So as all of you now know I have completed Heavy Rain. If memory serves its my 4th beaten game of the year. Others include Dead Space 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, and Black OPS (3rd. Time). But this is the first time in a while, that I felt truly compelled to share my thoughts on a game. Really you can just treat this as a mini review, as i'm sure i'll be writing a full review in the days to come. So please enjoy my thoughts and opinions of Heavy Rain. :)

Mini Review: Heavy Rain (PS3)

Part 1: Characters.

Heavy Rain is a game that relies heavily on its story and characters. There are 4 main protagonists. Ethan Mars the father of the latest child abducted by the Oragami Killer, Scott Shelby a retired police officer turned P.I. hired by the families of the victims of the Oragami Killer, Norman Jayden an FBI profiler sent to assist the local police force in the apprehension of the Oragami Killer, and finally Madison Page a journalist with cronic insomnia investigating the disapearance of Ethan Mars' son. Every main character has their own story to play through, and all of them are fantastic. There are also a number of smaller characters littered throughout the game, one you may even recognize from the 2006 "Casting" tech demo that Quantic Dream released after E3 2006. Althought these smaller characters aren't as interesting as the main protaganists, they still offer a nice variety and help flesh the story out even further.

Part 2: Story.

The story in Heavy Rain revolves around all 4 of the main characters seraching for a serial killer known as the Oragami Killer, but its also about asking the person playing the game how far they are willing to go to save someone they love. After the opening of the game Ethan Mars' son goes missing, without going to far or divulging to much of the story, Ethan is asked to complete 4 trials (The Bear Trial, The Butterfly Trial, The Lizard Trail, and the Rat Trial) to save his son. While the other characters are also searching for the "Oragami Killer" their stories feellike they take a back seat to Ethan's struggles to save his son. This would usually annoy me, but the way that Quantic Dream wrote the story for the game its really the only way it could be done. Every mission, encounter, or trial is as memorable as the next and I never got tred of doing one thing for to long. Although frying eggs and changing diapers is just tedious uneeded filler in my opinion. Play Choice also plays a huge part in the game, so be careful because one bad move could change the course of the entire game and its conclusion. Speaking of the conclusion there are 4 different ending, but it won't take you very long to reach any one of them. My first playthrough clocked in at a good 9 1/2 hours, but don't fear, you'll want to play this one again the minute the credits stop rolling. All in all Heavy Rain has one of the most engrossing and amazing stories in all of gaming, its not to be missed.

Part 3: Graphics.

On the graphics sid eof things Heavy Rain is somewhat of a mixed bag. At times its one of the best looking games created, with character and facials animation that border on liflike most of the time. Then there are the ocassional jaggies, wonky character motions, and muddy textures. If the game didn't look so amazing most of the time, it would be easier to forget about these small blemishes, but since it looks so good they stand out more than I would like. They don't make the game look bad by any stretch, it just seems like a little bit more polish could have been used to make things perfect. All in all though, Heavy Rain is one of the best looking games around, and you'll be hard pressed to find better character animations anywhere.

Part 4: Gameplay

Now we come to the last, but most important part of my mini review and that is the gameplay. Now Heavy Rain focuses more on cinematic gameplay controlled by quick time sequences. The good news is that the controls are just perfect. I never once had a problem unless I was the one causing it or was just hitting the wrong buttons. Now one thing that I couldn't shake was the feeling that Heavy Rain relied to much on quick time events throughout the game, but in reality that's the only way the gameplay really works and its really quite intuitive. The clever controls that Quatic Dream applied to these quick time events actually make the player feel like they are doing the action that's happening in the game. This is a feeling i've never felt in a game and for that I applaude Quantic Dream. All you need to know is that the gameplay is unique, the controls work perfectly, and it gives a sense of interaction not seen in any other game.

Final Verdict:

In my time with Heavy Rain I learned that story is the most important part of a game. Without a good story Heavy Rain would not be the same game, but luckily the story is one of the best in video games if not "The" best. The twists and turns, the emotions i felt, and the choices I made all combined with the gameplay made for one game I will never forget. And while its not perfect Heavy Rain is a must play for anyone who wants to experience the best that gaming has to offer.

Scoring Breakdown:

Story: 10.0/10.0.

Gameplay: 9.8/10.0.

Graphics: 9.4/10.0.

Sound: 9.7/10.0.

Characters: 10.0/10.0.

Value: 9.0/10.0.

Overall Score: 9.7/10.0.

Thanks for reading everyone and please feel free to leave your own opinions about Heavy Rain in your comment. :)

~Mike :)