 "Photo: Courtesy of Quantic Dream")
With the new PlayStation 3 title, “Heavy Rain,” developers Quantic Dream continue their philosophy that video games can be a medium capable of delivering thought provoking stories on par with those found in movie theaters.
Like Quantic Dream’s previous title, “Indigo Prophecy,” “Heavy Rain” is essentially a game without gameplay.
Players can move the characters around, interact with objects and mimic prompts on the screen with their controller during cut scenes.
For the most part, the game elements only serve the purpose of giving the player some control over the direction of where the story goes.
The plot for “Heavy Rain” revolves around the hunt for a serial killer known to the public as The Origami Killer, named for his tendency to leave an origami figure on the bodies of the children he kills.
The main character, Ethan Mars, is an architect who is hit by tragedy at the very beginning of the game and puts himself through hell to try and prevent his son from becoming the Origami Killer’s next victim.
Other characters that players will control over the course of the game include an FBI agent with a drug addiction, a private investigator hired by the families of the victims of the Origami Killer and a woman with insomnia who happens to get caught up in the investigation.
The game’s story is broken up into six chapters, each of which is made up of a number of scenes that can vary depending on the actions by the players.
For example, in one scene FBI agent Norman Jayden and his partner are investigating the apartment of the suspected Origami Killer.
All of sudden, the suspect pulls a gun on Jayden’s partner and the player is given choices on how he should respond. He could shoot the guy dead right there, talk the suspect down by playing to his psyche, threaten the suspect to drop the weapon or simply do nothing.
Every action has its own consequence. If you do not shoot, your partner will question why you were willing to play with his life. If you do shoot, Jayden will suffer the guilt of having killed his first human being.
In some scenes, making poor decisions or failing the timed button press events can even lead to the deaths of major characters.
What is amazing about “Heavy Rain” is that even if a main character dies, the game’s story will still continue.
You just won’t be able to learn of any of the clues that character might have picked up on if he or she was still alive.
However, sometimes there is a feeling that “Heavy Rain” might have been a little too ambitious. Several important aspects of the game’s plot go unexplained and you are never sure if it is because you did not make the right choice somewhere down the line.
There are also weird audio bugs where the audio will just cut out randomly and then pick back up where it left off, breaking the lip synching of the characters.
Overall, barring “Indigo Prophecy,” there is not anything quite like “Heavy Rain.”
It is not for everyone, and especially not for those who don’t have the patience to stick with the slow parts of a story before it gets going.
Those who stick it out will be rewarded with a thoroughly intriguing plot of the same caliber as a big budget thriller movie with an immersion level only possible through video games.
Final rating: 3 out of 4 stars
Reach Mitchelll Satlzman at: lifestyle@thepolypost.com
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