Heavy Rain Comments by Oli Welsh

Will there be thumbstick shagging like in Farenheight?

I'm still not even slightly convinced by this (saw it a few times now at GDC's and what have you). It's too much like a QTE heavy cutscene rathere than an actual game. It looks beautiful but, at the expense of any actual control over the scenes. I would have preferred something akin to an updated Broken Sword style of interaction, rather than a simple point and shoot style of interaction i.e. you point the character at something and let them go off and do it.

Narrative wise it seems to be very movielike but, that hardly inspires any real interaction with it as a game.

A very good question Garulon....

Ikari

I really like the look of it. Something different to the multitude of shooters and racers out there.

This games got whats commonly known as 'Dragons Lair syndrome' written all over it.......

;)

Ikari

Past experience and cynicism tells me that this'll be a fairly decent adventure game that limits the nonlinearity to choosing between three different endings and a couple of minor differences per scene that don't really matter to the story. How many times have we seen stuff like this hyped in exactly the way Cage is doing for Heavy Rain, for it to ultimately be something fun but 95% traditional and in no way groundbreaking?

Jeez, people analyze games way too much these days.

It's interesting how, in so many walks of life, it usually counts against you to describe things as groundbreaking, seminal, behaviour-changing, paradigm-breaking and so on. Because it makes you sound like a cunt, for a start.

That doesn't seem to apply here, eh? Oh, wait. No, it does.

Jeez, people analyze games way too much these days.

People hype games way too much these days. If you're going to say your stuff is so special and groundbreaking, you're inviting analysis of what you're claiming. He could've also just shut up and delivered, rather than playing these "this is so special that you won't even see it" games.

@Domovoi,

That's exactly how we should think of this game. I know the devs are trying to promote it as an interactive movie, but I much prefer to think of it as the modern equavilent of adventure titles such as Broken Sword and Grim Fandango. And if there's a genre that needs both an overhaul and a comeback, it's adventure games.

Just a shame that this game isn't out for a long while yet.

Yeah but do your analyzing when the game is finished and on shelves then perhaps?

Not looking so good now.

I think it sounds great. Recently there have been a few good reasons to get a PS3. I might be taking the plunge sooner than i expected...

@rotmm

The one thing that Broken Sword and Grim had in common is that you felt like you were in control of your character. Fromk everything I've seen and experienced of this game. The one thing you don't feel is in control. It really is like simply triggering cutscenes then watching the results. Think of it this way. It's like MGS4 with the minimal gameplay removed!

triptocaine....
lol

@ penhalion

The problem being?

If you don't like the idea don't buy into it.

@penhalion,

I agree to a certain extent and I'm not saying the gameplay apes those titles, but rather that the game has more similarities with the adventure genre than any other.

@ZuluHero,

If this game is a defining title that will push you to purchase a PS3, you can still hold on as it won't be out until next year.

Yeah but do your analyzing when the game is finished and on shelves then perhaps?

Analyzing the game, sure. But since the pre-release hype is already out, we can freely analyze that, right?

@rotmm

Well "Trico" would be the 'defining title', but games like this help :)

Either way it seems i can hold off for a while longer, as you say :)

Give me Alan Wake any day of the week.

This doesn't look too convincing so far, especially after the promising of The Casting video - fair play for trying to do something different though.

Since they're doing another Nomad Soul game too I'd prefer they didn't focus on quicktime style events in that, I'd like it to be a more updated version of the original. Oh and more Bowie soundtrack please.

"holding down an awkward layout of buttons to emulate discomfort"

Please no shoulder button mashing...

@ZuluHero,

Well, "Trico" probably won't be out this year either :(

Since when is this a 2010 release?
Its out late this year according to every source out there, why do you think they are starting to promote it now?

So is this going to be one whole ‘press X not to die’ fest? It just sounds a little pretentious, interesting yes, but still pretentious. But then I only like killing things, blowing shit up, and saving the world when I play computer games. Should I wish to absorb culture I would rather take in a play, or a medium a little more emotive.

Comparing this to actual adventure games as Grim Fandango just doesn't seem right. Where does the thinking part come in when everything seems as straightforward as it gets with prompts and everything?

If anything I'd compare it to the Clock Tower series, even though that isn't QTE.

I still think Cage sounds like a cock, was mightily disappointed in Fahrenheit so I'm vary this time.

Edit: Just saw some new gameplay from it, looked like this scene. Wow, it was pretty bad.

@GreyBeard, "Since when is this a 2010 release?"

Since the producer was interviewed at Gametrailers and stated that to be the case.

I loveddd fahrenheit. From beginning to end.

And this has a motion-capped Carice van Houten. Hmmmmmmm.

someone bring an umbrella

Heavy Rain = David Blaine

Having seen it moving now, this looks like the graphics have taken a massive step back from what was shown before. It's lost a lot of what made it an attractive proposition given the type of game it is. The script I've heard so far really is a bit sub-par too. I was pretty hyped for this before, now... very much not bothered.

