Heavy Rain – Review – PS3

Heavy Rain is one of the most anticipated ps3 exclusive games of 2010, behind MAG. Does the game live up to the hype? Is rain really that heavy? Does it keep you at the edge of your seat, making you want to not put down the controller?

Story
The game is centered around the lives of 5 different characters. Ethan Mars, a architect who lost one of his children in a tragic accident to start the game. Scott Shelby, a Private Detective hired to solve the case. Lauren Bowles, a prostitute and single mother who had one of her children stolen by the Killer. Norman Jayden, a drug addicted FBI Officer, specializing in Virtual Reality, in charge of solving the case. Finally, Madison Paige , a seemingly innocent bystander, who meets up with Ethan along the way. There have been 8 kidnappings within the past 5 years, each turning up dead, drowned by rainwater. When Ethan’s other child disappears, it is up to the 5 to find out where he is. Ethan soon finds clues to play a dangerous game to find out where his son is. The story really is a good story though it does skip around not really focusing on one character’s storyline. It is like a drama movie, in a video game.

Gameplay
Imagine C.S.I meets a third-person adventure game. When you play as Jayden, some of the scenes allow you to use his Virtual Reality tool and investigate the crime scene for clues etc. R1 allows you to enhance the area around you. If there is something to be found within maybe a few feet, it will pop up as an orange bubble. The game utilizes the quick-time actions, where you need to press a button that is on the screen. Every fight sequel is one of these mini-games. R2 is used as a walk button, if you press the LS in a direction you will walk faster, whereas the R2 is used to walk in a straight line. The levels are broken down so that in case you want to redo the level, you can, being able to do the level without saving, or saving so you can do it again and again. There are at least 15 different endings for the game, each depending on what you chose to do during it. Most levels allow you to gain trophies by doing one or the other choice, for example you could kill someone or you could save them. Most trophies are easy to get, except of course the multiple ending one and a car chase scene.

Sound/Graphics
At times the sounds are a bit choppy and tend to not go with the subtitles of the game, whether it be too fast for the words on-screen or too slow. They also cut out. Voice acting really didn’t bring any big named celebs. Graphics wise, the studio did a pretty good job trying to incorporate the rain into the world. Some of the problems I had noticed were the freezing of the game, and scenes not loading, I could press the PS button and/or start, and they would pop up, but the level wouldn’t load.

Overall
If you like solving mysteries and want to try something new, this is a good game to get. why? because there are not that many games like this one, and its one of the most hyped games of this year

Pros

* AWESOME storyline
* hours of fun
* keeps you on the edge of your seat

Cons

* sketchy graphics/sounds
* gets somewhat difficult

Score: 8/10

This Review is based upon a copy of the game that was purchased by the reviewer.

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