Heavy Rain for the Playstation 3 delivers a memorable cinematic experience.  From the moment you begin, it is clear this game is set to deliver an experience unlike any game before it.  Calling itself an interactive drama, Heavy Rain takes the player through perhaps the best plot of any video game so far.

The game revolves around four people looking for the Origami Killer, each with their own sets of motivations and emotional baggage.  The plot unfolds while you play as a private investigator, a journalist, an FBI agent, and the father of the Origami Killer’s most recent target.  The characters are each rendered in beautiful detail and with lifelike animation.  Each of the heroes will cross paths directly and indirectly at some point, assuming you don’t let one of them die.  The plot changes depending on choices you make and whether or not your characters survive.   Because of all of the plot twists there are several different endings each affected by how your story plays out. One wrong move can alter the rest of the game.  I would love to give an example here, but this game is best enjoyed spoiler-free.  Take my word for it:  you will be forced to make some tough choices that you can’t undo.  Ultimately, Heavy Rain can be boiled down to the question the killer asks Ethan, the father of his latest victim, “How far would you go for love?”

The control is interesting.  Most of the controls are quick time events (or QTE for short).  While you may not have heard the phrase, you’ve seen QTEs in several games.  God of War uses QTEs in its boss battles, when a button or action appears on screen, you must quickly complete the action or fail.  Even the previously reviewed Legends of Wrestlemania uses QTEs for finishing moves and reversals.    Although Heavy Rain uses QTEs, it is much more than a bunch of on-screen button presses strung together.  The motion controls of the PS3 Sixaxis controller immerse the player in the action at hand.   While the main controls are immersive, walking around is awkward.   The walking control is very 1990s, having the player hold R2 to walk.  Given the nature of the game, I can’t think of a better solution and find the out-dated controls for walking forgivable, perhaps even necessary.

The voice acting is good.  I would say great, but there are a few occasional signs that some of the voice actors are French.  It’s almost not worth mentioning as it’s hardly a deal breaker in such a great game, however you will notice it anytime someone says “anything” or “garage.”  The American voice actors do a top-notch job and balance out the occasional oddity.  The important thing is that the characters are believable, likeable (or loathsome), and convincing, all of which Heavy Rain does well.

This game will be mentioned years from now as an influential game and when discussing how to make interactive media.  It may have spawned a new genre of game/entertainment, the interactive drama.  The same methods of control and plot can be applied to any type of plot, not just drama.  What we have here is a game that has quickly carved out its place in gaming history, adding much more weight to the video games as art debate.  It will likely spawn a whole host of games that also feel like an interactive movie.  Heavy Rain is without a doubt worth your time.

Heavy Rain is available exclusively on Playstation 3.  It’s rated M for Mature by the ESRB for blood, intense violence, nudity, sexual content, strong language, and use of drugs.

About the author: Kevin “Mello Joe” Mercer is a former radio personality and a lifelong gamer. You can find him on Xbox Live and Playstation Network, Gamertag: Mellojoe. View the world as he sees it at www.youtube.com/user/mellojoe. www.myspace.com/charlesk