"So is this going to be one whole ‘press X not to die’ fest?"

erm... isn't that all games?

7/10 written all over it

also including a 400 page thread of people sore that another highly anticipated title for their machine has again failed to validate their investment

and then people laughing at those people

@rotmm

Having just watched at 21 minutes of GTTV, its Geoff Keighley who says "next year", not the producer. Which is odd as everywhere else (including the epic multi-part thing at 1up) is still saying late 2009.

"So is this going to be one whole ‘press X not to die’ fest?"

"erm... isn't that all games?"

That's like saying a multiple choice test is the same as writing an exam.

Cage really should be head of OnLive.

@ Goodfella

People like you really piss me off. Why the hell would anyone be looking at a hands-on preview of a game, without the intent of prejudging it/getting to know more about it before retail? There would be virtually NO point to this kind of article if everyone just waited until 'the game is finished and on shelves' - this is to whip up excitment, encourage discussion and speculation, to 'analyse' what we know so far.

Grow up.

p.s. - this game makes me want to get a PS3 :( Although, people said the dialogue in Fahrenheit was amazing, and that was a stilted mess.

Grow up?

Hehe, well done on using probably the most overused and ridiculously unfounded internet comment.

I was a bit sceptic about this. It does sound a lot better now. Not because this is a game I want to play, but because Mr. Cage and team seems to have some splendid ideas on how to visualize things. L2 for thoughts aye?

@GreyBeard,

I don't recall any of the articles or interviews over at 1UP stating a 2009 release. If I could be bothered, I'd go check, but I'll just take your word on it instead ;)

Fahrenheit had the potential to be amazing - but the insistence in using awful QTE's and the worst tacked-on stealth section in a game ever left a bitter taste behind.

@schachmatt

In any game, if i don't press the right buttons at the right moment in time. I'm going to die... Fahrenheit wasn’t an insta-fail if you missed a QTE remember. You were allowed to make a few mistakes.

From the video's ive seen HR looks no different.

They're making a game based on Chubby Rain from Bowfinger?

@Petulant_Radish

So trying to do anything more ambitious or different than the usual is "pretentious" is it?

You make me a sad panda, you really do.

I'm now once again unsure about this game. I think the facial movements and voice acting can hurt this quite badly, thats my main concern with all lip-sinc acting now in games, it looks a bit rubbish. Fair enough if its Killzone or Gears, I can ignore the fact its off putting but when its a drama/emotion driven story watching maniquenes acting doesn't quite cut it.

Personally I enjoyed Farenheit when it came out, at least the first half of it anyway so something else in that ilk would be great. I think the problem with this generation is I expected too much, the bar to be raised much higher than it has been and even games I thought looked amazed 2-3 years ago I'm now indifferent towards.

It's still 90% likely I'll still at least play this game, if not buy it on release.

Well, I've been quietly intrigued about this. However after seeing the video over on Kotaku I have to say the graphics definitely look like they've been dropped down a notch. It was also pretty much entirely QTE, and irrespective of whether they have multiple outcomes to them, they are what they are and nothing revolutionary.

Now I actually don't mind QTE stuff but they seem to have over hyped this. So far it appears to be nothing more than a next gen Fahrenheit.

These sort of games will live and die by their story and puzzle elements. Unfortunately that seems to have taken a step backwards since the 'point & click' days and been replaced with fancy graphics, voice acting and QTEs.

@Goodfella

There is nothing whatsoever wrong with good 'ol fashioned speculation. Forming a final opinion without seeing the final product would be bonkers, but speculation isn't the same thing.

@Gurgeh

If this game had 'GOTCHA SUCKA!' as a dialogue option it would be a day one purcahse for me

I'm not sure about this, shares my current standing with Alan Wake as a 'looks interesting, but what is it exactly?' game

I am rather sceptical about this myself, but generally I am all for encouraging designers who try to explore alternative gameplay paths and new methods of interactivity. For the same reason I can't really understand all the negativity steered at this.

Why, for example, is it labelled 'pretentious', when a game designer with enough money and liberty at his hand is trying to create something in tune with his personal vision, rather than producing yet another piece of software which strictly abides to the 10 commandments of a respective genre of which we already got numerous identy-kit versions out there? Sure, the whole thing might still fail (maybe because the vision sucked in the first place, or the gameplay doesn't deliver on the concept), but to dismiss it from the outset on grounds of 'pretentiousness' seems to me a bit -- well, pretentious.

I didn’t want to make anyone a sad panda, I am sorry. Perhaps I am mistaking pretentiousness for convolution mingled with a hint of minty passion, dusted with fairy flakes.

And Zulu, yes effectively a lot of games can be bolied down to ‘press X not to die’ but generally you have a little more interaction around it than pressing one button, though not having played this I have yet to see if that is the case, but from what I have read so far it seems like one big QTE, which I am not a fan of.

I would like to see my actions on a controller directly represented by a character on screen, seeing a cinematic after pressing a button is less desirable in my eyes.