Heavy Rain...

[Renegade_Turner]

Here here. Cross-platform games ftw.

[Lugaruman100]

I like how they went out of their way to make it an exclusive and focus more on cell tech. Beat the game, love it.

[Blorx]

I like how they went out of their way to make it an exclusive and focus more on cell tech. Beat the game, love it.

Same. =D

[Zhukov]

Well, I got to play this Heavy Rain thing after all. A PS3-endowed friend took pity on me and invited me over. We spent a lazy Sunday playing through it.

It was a turd. And a thoroughly disappointing turd at that.

For those of you who cannot play it for whatever reason, there is a way to get the exact same experience for a fraction of the price. Here's what to do. Get a thriller/murder-mystery movie. Nothing too good, just one that can hold your attention for the duration. While watching the movie, hit the pause button, immediately followed by the play button. Do this about every ten seconds. During an action scene, do it more frequently, perhaps every two seconds or so. And that's it, you're playing Heavy Rain. Seriously. I wish I was exaggerating.

So yeah, the "gameplay" in Heavy Rain consists of watching a CGI movie with quicktime events. The QTEs come in two varieties. Some just pause the action until you press the required buttons. These ones cannot be failed, which just makes me wonder why the hell they are there. The rest are your garden variety QTEs. However, failing them doesn't have much effect. Both my friend and I suck at QTEs and missed loads of them but we still got the super-happy ending.
To be fair, the QTEs are actually very well implemented. They give you enough time that you have a reasonable chance to get them first go and the buttons you press actually seem to match whatever actions your character is performing. However, saying "that game has good quicktime events" is a bit like saying "I have a good headache". They're still quicktime events, and they're still a pitiful substitute for actual gameplay.

Calling this stuff "revolutionary" is a joke. See, there's a difference between pushing the boundaries of a medium and making something in an entirely different medium. It's as if someone were to try and revolutionize cinema by making a movie that consisted of scrolling text peppered with the occasional picture. Problem is, it wouldn't be a movie, it would be a book on a screen. Well, Heavy Rain is a movie on the PS3.

So, what about the story? It's... well, alright... it's not great, but it has its moments. Unfortunately it is populated by a cast of thoroughly one-dimensional characters. Let's do a little roll call. There's Ethan. He's the parent, he has guilt issues. There's Madison. She is The Chick, she has breasts (and insomnia). There's Scott. He's a PI, he's a big ol' cliche (albeit a well executed one). There's Norman. He's a cop, he has a drug problem (and sunglasses). And that's all there is to say about any of them. A wholly insipid bunch.

Anything else I can pick on? Well, the graphics are quite pretty so I guess they're out of bounds. A lot of effort went into giving the cast realistic faces. Unfortunately some of them came out with a chronic case of uncanny valley syndrome. The voice acting is haphazard, ranging from quite good to verbal torture.

Oh yeah, and the one character that appealed to me turned out to be the killer. That sure didn't improve my opinion of the whole thing.

Now I'm gonna go remind myself what a game is by playing Portal or Deus Ex or something.

[/wall-o-text hate speech]

[Renegade_Turner]

Oh yeah, and the one character that appealed to me turned out to be the killer. That sure didn't improve my opinion of the whole thing.

That's what I thought when I watched "The Lovely Bones". Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz were a joke. Susan Sarandon had a small part and was actually very amusing in parts as the alcoholic chain-smoking grandmother. Saoirse Ronan did okay, at times her voice acting was a bit heavy on the cheese effects. However, the killer played by Stanley Tucci redeemed what was a very plain film other than that.

Get a thriller/murder-mystery movie. Nothing too good, just one that can hold your attention for the duration.

Or you could spend your money even more wisely and go to the cinema to see Shutter Island. Shutter Island is ten times the experience Heavy Rain would ever be.

[Blorx]

Zhukov, it's revolutionary in the sense that the characters are just ordinary people. It's a major step in the right direction for storytelling. Currently, it may be a lateral movement, but as always, you have to walk before you can run. That and...we all know Quantic Dream isn't the best for epic storylines.

However, I feel no sympathy for you and your disappointment in the QTEs. Any small amount of research, or previous experience with Fahrenheit, would have told you it would be like that.

