f13.net

No spoilers yet. Just wanted to say this may well be one of the most atmospheric products ever created. I am astounded by fucking everything. EVERYTHING.

Quantic Dream has nowhere to go but down :(

All other adventure games need not exist :(

After playing the demo, I cancelled my preorder. 

Did they have a miracle launch day patch?

I didn't play the demo, what was wrong with it? Or rather, was there something wrong with you?

The graphics quality was poor.
The controller input to do something as simple as knock on a door were infuriating.

Haha what? This is probably one of the best looking games ever made.

For this, you are the problem. It might not be for you. I assume you didn't play Indigo Prophecy.

The early screens I saw of the game?  Beautiful.
The demo playing on a 1080p LCD TV?  Not so much.

Seriously, to knock on a door was some sort of wonkified press and hold triangle, circle, L2, and left stick to the right while rotating the 6 axix forward a couple times.

I get that it's less a game, and more an updated and mature chose your own adventure book, but blaryrrrg.   They Redundancy Department of Redundancy called.  They want their trademark enforced.

And, no, I never played Indigo Prophecy.

Seriously, don't be retarded. Knocking on a door takes as much movement with the right analog as pressing a button would.

As I've never played the demo, I wouldn't know, but I'm playing about 6-7 feet from a 37" TV and it's one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. As such, I'm not prone to believing you.


I don't even know what you're complaining about. Perhaps you need more stabbing / shooting, perhaps you should just go play MW2.

Trust me, I get what it is - or rather what it isn't. 

But don't say I didn't warn you.

Now I seriously don't know what you're talking about. Warned me about what?

So we can expect a Major Motion Picture (tm) adaptation before a PC port, correct? And in the unlikely event of a PC port, it will play like Indigo Prophecy.

I waited for this for a long time and I was expecting to be let down. I tried the demo two days ago only to find myself more excited than I thought possible.
It might be not your "kind of game", but this is absolutely beyond awesome and beyond beautiful. I preordered with joy. I think buying this one should be mandatory if you have a PS3. In fact, buying a PS3 should be mandatory after Heavy Rain's launch.

Loved Fahrenheit when it came out on the PC, and I'm >< close to buying a PS3 just to get this game (and to finally play the MGS4 copy I have lying about from when I initially decided to buy one ... but decided otherwise for a myriad of reasons). It's that tempting if they've delivered the same thing as they did with fahrenheit.

Before playing the demo I was very excited for a film noir style of game to come out, since we have had very little of that genre in any television, movie or video game medium.

After playing the demo, I'm excited about the "interactive movie with multiple choices" that's being presented. 

Additionally, demo spoiler, the fight scene was pretty intense.

LA Noire might help you on the first one.  It seems like it might be more than just 'GTA Back in the Day'. Surprising.

I played the demo, and must say, after Omikron: The Nomad Soul this is again, a gem by this group. A+.

I punched a hole in the wall after playing omikron.  I hope you mean it's better than that.

I am eagerly looking forward towards getting this title as well.  I think this one however will be a title I puchase for the PS3.

It'll only ever be available on the ps3, it's being published by Sony, so I'm not sure what you're implying there.

From the little I played, it had the good stuff from Omikron: story, different paths, consequences  and cool narrative.  Its also beautifully rendered and has an interesting control scheme. All the marks of this development house.

I haven't played a game like this since Dragon Lance (or whatever it was called) came out in the arcades, so I was a bit frustrated with it. I love the look and feel. It was a bit too dark for me to see in certain areas. Since no one else had a problem it may be my tv/lighting. I'll play around with it later.

I assumed that they would eventually publish a PC Steam version like Indigo Prophecy.  I hadn't heard that it was a PS3 only title.  Forgive my ignorance here, it was an assumption on my part.  I didn't mean to imply anything.

Sounds good to me, then.  Omikron had so much promise and an amazing world, but that games hand-to-hand fighting system would try the patience of the Dalai Lama, and the shooter segments weren't exactly fun, either.

This should help set the blacks: http://www.spitelords.net/2009/06/24/playstation-3-full-range-rgb-over-hdmi-explanation-test/

I have my PS3 set to limited on my LCD;  full loses detail in shadows.


There are few actual different paths / consequences.  You generally move straight from point A to point B no matter what you do in the sequence between.

It has a brightness setting built in (at least the demo does).

4 days to go. I am frothing.

4? Isn't it out tomorrow?

Falconeer = Euroguy

Tomorrow? Oh I hate you all.

