Heavy Rain [PS3]

yeah I had the same problem with the third trial... ended up screwing that one up.

 

The second half of the second trail was the worst IMO.

Spoiler

Holding down 5 buttons 5 times in a row, and quite a few retry's. But I did make it through it, although not without getting very frustrated with the game. I wonder if choosing a lower difficulty would have a difference in that scene in the amout of buttons you have to hold down.

Third trail.

Spoiler

Got through this one aswell. Is it just me or does he not do what you want to do, regardless of wether you're holding down the correct buttons or not?

It's the first and last trails I started, but in the end failed.

 

Which difficulty do you guys play?
I played the "normal" difficulty...and it was easy (but I did not switch to "hard" mode, because I wanted to make my decisions (and don't want my ability to press buttons make my decision )

Spoiler

I got the ending where everyone survives, except the killer of course!

The game itself is special in the sense that even my sisters (who really don't care for gaming at all) have followed the game when my buddy or I played...and have started their own game now to!

 

I played on "hard", which may have been bad choice in retrospect.

Spoiler

The killer was the only one to die in my play through aswell. Only Madison and the FBI agent made it to the killer. Madison being the one who discovers the killers identity, yet the FBI agent takes the credit for solving the case. I guess they didn't account for every possible outcome.

Comparing Heavy Rain to Fahrenheit, IMO, Fahrenheit at it's best is better, but also a lot worse at it's worst. It gave me a better sense of feeling what the main character feels, in the first half at least.

 

Spoiler

I consider this a shortcoming in the writing. The interview with Cage said the blackouts and origami in his hand are a "Macguffin".
The general definition of Macguffin I've seen used is a plot device that serves as a motivation for the characters in order to drive the plot forward, even though it itself usually turns out to be irrelevant and may not even be explained.
Cage would have us assume that, like a real Macguffin, we should let that sloppy writing slide.

The thing is, there is already a primary motivation for driving the plot forward: Sean Mars.
In addition, there's the creepy set of trials if that weren't enough.

The blackouts and origami, as written, are contrivances that are mostly unnecessary or could have been handled much more cleanly.
Their primary purpose--especially for the origami in Ethan's hand--is for the writer to play dirty pool with the players assumption of Ethan's innocence and sanity, which quickly becomes a waste as the interactive nature of some of the trials would indicate somebody had to be on the other side of the video connection.

The cleanest explanation I could think of is if Jason Mars were buried in the same area as the drowned brother, and Ethan in his loopy state trudges to the grave and picks up the origami left there. The kid's not there, as far as I've seen, so the blackouts and origami are a disappointing contrivance.

 

Many (good) stories use [more or less] unexplained plot elements at some point in the narrative. As long as the overall plot is cohesive enough, it's not that big of a deal.

 

Spoiler

It's not just unexplained, it's illogical or impossible. I'm not saying the game is bad because of it, but it is a cop-out that could have been handled more intelligently.

If Ethan is not the killer and doesn't even remotely know the killer, why does he black out wind up at the Carnaby intersection (repeatedly), have the dog origami (that very specific dog origami), and believe his alter personality is the killer for far longer into the game than the point you realize he can't both pass a challenge and reward himself remotely?

There is no sane reason other than the writer wanted to put his finger on the scale and weigh against the player's perception of Ethan because the plot as written cannot do it.

 

That was done on purpose and explained in some interview or was it some making of video. Basicly it's similar concept as what david lynch uses on his movies. It's pretty much a matter of taste if one thinks that as a successfull element or not. I'm thinking

Spoiler

it was good thing to add as it made the guesswork who is the killer much more difficult even if it was illogical in the end. That element basicly made me think ethan is killer right until the end making the real ending all that much sweeter

 

I addressed that in my earlier post. I don't agree with what he called it, as the purpose it was used for does not match how that device is used elsewhere. I would use Hitchock films and the more recent movie Ronin as examples of a good usage of the term.

"Unexplained" does not equal non-sensical or virtually impossible.

 

According to G4TV Heavy Rain has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide

 

1m is amazing for this type of game. I'm holding off on playing it any further until Move is out. I

 

it is amazing that the game has sold in those numbers. I'm really happy about that, hopefully they will do another one soon.

 

Spoiler

It's not a matter of taste. It's just bad writing. Nothing more than a cheap plot device. Lynch movies aren't even meant to make sense in the first place most of the time, so he can absolutely get away with weird plot constructs that don't make a lick of sense (Kenny dying at the end of almost every episode of SP isn't very realistic either, put it's an integral part of the show, accepted and expected).
HR on the other hand is supposed to be an interactive thriller/drama that's grounded firmly in reality. Cage just couldn't write a decent story to save his life is all. It's like if the movie Seven revealed that Brad Pitt was actually the killer at the last minute, praying that the audience would just accept that the first 90 minutes of the film that clearly pointed towards Kevin Spacey were nothing more than a decoy. Horror films often use plot devices like that, and then they are getting critically panned at imdb and rottentomatoes.