As for affecting gameplay, the QTEs were all about what you missed, not how many you missed. I know I had a surmounted amount of frustration when I wasn't able to kill Mr Trigger Happy just because I missed one QTE in the wrong place.

[Renegade_Turner]

Zhukov, it's revolutionary in the sense that the characters are just ordinary people. It's a major step in the right direction for storytelling. Currently, it may be a lateral movement, but as always, you have to walk before you can run. That and...we all know Quantic Dream isn't the best for epic storylines.

So the storyline is revolutionary in that it has no notable features whatsoever. It's just ordinary everyday stuff. Kid, if I wanted ordinary everyday stuff, I would turn on the fucking news.

However, I feel no sympathy for you and your disappointment in the QTEs. Any small amount of research, or previous experience with Fahrenheit, would have told you it would be like that.

I would like you to point out to me where there was an indication that sympathy was asked for or, in fact, needed at any point. The fact that they did it with a previous game doesn't mean they have to use the same counter-productive game mechanic. If I wanted to bash something for a few hours I could just get a stick and go outside and start hitting a tree. I'd probably have a better time.

[Zhukov]

Zhukov, it's revolutionary in the sense that the characters are just ordinary people. It's a major step in the right direction for storytelling.

Ordinary or otherwise, they were boring. I do not think boring characters are a major step in the right direction for storytelling.
To be sure, it's good that they were trying to avoid the overpowered oh-so-larger-then-life badasses that populate most video games, but I think they overstepped the mark. They ended up with characters who consist of one motivation and one flaw and nothing else.

...

Oh I don't know. Perhaps it's just a matter of taste. Apparently some people liked Ethan and the gang.

However, I feel no sympathy for you and your disappointment in the QTEs. Any small amount of research, or previous experience with Fahrenheit, would have told you it would be like that.

That's, umm... actually, that's a fair point.

See, I knew there was going to be an abundance of QTEs. Thing is, I was expecting them to be a minor blemish on a fully interactive and generally good story. Boy, was I wrong. To quote someone funnier then myself, the QTE's weren't just the core of the game, they were the core, flesh, seeds, branch and the entire bloody apple tree.

As for affecting gameplay, the QTEs were all about what you missed, not how many you missed. I know I had a surmounted amount of frustration when I wasn't able to kill Mr Trigger Happy just because I missed one QTE in the wrong place.

Huh. Guess we were just lucky then.

[Blorx]

Ordinary or otherwise, they were boring. I do not think boring characters are a major step in the right direction for storytelling.
To be sure, it's good that they were trying to avoid the overpowered oh-so-larger-then-life badasses that populate most video games, but I think they overstepped the mark. They ended up with characters who consist of one motivation and one flaw and nothing else.

...

Oh I don't know. Perhaps it's just a matter of taste. Apparently some people liked Ethan and the gang.

To be honest, had I not been so tired of the oh-so-larger-than-life badasses, and just was commending their effort to move away from that, I probably would have hated Ethan and the gang.

That's, umm... actually, that's a fair point.

See, I knew there was going to be an abundance of QTEs. Thing is, I was expecting them to be a minor blemish on a fully interactive and generally good story. Boy, was I wrong. To quote someone funnier then myself, the QTE's weren't just the core of the game, they were the core, flesh, seeds, branch and the entire bloody apple tree.

Your point is just as fair. I just focused less on the QTEs and more on the story and hoping I didn't screw shit up. Another thing I know is that I screwed up like 6 or 7 times in the final QTE scene. I still got a happy ending because I didn't screw up in the wrong place. Then again, I played on, what was it, the level of difficulty that was like the 3rd one up. Not the highest, but significantly higher than the lowest. I have no idea what QTEs were like for the lowest.

Huh. Guess we were just lucky then.

Yeah, it was definitely a matter of placement. I made Ethan crash in the first challenge, and I'm pretty sure that it could have been avoided. I also know there were ways to fake every challenge. The outro credits showed us that much.

[ArmoredWolf]

It's boring it's always the same murderer. Anyway, have fun with your gameplay-less game.

[Renegade_Turner]

Reviving threads to contribute nothing to them seems to be your forté.