Heavy Rain

[vivisectvi]

This game is great, but there is a retarded amount of screen-tearing going on during gameplay and it's pretty distracting. Would it kill developers in 2010 to include some fucking V-sync to eliminate this kind of bullshit?

They patched Darksiders recently, which had the same problem, so maybe we'll get it for this one. But seriously, how the fuck do you not notice this before publishing the game for public consumption???

 

[vivisectvi]

Finished this the other night.. in the end it wasn't a very long gaming experience at all. I guess the other playthroughs are where you're supposed to get more out of it?

On the reveal of the killer...

Spoiler

Kinda caught me off guard at first as I really didn't suspect Scott Shelby at all and I think I was focusing too much on Jayden or Mars as the killer. I also think I kinda liked Shelby and he seemed like a good guy so he never entered my mind as a suspect. Good shit either way.

 

[AndrewTS]

Finished this the other night.. in the end it wasn't a very long gaming experience at all. I guess the other playthroughs are where you're supposed to get more out of it?

Well, actually...

But I'm going to make a rather bold suggestion here (and this is something David Cage, the director of Heavy Rain has himself said time and time again): do not play Heavy Rain more than once. Resist the temptation to go back and "try it again" after the credits roll. Even if you do decide to return to it, wait a while before you do. That way, you can better reflect on the story that unfolded before you, but even more importantly, you can better appreciate the gnawing sense of regret that you will feel over your mistakes. This is important because one of the central themes of Heavy Rain is regret and how it can affect us. For instance, central character Ethan Mars is haunted by the regret he feels over his son Jason's death, and it not only destroys his life and his marriage, it also propels him on his harrowing quest to save his surviving son Shaun from the Origami Killer. Lauren Winter, who is a relatively minor character, still manages to steal her own share of the spotlight thanks to her own personal stake in the narrative -- a mother who lost her son to the Origami Killer, she joins the hunt for the serial killer in order to deal with her grief as well as her need for revenge. Every character in the game is either motivated by or is forced to come to grips with their own regrets and that's what ultimately binds them all together.

 

[FLAM]

I almost bought this today after work, but the Toys R Us in Times Square always has a terrible selection of games, so obviously, they didn't have it. :/

 

[Thoth]

Having had the opening scene spoiled for me, I couldn't help but cry like a little bitch in the prologue of the game.

Spoiler

I don't know how many will agree with me, but the fact that you can choose how far Ethan will go "for love" is one of the better attempts at audience participation in brutality vis-a-vis the movie Funny Games or anything the japanese writer Yukio Mishima wrote.

 

[Thoth]

From what I have heard the story and characters draw you in so much that sometimes making a decision you think is the right one, will get a horrible result and will sit there feeling like a bastard for a little while and then unlike other games you just have to deal with it and move on.

Spoiler

Norman Jayden's storyline

is the perfect example of this.

 

[vivisectvi]

I liked the game and all, but it didn't get me emotionally invested enough to actually feel bad or shed tears over what was going on. I think the reason this kind of stuff doesn't work on me in video games like this is the entire "uncanny valley" thing.

 

[Lei Tong]

It may have helped that I played with French dialogue (since the game has the feel for it, anyway), and so wasn't as jarred by the apparently shaky English VA'ing, but I found myself pretty engrossed with doing things to the best of my abilities, and feeling pretty crushed when I fucked up.

 

[ViciousFish]

I felt fucking horrible

Spoiler

when I shot Nathaniel. I had wanted to save him and just hit a button.

My girlfriend nearly got sick

Spoiler

when I cut my finger off

 

[FLAM]

So, is this worth $60? I really want to play it but I also figured I could wait for it to get cheaper. But I kinda want to play it sooner rather than later. I'm a bit torn. I really want FFXIII as well, but am only willing to spend the money on one game right now.

 

[AntiLeaf33]

Since it only seems to be 8-10 hours, I may just rent it for a week.

 

[vivisectvi]

I'd wait til it's down $20 or so. I'm really not finding any replay value at all, even going through it a second time, it's really predictable and kinda annoying that you can't skip cutscenes.

Question for those who finished it...

Spoiler

Did I miss it or did they not explain why Ethan keeps blacking out and finding himself in the street with an origami figure in his hand? I don't think they do, which is kind of annoying..

 

[ViciousFish]

Spoiler

So got all the way to the end with all 4 characters, and then Ethan got gunned down by the police

 

[NoCalMike]

Yeah the game almost sounds like something you want to "try out" more than actually own. I want to get this, eventually, but I am not sure I want to drop $60 on it.

 

[fazzle]

I'd wait til it's down $20 or so. I'm really not finding any replay value at all, even going through it a second time, it's really predictable and kinda annoying that you can't skip cutscenes.

Question for those who finished it...

Spoiler

Did I miss it or did they not explain why Ethan keeps blacking out and finding himself in the street with an origami figure in his hand? I don't think they do, which is kind of annoying..

I haven't actually seen it myself, but

Spoiler

Apparently there's a version of the ending in which Scott gets all chatty villain, and explains that he was following Ethan around and leaving the figures with him, or something like that.

 

[Sabre]

I played the demo this afternoon. Am i right in thinking the entire game is a quicktime eventathon?

 

[ViciousFish]

Yup, but I found the story so well told and compelling that I couldn't put it down. That's probably though because I have kids.

 

[Sabre]

It reminded me alot of the "Shadow of Memories" game for the Ps2 back in 2001. Lots of running around solving the riddle.

Ill get it when its reduced.

 

[AndrewTS]

It reminded me alot of the "Shadow of Memories" game for the Ps2 back in 2001. Lots of running around solving the riddle.

Ill get it when its reduced.

We call it Shadow of Destiny 'round these parts, limey!

I'd recommend Dreamfall if you liked it and haven't played it yet (it's the sequel to The Longest Journey).

 

[fazzle]

I'd recommend The Longest Journey and pretending like you've never heard of Dreamfall.

 

[AndrewTS]

I'd recommend The Longest Journey and pretending like you've never heard of Dreamfall.

Oh ha ha ha

I see what you did there.

You see, things like that and things like saying that people who don't buy Heavy Rain are shooter-loving mongoloids who are too stupid to "get it" are why many people may view Heavy Rain fans as pretentious pricks and not want to have anything to do with it. BTW, I guessed who the killer really was just from a few videos I'd seen about the game and I was right. LOL.

I haven't actually gotten around to playing TLJ (I don't really like gaming on PC), but I'm interested because of Dreamfall. It may have put in things that were not done well and ultimately were pointless in the stealth and combat sequences, but mechanically it was very solid (stuff like the focus field) and is the sort of direction I'd like a 3D console adventure game to take rather than QTEs. Of course it was difficulty-free and the puzzles were no brainers but I enjoyed the characters and story.

 

[Matt Young]

Slightly off-topic, but Lost fans will like this. My friend Eric posted it elsewhere:

 

[vivisectvi]

Haha, that's awesome. Stolen for Facebook!

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

I managed to avoid spoilers for the past three years, and finally played this. HOLY SHIT at the killer reveal. I would have never guessed.

 

[ViciousFish]

Even after 3 years I refuse to go back and play it. It's just like being stabbed in the heart over and over as a father.

 

[oldskool]

I managed to avoid spoilers for the past three years, and finally played this. HOLY SHIT at the killer reveal. I would have never guessed.

Same here, a month ago. Didn't even know we had a thread for it. Got the same ending as ViciousFish, been meaning to give it a re-play.