Except of course, its not really a game in the traditional sense, and developer Quantic dreams would prefer the term "Interactive Drama". Either way, the experience is ambitious and very impressive, but not without a couple of niggles.
First off the story, "Heavy Rain" centres around the search for a serial killer known as the origami killer, who abducts young kids and leaves them drown in rainwater, throughout the game you take control of 4 characters intertwined with the search for the origami killer before he or she claims their next victim; Ethan Mars, an architect whos gone a bit schizophrenic after losing his first son; Madison Paige, an insomniac journalist; Norman Jayden, FBI agent with a drug addiction; and Scott Shelby, a grizzled old private detective. Not your usual save the girl, save the world claptrap then. Once the opening credits roll, the tone is refreshingly dark and does'nt let up and there is some impressive stroytelling at work, and the 'is he? isnt he' storyline had me hooked for most of the game, I wont say anymore lest to reveal any potential spoilers, but there are some gut-wrenching, shocking scenes (literally in 1 case) and difficult choices that would make Bioware proud.
The control scheme is different to say the least. gameplay is effectively a cross between old-school adventure (a la Grim Fandango) and Dragons Lair. In investigative scenes, R2 moves the character while left stick directs them, right sticks performs context-sensitive actions such as opening doors, pouring bottles etc. action and chase scenes are button mashing/quick-time event affairs. Norman also gets super-tech glasses to help find clues and give it an extra "whodunit?" feel. Strangely I felt that the control system suits this game perfectly, immersing you more into the movie-like environment, but it wont be everyone's cup of tea.
The graphics and character models are possibly the best I've ever seen. the "virtual actors" you control are the most realistic looking I've come across, and the likenesses to the real life actors Quantic dreams used are uncanny. the making of videos you can unlock throughout the game provide some interesting insights to Heavy rain's development.
There a couple of things that pull Heavy rain short of perfection. In a game this complex and ambitious, the odd bug might have slipped through. In one scene early on, in a crowded station, there was a woman in the background jumping around like a rabbit on steriods, nothing gamebreaking, quite amusing. However the random crashes were less so. At least checkpoints were regular so I didnt have to replay too much, but having to switch the ps3 off and on again and reload was irritating. I have the George foreman Ps3 though, I dont know if the new slim ps3 have the same issue.
also, the pre-release hype of choices affecting the story to provide many endings is a bit of an illusion. What happens during the game only really affects the epliogues for each character, the general ending i.e. the actual identity of the origami killer, is the same no matter what. its a little disappointing as I was under the impression that your choices can decide who the killer is, and you get a different person each time Cleudo style, not so unfortunately. Also this highlighted a few plot-holes, which again I won't go into so not to reveal any spoilers, but I'm sure many people would think "WTF?" as i did when the credits rolled.
However, this is a triumph ands does offer something new and refreshing. its defeintely worth experiencing the way it plays with your emotions and also just to witness the ambition on display here. If you have a Ps3 this is heartily recommended, youd be a fool to miss it.
Gazzy's score: 9 thumbs up
