Heavy Rain

I'm sure the game has gotten a lot of good reviews, although its the simplistic gameplay that puts me off. While it may be immersive, wonderfully told, gripping and all those other words associated with movies, it isn't really a game. As GR has said, it's pretty much a point and click game. I've played the demo and there are only two gameplay aspects - walking and QTEs. In that sense, the game deserves a 7 for not being as much of a game than rather a movie that lets you choose how its going to continue. I thought the QTE in the demo was brilliantly executed (where you fight Troy) and well thought through, although - as I must stress being someone who likes games - there isn't enough gameplay. It may just be that there's nothing to be good at - in a shooter, for example, you can get a lot of headshots but in Heavy Rain those gameplay aspects don't apply. As GR said (or something like it) 'it's not really a step forward in gaming narratives'. That's why it deserves this 7 and that's why I won't be picking it up - it's just a point and click.

Just read through all the comments its unbelievable the amount of fanyboism here its just there opinion doesnt mean you cant still go out and buy the game if you want to.

I played the demo, and the coolest thing is every time you start the chapters over you get new responses, new events happen.. It's not a normal game. I LOVE IT. (yes I wanna marry it,lol) Just kidding... lol.... anyways I really was blown away by the detail, my mom thought it was a movie. We just saw Avatar so she really couldn't tell the difference. I give this game/movie a 10.

Exactly what I figured. And apparently the bad European voice acting is ridiculous, too. Just what I was afraid of from a David Cage production. He needs to hand writing chores over to real writers, and focus on gameplay instead. recaptcha: tennis their

I respect your opinion regarding Heavy Rain. However, coming across your shower comparison I became completely thrown off. This game may not be interesting to you, but the quiz I enjoyed taking at the start of your review, has me wondering if you had mostly C's? Wow, your review just went down the drain, now I must find out for myself.

Heavy Rain is my most anticipated games of the year, if not of all time. I'm completely ready for a totally different gaming experience, not just point and shoot gameplay. I can't really sit here and argue that Gamesradar is wrong about this review. It's their own professional opinion and I utterly respect that. I just know that this is going to be my type of game; a deep adult story with (hopefully) great acting and writing. (Like I said I'm not going to tell Gamesradar they are wrong, but I'm optimistic that the writing and acting won't be bad at all)

Bias reeks within this review

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I would have to disagree strongly with the rating....give it a 9.5 at least! I know it's a jump from 7 but the game is not like any other game out there and it's so beautifully crafted not only in visuals and controls but in human emotion. I'm only 15% in and I cried and gasped! It has been keeping me on my toes at all times and my heart has been racing the entire time too! One thing I don't like about the game is the double standard of sexuality displayed. If I'm going to see a naked lady in the shower, or taking a piss- boobies and all, I'm going to want to see much more of the male then just a bare ass! Ethan Mars is a hot piece!!! (BTW is it just me or does Madison Paige remind you of Olivia Benson from SVU??)

Better than Indigo Prophecy; one of my favorite adventure games of all time? That's all I needed to know.

GamesRadar does not rate on a 20 pt scale. 9.5's aren't possible.

Fine then..either an 8 or a 9 would suffice. It's amazing

I would say the last 7 page of comment's are the reason why the industry needs games like Heavy Rain. It has, for better or worse, encouraged debate on the true form of games in general. And while it's obvious to forget, some of the greatest moments in games have come from cut-scenes, take MGS for example. Playing and watching Snake were blended in innovate ways where you still felt immersed in his adventure. Not to say Heavy Rain isn't interactive, just not in the sense we experience regularly. It's a shame then that it's exclusivity has put it under fire, because experiences like this are so uncommon amongst the glut of generic titles pumped out every week. Will we remember AVP or Dark Void in 5 years time, in the same way people getting misty eyed over Fahrenheit (sorry, Indigo Prophecy)? Here's hoping at least

I loved this game simply because of it's interactive factor. Without it, it would really be nothing special. Not to spoil anything, but there is a scene where Ethan puts himself through intense pain. If I were watching a movie, I'd probably just cringe or close my eyes. But since I was the one doing it here, I actually felt the guilt and remorse of doing it. Say what you will of the story's quality, but it's a damn immersive game.

God that was a long review but an enjoyable read. I agree with many of your points but still would've scored it higher. Personally I think it's a great game and experience and would love to see more like them, if perhaps a little better written.

Got anything nice to say, GR?

Thanks for the brutally honest review of this not really brutal pseudo thriller. Three things to add to your Most Distracting list: 1) Ethan's repeated non-inflection calling out his son's name in the prologue 2) characters who can't run even when they're supposed to be in a hurry - nothing kills tension like a character just walking around while ominous music plays and the split screen shows the peril they're in 3) the insane button-mashing mini-games to do things like climb freakin' hills! The technology of Heavy Rain blew me away, but if this was a movie on Netflix, I'd give it one star...

Worse game ever! I got this yesterday without reading any reviews and just going on a very well made TV ad- so my mistake i know. Yes the game is like a movie but trust me you would turn this movie off after 10 minutes! I did give the game longer than that but it was so dull, having a shower and playing with the kids isn't a game its life and its boring which is why we all play these games isn't it, to escape the boring lives we lead? No you cant make your decisions as promised its just another script, you cant even go where you want. I was expecting something in between GTA and Fallout and got something between The Trueman Show and a Church service, yawn. Maybe if you could slap your kids and get it on with your wife in the dining room, it would be slightly entertaining. If you do think this is a great game maybe you should look at your own lives because if mine was this dull, i'd be off to find a high bridge. For Sale one copy like new of Heavy Rain!

those voices and faces... just, not right.

I've gotta say this is the first Gamesradar review I was disappointed by. I've played through the game already, more than a few times and I like it a lot. And honestly, in my playthroughs I didn't really get this sense of pretentiousness everyone keeps talking about. Yeah, they call it "interactive drama" when it is, to its core, still a game. But god am I glad they're trying something different in a sea of samey garbage. I for one am sick of shooters, and the market is pretty freakin' crowded at the moment. But anyway. The sections with the gripes about story and all that jazz just sound like the complaints of "that guy" about a movie. You know, "that guy" who deconstructs each plot hole or just says something is "so unrealistic." Yeah, I caught all of them the first time through, but I didn't let them bother me. Sure, some of the scenes seem unreasonably acted, and no, I don't know what Norman Jayden's accent is supposed to be. But complaining about scene continuity is a little dangerous in a game like this, which offers a choice in almost every scene. Yahtzee Crowshaw didn't care for the story much either, and he too complained about the ending. But he qualified himself by saying that to do a game like this requires rewriting a scene many times. His game, which was to have six or so core choices would have had about sixty four different stories. A game with as many choices as heavy rains would have thousands. My point is that yeah, a few sequences slipped through the metaphorical story crack. But when so many were done right, I don't personally give a toss. And the complaint of "maturity?" Really? Yeah, that shower scene can be a two minute long boobstravaganza if you want it to be, but the controls for undressing Madison are the same as any other action in the game, and can be done just as fast. Is it unrealistic that a woman would be naked a) in the shower and b) in her own fucking bathroom? No. Bitching about that sequence reminds me of everyone who always complains you can beat a hooker to death in GTA. Yeah, you can do it, but you don't have to. It's totally up to the player. If you hit the first command in the shower you see her bare breasts for a brief moment, then she gets right out of the shower, just like Ethan. Poor taste would have been letting you walk around, or do the following (spoiler alert) fight sequence naked. Anyway I know no ones really going to read this but I wrote it anyway because I felt like it. In sum, loved the game, didn't really dig this review. But isn't that how it should be? hm.