Sunday, March 14, 2010

Heavy Rain - First Take

My copy of Heavy Rain arrived late last week, and I've logged several hours of gameplay over the last couple of days. Rather than posting detailed impressions, I'm going to hold off in favour of a complete review when I finish the game. I'm about halfway done at this point and am so engrossed in the story that I don't want it to end. Another play through is already a given, probably immediately following this one. Joyce has been watching as though it's a movie (which it pretty much is) and the story has her hooked as well.

Heavy Rain is certainly not without its faults, but it more than makes up for it with a riveting story, and moments of sheer excitement and emotional impact. If you've read the reviews and are intrigued, then you shouldn't hesitate in picking it up. Just be aware that there's a lot of watching involved and the gameplay can be very passive, amounting to nothing more than filler or a button press or two to advance from one scene to the next. If you're a hard core, action oriented gamer, then Heavy Rain probably won't be your cup o' tea (though the action sequences are extremely well executed). It's also reputedly quite short, clocking in at 8-10 hours, so it would make a perfect rental if the prospect of multiple plays isn't of interest.

I was in the mood for something different, and Heavy Rain is filling the bill to a tee. More later...

5 comments:

Dave said...

Thanks man for the impressions. I'm renting it as soon as it's available at Blockbuster. Every time I've went, it's been out.

Jim Schmaltz said...

Really intrigued by this one. I am sure Barb would dig it if I could get her to give it a chance. Would be something fun to do together. Can't wait for final thoughts!

Pete Anderson said...

Sorry for the lack of detail. I'll have plenty to say later, but this game is best experienced spoiler free.

Anonymous said...

I will give it a try- count me in! Barb

Pete Anderson said...

Jim/Barb - I know how much you guys are enjoying Dexter. I played through a sequence of Heavy Rain yesterday that was pretty macabre in a Dexter kinda way. Unfortunately, it cost me one of the lead characters. Suffice to say that I don't think there will be any nudie bits on this play through.

It's worth mentioning that there's a difficulty setting designed for those less familiar with the PS3 controller. You can switch between difficulty settings during the course of the game,