zippdementia's Heavy Rain review

Really good review. I'm definitely one of those people who just kind of thought that this game would be bullshit or "not even a real game," but this review is making me reconsider. When I glanced at your blogs I kept thinking, "man, why does this guy have such a boner for this game," but you really capture the game's special subtleties here instead of just gushing praise. Since I can't be completely nice I should mention that "Me and my friend" should probably be "My friend and I," but that sentence does make a good point.

The gruesome deaths sound like something out of Saw though, which feels like a turnoff for me given the context the game has been placed in. In cases of games like God of War I would probably relish it, though as Heavy Rain is meant as something more serious and cinematic, I would foresee myself reacting squeamishly, since that's what happened when I watched Saw a few nights ago.

Hey, thanks for the feedback, Rad! I'm really pleased that it's making you reconsider trying the game. The point of my review is to get people to TRY Heavy Rain and I'm glad it's working.

Funny you should mention Saw, because it's nearly impossible not to draw similarities in the basic idea, if not the presentation of that idea. I'll play around with that section.

Oh, and I'll go change the "friend" line.

I'm torn on this game at the moment. On one hand, I hate adventure games (as I believe I've stated numerous times before) and Heavy Rain's gameplay looks horrendous to me. On the other hand, I'm genuinely interested in the potential of video games as an interactive storytelling medium. Trouble is, if you focus entirely on storytelling and forsake the game itself, then you've fallen into a rut. I wish more developers would find middle ground between the two (this is why I love BioWare games so much); it's maddening that adventure games are often the most promising in regards to storytelling but are also painfully boring to play.

I guess the only way to sell me on a game like Heavy Rain (if only partially) is to convince me that the plot is really good, and you've certainly done that here, so bravo. I might yet check this game out if the opportunity arises, though I can't promise I'll be fair.

Thanks for the feedback and the thoughts, Suskie. I'm completely aware that some people won't like Heavy Rain, but I don't think anyone will regret having witnessed its story.

Note: if the voice acting bothers anyone, you can play the game in French.

There's a reason I didn't read this - or any Heavy Rain - reviews until now, and even then, only to give you a fair shake in Jerec's tournament. I wanted to avoid the possibly spoiling the game for myself by reading a review, because, well, even if the reviewer avoids major scenes and twists, they can't avoid spoilers altogether simply because actual examples are needed to prove a point.

However, I was quite pleased to find out that you actually gave away very little. The bit I played of Heavy Rain really only extended about halfway through the opening - what I assume consisted of the demo - and I found the game quite fascinating. Thankfully, from what I've read of the review, you don't actually give much away beyond that original opening. There is a section in the review, where you're talking about the ways characters can die, that I kind of wish I didn't know about since that's something I'd have liked to have discovered on my own, but at the same time, I know that you really couldn't help it since what you described contributed to the point you were making.

In any case, this is a great review that really makes this game sound awesome without actually giving that much away. I still can't say when I'll get around to playing it, since I don't actually have a PS3 and the bit I played I had done at a friend's house, but... who knows.

Thanks for taking the time to read it, WQ! I seem to always be pitted in difficult matches and I'm not sure how this one will turn out (right now it's not looking good for the Homestar Runner) but I'm glad it got you to read it and I hope you get to play it and think about whether this is a justified review at a later period. It was a tough game to review! But Joseph's review does a very cool thing in taking a classic game like FF2 and giving it a new look.

I love that and I'm glad that I'm biased on this match up because otherwise I'd have a lot of trouble picking between the two.