After all my hype for this game, I didnt preorder.  Why?  It really felt like a rental game to me.  
Sure, it's got replayability... but not enough imo to warrant a $60 purchase.  I know one of QD's thoughts is to make it more episodic and lower the pricepoint, perhaps move to a digital model.  That'd be smart imo.

Btw, the preorder prequel bonus is delayed till March 4th.  (another reason I didnt preorder)

Heavy Rain - Dude At Home Simulator was surprisingly compelling.  Contols aren't bad at all.  I can see myself fudging a few hadokens however.

I've only played for 20 mins and already think it's insane. [edit] In a good, meticulous sort of way.

Get truckin' and this won't be a problem.

One more thing, I have never been this delighted installing a game before.  VERY SPECIAL EXPERIENCE.  Never buy this used.

Yea, they nailed it, though I didn't do any folding.

Is there no hope for me playing this game if it's in my Gamefly queue?

Sometimes I got lucky getting new games near their release dates, but most of the time... no.

Your best bet is probably to empty out your queue except for Heavy Rain and just wait for the first batch of returns.

I dig the cop/detective parts more than the rest. Shelby in particular is a righteous badass.

Also, would love to see Quantic's games get popular enough to be copied. I don't think they have the time to explore different stories too much on their own.. There's so much potential with this formula.

It's not the place for this, so take it as a short derail, but I find this indie Casebook (http://areo.areograph.com/node/28) game fascinating. Later episodes are darker and grittier.

edit: ending spoiler specifically. dont' read unless you've beat it.


[edit] Taking a look at the extras.. kind of cool that they motion captured every single actor doing the voice work. Here I was thinking they were just kind of CG carictures.. Like I thought Jayden was supposed to be some cross between Del Toro and Marky Mark  :oh_i_see: Turns out the actor looks like that. The model for Madison is more attractive in real life btw (longer, blonde hair.. lighter skin.. fits the face better).

So, seriously, just me and Stray got this? No, worse, just me and Stray like this? I just got it and I am patching while I type. Finally, oh finally.

I got it.  Might BIIF it.  I have mixed feelings (so far, but not far in), but it's definitely compelling.

Ethan Mars is the worse dad ever.  Even when I tried to go out of my way to make him awesome.

How much more awesome does one I have to be. I went to hell and back for my son!

It's just a hard game to discuss without spoiling anything.  Also, I haven't finished it yet, so I'm not sure how well the story as a whole holds together.

Ok, I've finally finished and my overall reaction is very positive.  Curious to see where Quantic Dream goes from here, since Cage says this will be their last game involving serial killers.  I could nitpick the controls (the six axis stuff in particular occasionally didn't register when I was doing a gesture correctly), but the game tends to allow for a decent amount of fuck ups without screwing yourself too badly so it was never more than a small annoyance. 

I really enjoyed the characters and the story, but there were some moments that fell a bit flat for me, and a couple scenes in particular that just really didn't work at all.  Major spoilers follow so don't read unless you've beaten the game already (or if you're worried about reading stuff that might not have happened in your playthrough):

 

Is there any particular reason why most Blockbusters have only ONE COPY of this game?
Are they really that fail these days?  geez.  They really dropped the ball on this one.  Imo Heavy Rain was practically designed for the rental world.
The pubby must've put a limit on their boxes.... only explanation I can think of.

I can't really say that I have any sympathy for you.

Dont want to pay $60 to see or even PLAY a movie.  (shrug)  No matter how good it is or how much I wanna "support" the devs.

You bought and enjoyed Global Agenda, I don't know what you're trying to say here, particularly on the topic of possible standards for what's worth $50-$60.

Hell no I didnt buy GA.  I alphaed/betaed it.  And similarly (after having tested GA) I warned in that particular thread that they were pushing it asking the prices they were.  Even at that pricing though, GA is a better buy.
Hey, I'm not knocking Heavy Rain... I drank the cool-aid long ago for this game.  But, it's just not a $60 game.  Maybe if they were able to kill off services like Gamefly, Blockbuster, and Gamestop's used market they could shave off some cost - I dunno. 

Small, episodic adventure games (especially live motion ones) just simply should not be $60.  Even Quantic knows this.  Perhaps the pricing is reflective of this "new" type of game.

The pricing is reflective of market standard for new PS3 games, nothing more.

Heavy Rain is awesomer than fuck.  It's like a modern 3D take on adventure gaming of yore.  Like if the  Lucas Arts of yesteryear made an adult themed noir mystery adventure game today.

It's not a game, but I knew that going in.  Even that said, what a complete disappointment.


