Heavy Rain - SPOILERS GO UNDER TAGS

[Ghambit]

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

[caladein]

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.

[stray]

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.

[Falconeer]

It's not the place for this, so take it as a short derail, but I find this indie Casebook game fascinating. Later episodes are darker and grittier.

[stray]

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   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).

[Falconeer]

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.

[Rasix]

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

[AutomaticZen]

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

[stray]

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!

[Velorath]

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.

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.

[Velorath]

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):

 

[stray]

[Ghambit]

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.

[Velorath]

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

[Ghambit]

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.

[schild]

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.

[Ghambit]

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.

[Rendakor]

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

[dusematic]

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.

[SnakeCharmer]

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.

[Margalis]

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

[Rasix]

Not enough Master Chief.

[SnakeCharmer]

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

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

Not enough Master Chief.

Hur dur dur.

Originality is you.

In no particular order:

[AcidCat]

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

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.

[stray]

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.

[Falconeer]

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.

[stray]

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

[Velorath]

[stray]

[Ghambit]

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.  

[Velorath]

[Lakov_Sanite]

Imagine this game unchanged in any way involving gameplay.

Now, set it in the shadowrun universe.

Done.

[dusematic]

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.

[tgr]

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.

[Rasix]

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.



 

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