Heavy Rain – Review

How far will you go to save the one you love? 

Developers: Quantic Dream
Publishers: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release (Aus): 25/2/2010

Rating: 9/10
Heavy Rain is less of a game and more of an interactive experience. Created by Quantic Dream, the team behind Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain features many of the same gameplay elements: The game runs primarily on quick time events, with players choosing not only which moves their characters make, but also their dialouge choices. The choices they make influence the plot, and ultimately decide the fates of the characters.

The plot itself is quite mature, being more than a typical murder mystery. The Main character, Ethan Mars, loses his oldest son, Jason, in the first act of the game. After skipping forward some years we come to see Ethan, now living alone, divorced from his wife, taking care of his remaining son, Shaun. Normally in a game or film this section of the plot would either be skipped or touched upon briefly. However in Heavy Rain, we make the choice. Do you choose to be a good father, and make sure Shaun is fed, does his homework, and gets into bed on time? Do you go upstairs and watch old footage of Jason? Do you go outside in the rain, and play basket ball? There are many choices in this scene and they all influence the relationship between Ethan and Shaun.

“There are some things which just have to happen, even if you don’t want them to.” Ethan says these words to his son Shaun after the death of their bird, Merlin, not knowing how central they are to the themes of the game. 

The the main focus of the story, is the kidnapping of Shaun, Ethan’s youngest and sole surviving son; his earlier son Jason is killed during the first chapter of the game where player and character alike are unable to save him. Ethan begins receiving clues from the mysterious ‘Origami Killer’ as to Shaun’s whereabouts, however he is not the only person investigating the killer, whose methods have enabled him to kill multiple children (he leaves them to drown in a storm-water drain during a particularly rainy season, hence the title). The story is ultimately a story about love, how much will a father do for his son, how love affects us and changes us, and the choices we are forced to make in difficult situations.

Ethan is not the sole protagonist, the other three being, investigative journalist Madison Paige, private investigator Scott Shelby, and FBI operative Norman Jayden. The chapters play differently for each character, highlighting their physical and psychological differences. If any of the characters die, there is no traditional ‘game over’ screen, rather the narrative will switch to another character and the game will play out differently because of this.

"Agent Nahman Jayden, eff bee aye”. Leon Ockenden, the model and actor for Norman Jayden had a humerous if effective New York/Boston hybrid accent which has endeared him to the fans. Jayden’s sections revolve around searching for clues and chasing leads using his ARI, ‘Added Reality Interface’; think, virtual reality in a pair of sunglasses.

“I’m a private eye. There’s nothing I can’t do.” Scott Shelby feeds a baby in one of Heavy Rain’s many quiet moments like these which give players an insight into the characters, and themselves, due to the choices they make. Shelby tends to search less for clues and chase more leads, often ending up in some manner of confrontation. 

“You go girl! ” Madison Paige is as interesting as the other characters, a surprising example in the field of video games where most female protagonists fulfil the role of ‘eye candy’. As a journalist she is arguably the most proactive of the characters, despite being unarmed and alone. 

“Everything I did, I did for love.” Ethan’s sections are the least combat intensive but the most brutal, making both players and the character question their determination. 

Heavy Rain like all stories does feature stock characters; the annoying criminal who always runs away, the bad cop who we love to hate, the bureaucrat  more concerned with his public image than the common good… Yet despite this the characters all help pull us deeper into the story, a story which is presented so uniquely that the game’s director, David Cage said:“I would like people to play it once…because that’s life. Life you can only play once…I would like people to have this experience that way.” …”I’m fine with [reloading to avoid a bad result], but the right way to enjoy Heavy Rain is really to make one thing because it’s going to be your story. It’s going to be unique to you. It’s really the story you decided to write…I think playing it several times is also a way to kill the magic of it.”.

There’s even a religious nut. 

The game also features an excellent orchestral soundtrack scored by Canadian composer Normand Corbeil.

Yet for all its shine and polish, Heavy Rain has many flaws. The Quick Time Events, which form a cornerstone of the game-play mean that during sections without these QTEs, everything feels much more quiet and lifeless, with players reduced to walking around. For all the praise the game received for its storyline, the removal of certain plot elements created unnecessary confusion, and there were times where certain actions could have been better handled. Then there’s the voice acting. While well done, its clear that many of the voice actors were not native english speakers, and this can be rather jarring particularly during pivotal or emotional scenes, particularly in regards to the children’s voices.


Speaking of the Quick Time Events…

Like in any game, QTEs are used to add a sense of urgency, and immersion, while making the game play feel cinematic at the same time. In this regard Heavy Rain succeeds. Heavy Rain however uses these QTEs for a different kind of immersion, immersing the player not only into the character’s action, but the character’s life and personality. This makes the game in many ways similar to the ‘chose your adventure books’ we all used to read as kids.

“I’m a father too!” Take one life to save another? The choice is yours as Heavy Rain presents the players with many pivotal moments that not only change the way the game ends, but reveal something about the player. 

Ultimately Heavy Rain is less of a game and more of an experience. Lacking in game-play at times, and with many faults and flaws, it is ultimately and engrossing and moving piece, with many layers of intelligent, inspired and innovative features that make up for its lack of polish in other areas. The most astounding feature being how effectively it asks the same question of the players that it does the characters; “How far would you go to save the ones you love?”


P.S. Which endings did you get?

Originally written for and posted on Comikkazee.
Posted on the 24th of January, 2012