What a terrible experience.  All the 'press this button then press this button whilst contorting your fingers in odd positions' QTE bullshit took me away from the action on the screen, and instead focusing on whether to hit the X, O, or whatever at the appropriate time.  That shit sucked in TFU, it sucks in this 'movie game'.

And spare the 'well you should just go blow shit up on MW2 because you clearly don't get this game' comment.  There's nothing to get.

I want my $65.90 and ~20 hours back.

Did you not know going in that it was QTE the game?

Not enough Master Chief.

Yeah, I knew, and was hoping everything else would be enough to make it bearable.  Unfortunately, 'everything else' pretty much sucked really, really badly.


Hur dur dur.

Originality is you.

In no particular order:

I have never been a fan of QTEs in other games, where they felt like an added on gimmick. However with the whole game being dedicated to that kind of control scheme, I think it works beautifully. Hopefully they fix this PSN fuckup so I can actually play tonight.

It could have been a bit harder (although some scenes were thrilling enough), but I think he's making it worse than it is. The QTEs are intricate enough to not be Dragon's Lair or some shit. Not Street Fighter either, but what the hell.

So far, I am loving it. I love movies so yeah being able to interact with one is a kind of experience I am very happy with.

But I don't think I would be taking away anything from Heavy Rain if I say that I probablly liked Fahrenheit more. So far.

I liked that Fahrenheit had one protagonist.. and a cooler one at that. Didn't really like Ethan in this. The cops were more interesting to me.

I think it'd be cool to see a game like this in a sci-fi setting.. like the kind with investigators and intrigue. Total Recall, Bladerunner,etc

For once I'd like to see a game like this that isnt some kind of crime drama or mystery theatre.  Something along the lines of a Final Fantasy clone, but with only the cutscenes.   :grin:

Imagine this game unchanged in any way involving gameplay.

Now, set it in the shadowrun universe.

Done.

I don't get the "this game is just a movie" criticism.  First off, there is a space for that in the gaming ecosystem.  Secondly, how the fuck is this game any different than an oldschool adventure game with souped up graphics?  You walk around, interact with shit, find clues, and occassionally perform feats of manual dexterity.  It's exactly like a modern day adventure game.  With less puzzles.

I see absolutely no problem with "the game is just a movie". I've wanted more games like that since the first time I played metal gear solid way way back, and I'm >< this close to buying a PS3 just so I can play MGS4 and heavy rain. This is precisely the kind of game I'd expect to be developed to actually take advantage of the pad, instead of churning out tons of FPSes which piss off demanding PC gamers.

I also expect that this structure will make it that much easier for them to find bugs in the gameplay as well, as there's only so many ways to combine actions, so once they've perfected the base concept, the main problem is creating content. I'm mostly excited about this.

Finished this.  Got the "best" ending.. sort of.


A very enjoyable experience.  Not sure if it's worth $60 bucks enjoyable, but I didn't pay that much anyhow and I wouldn't really feel cheated if I did.  This game is an incredible accomplishment and I hope Quantic Dream can keep this genre alive.  There's so many places you can take this other than just serial killer cases.  

There were some pretty nasty plot holes and some bad voice acting/dialog (mostly Jayden, Lauren, the pyschologist and the police), but they managed to not ruin the experience.  The QTEs overall were not that bad and I'm terrible at QTEs.  Like I had predicted, I flubbed most of my hadoukens but otherwise I was given enough time and most movement were easy enough at the the hardest setting.  The tilting actions with the sixaxis were the most difficult.

Reading some of the spoilers here, I think the story could have branched better in certain spots but mine managed to fit together quite well.



 
edit:

This discussion is not very fruitful for someone who hasn't even started on Heavy Rain yet.

It's hard to really talk too much about this game without spoiling it.  The game is a collection of moments, character choices, and plot developments.  Not much else to talk about other than QTEs, voice acting and animations.  The facial animations and animations in general are just fantastic.  Can you imagine how bad this game would be with Bioware or BethSoft facial expressions or animations?  The side pain from unintended laughter would be too much to bear.

There was one part that made me laugh because of expressions though.. That was

Yah, that was bad.  Given the technology used, I think it was totally on the actor.  A lot of shit you can give this game can be laid at the feet of the actors.  Only two, IMO, gave very good performances:  Madison and Scott Shelby.  Some of the bit parts did pretty decent also, but I think they were given outrageous enough personas that it was easy enough to pull off.

Otacon.. haha yah. I remember that.  God, that was bad.  No one ever pulls off a man crying without it looking completely shitty.  Strong men also cry.

