of design. I know people usually clamor for this kind of preview instead of the usual "shoots good, looks good" but it's rare that a game actually warrants it.
I'll admit that I was a pretty big fan of Indigo Prophecy and I'm more then excited for this game to came out. I'm not a huge fan of the genre, but this game seems to have that raw sense of realism that you rarely see in this medium. Now I just need to get a PS3...ha.
I'm having trouble getting excited for this. I have yet to be convinced that I want less game and more story in my games. Even the very best video game stories don't hold a candle to great movies, they're different mediums and deliver different experiences. I still haven't seen a good reason that I need my games to be more like movies and vice versa.
Very different but like Indigo Prophecy, I'm sure I'll love every minute of it. Heavy Rain's trying to do something completely different than what we're used to these days. Be thankful that it's more than just another FPS. I sure am.
Other than the quicktime event gameplay I really enjoyed Fahrenheit, I have a huge distaste for that kind of gameplay, I feel I rather watch a cutscene than do that crap. But apparently in an age where guitarhero is a top selling 'game' I have no choice but to endure. It's just sad taht they can't make heavy storydriven games without cutting down on decent gameplay.
Heavy Rain seems awesome though, hoping for a less ridiculous story and it will be a certain slamdunk in my shopping-basket.
Well said, Ryan! You have me very excited for this game now. And I must say, I didn't expect you to say some of the things that you said about this game.
Thanks for the write up. I have been really looking forward to this game, and after reading this, I still am. I hope the final build lives up to your initial impressions.
I think the folks at Quantic Dream have learned a lot from Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, though the voice acting stuff worries me a bit. It'd be terrible if a dramatic scene was ruined by a jarring accent or a slip-up.
Great preview, but there are a number of issues with the piece that a copy editor could clear up for you guys. Maybe a freelance copy editor still in college? *coughMEcough*
I'm being quite serious. I know you guys are a small outfit, but I don't think a single one of your reviews or previews is published without some form of typographical or grammatical error. It happens. You guys are great writers, so I hate to see your stuff published without a good going-over with a digital red pen.
I've been reading you, Jeff and Brad for years from your Gamespot days, and I think I could be your Tom McShea. It should tell you something about my interest in copy editing that I actually know who Tom McShea even is.
a great articke thats only making this game seem all that more amazing and worth the long wait its been in. Appreciative of the lack of any specifc story details too, i haven't been readin many previews because of how much they decide to delve into the story.
" Really thinking hard about taking the PS3 plunge for this and uncharted 2. "
Me too actually. But I hope this doesn't turn our like Indigo Prophecy, where it was REALLY interesting over the first half of the game, but got pretty lame as it got closer to the end.
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