Oops, I meant "yet both were done well despite those things".

Anyways... hmm.. I'm not sure how I would act exactly in Ethan's case. Otacon is just a wuss though. And to do it in front of Old Snake and Raiden makes it worse. Heh

The animations in-QTE are pretty good, but the walking around like a robot kind of makes that not matter.

Finished this last night and finally getting around to reading the spoiler tags here...

The next generation of these games will use tech. like Multiverse's "remix" (ala Avatar) or that ULive/quicktime guy's "Contour."  Then we wont have facial animation issues anymore... or char. animation issues at all.  As good as HR is, it still has that "Uncanny Valley" feel to it and it tends to ruin the experience sometimes.  It's CLOSE to being playable in front of a crowd, but not quite yet.

I hear there is a way to get Madison naked on the PS3...

Pretty much the whole point behind the game is trying to get your characters to do phucked up things... over and over.

There's a way to make her perma nude from some bug.  But she manages to get naked a few times on her own.

Considering half preview videos I've seen with Madison in them involve her looking like an American Apparel ad, I am unsurprised by this.

There's shower video (NSFW) (http://www.jeuxvideo.com/extraits-videos-jeux/0000/00004460/heavy-rain-une-douche-et-au-lit-hd.htm) of her that's been floating around since before the game even came out.

I clicked and I lost all self-respect.

Done trolling yet?

Yeah with everything else looking so good and being very immersive, it was kind of annoying at times when your dude moves in that awkward I AM A VIDEOGAME CHARACTER BEEP BOOP way. My wife watched my playthrough and I would generally try to be smooth but there were definitely some moments of unintentional laughter.

I think it's the way that your head turns where ever you're looking but the walking animation stays static.  Plus, there's not a lot of fine control over the walking so you can overshoot something easily (or take a wrong turn, etc) and have to walk back; all with your head still craned in some direction. 

Just finished. Great game, great product, great time.

My story, what I did wrong (and I am going to change in my second run):


I was so hyped up that as soon as I finished it I played the first downloadable Chronicle. The Taxidermist. It's all about Madison and

End game spoilers.

Heavy Rain broke into the NPD top 10 sales for Feb. (at #10) with 219.3K sold.

Finished last night, came to read thread.

You all taunt me with these spoiler tags. Maybe I should rent it.

Loved it. There were some really intense scenes where you nearly forgot that it was a game. Suffers from bad writing at times unfortunately.

For the amount of work such a game needs Eur 70 are justified but not for the amount of content. 7 to 8 hours for one playthrough for something that's basically an interactive movie/adventure (albeit one done RIGHT) doesn't seem right somehow. Especially when something like FF XIII or Just Cause 2 costs the same but offers more game time for your bucks.


A sequel in my opinion should offer the following things.
- More story, 7 to 10 hours is just simply not enough for a full price Eur 70 game in my opinion
- Better story, the pace is high enough that you don't stop and think about the plot very much until the end but it has some huge holes in it and is not very well written.
- Make your choices matter more, branch out the game more. Sure depending on your choice you get to or miss certain locations or some people are alive/dead but those are rather superficial choices. Especially since nothing Ethan does has any real consequences (not even killing a guy).

If you want to support the gaming experience buy it now. Otherwise wait for a while until the price is reduced.

Don't really feel like I missed much by just watching the game played by someone else on youtube.  I definitely liked watching all the alternate paths and endings, and pretty much blazed through it being really interested in seeing them all, but I don't see why actually playing the game makes it better than watching it.

Someone else brought this up regarding GoW3 and I thought they were a bit loony.  Here I think it makes sense though.

As bad as I think that sort of thing is with GoW3, I think it's even worse here.  Not so much because you miss out on the gameplay (which some people like, and others aren't too fond of), but because the whole point of the game is to make decisions and then see how they play out.  Watching someone else show all the different ways the story can branch really takes the fun and tension out of it.  Now even if you were to play it, you've pretty much ruined the whole experience for yourself.

I watched a complete playthrough without any reloads first, and I found the choices and actions of the person playing pretty reasonable and likely to have been my own.

Then I watched the endings and alternate paths, which I would have done, but done much more slowly, had I actually owned and played the game.

I'm pretty happy with my decision.  Of course I don't own a PS3 so it was an easy one  :oh_i_see:

Finished the game after playing consecutive nights of 8 hour plus time on my one and only run through and loved the game... and I normally hate qte games.  Hell I bought a PS3 for this game and feel it was worth it.