Heavy Rain [PS3]

Just finished the game once. Very satisfied overall. Movement is a little cumbersome, but it's not a serious problem because I never failed something because I can't move to my destination quickly enough. I do notice slight drop in framerate and screen tearing from time to time, but with objects and camera angle not moving quickly, those problem don't really look bad and wasn't distracting to me at all. I guess that's a small price for how realistic some things and scenes look. ARI office decoration is the best ever! :cool:

I think the ending I got should be among the best possible. I played the entire game with the medium difficulty and the game is just about forgiving enough to let me succeed in most things I want to do. Once or twice when I really felt I failed something important in a chapter, I just quit and try again. After finishing, I went back to a chapter to do things differently. It seems not all details of the story is revealed just by going through it once. I'll try to see all possible endings.

I'm glad this interactive drama got the investment it needed and I'd definitely like to see more games like this.
 
http://kotaku.com/5480606/sony-heavy-rain-selling-incredibly-well-no-need-for-ps4-yet

Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Jack Tretton seems incredibly pleased with Heavy Rain's reception with PlayStation 3 owners, saying that the newly released game's pre-sales were "off the charts,"
Click to expand...

It kinda depends on the size of his charts and expectation :), but I am glad the reception looks largely positive.

Personally, I hold Ethan and Madison close to my heart just because we went through so much (purposeful !) shit together. Madison needs boobs physics, and Ethan needs a shave badly throughout most of the game.

I hope they continue to polish the eh... format.
 
I just beat the game. It was incredible!

I think I got the good ending. At least I don't think it could have got any better than this.

Also loved the ending credits reel. It makes me want to go back and play it again immediately.
 
So is this pretty much the digital equivalent of a choose-your-own adventure story?

Or is there actual, proper gameplay, besides a QTE here and there or look around this room for clues or choose where to go, type stuff?

It looks more like an interactive movie rather than a game. I wouldn't mind picking it up if the graphics were better.
Have seen a few of the TV ads and I wasn't very impressed (aside from the animation). Am I missing something? compared to the likes of KZ2 or GOW3 etc.
But it's not really from a tech focused studio
 
(((interference))) said:
So is this pretty much the digital equivalent of a choose-your-own adventure story?

Or is there actual, proper gameplay, besides a QTE here and there or look around this room for clues or choose where to go, type stuff?

It looks more like an interactive movie rather than a game. I wouldn't mind picking it up if the graphics were better.
Have seen a few of the TV ads and I wasn't very impressed (aside from the animation). Am I missing something? compared to the likes of KZ2 or GOW3 etc.
But it's not really from a tech focused studio
Click to expand...


The graphics are terrific. One of the best impressive games for me this gen.

Not sure what you mean by "proper gameplay" but I felt more immersed in the action and the world around me that anything else I played recently. Including mass effect 2.
 
For some reason the graphics do not look as good in the trailers and ads as they look when you are playing it yourself.
The framerate seems much worse than in actual game, and overall they seem to have been chosen poorly from sections where the graphics are not the best.
The graphics are a bit unconsistent in Heavy Rain, in places amazing while some places nothing special. Some of the characters look quite bad even, fortunately all the main characters look good, technically ;)
In my opinion, UC2, KZ2, GOWIII... do look quite a bit better than Heavy Rain. Still, as a whole, Heavy Rain is an experience not to be missed if you're into games at all.
 
AntShaw said:
I'm starting to find the story pretty engaging. I like the transgressing between the characters. When I first was introduced to each in the game, I already devised a mental game plan on how I would play each one. I gave each of them a new fatal personality flaw. All except the PI. It's been fun.

I find the graphics to be an entirely mixed bag. I'll be pretty impressed at the environments (specifically outdoors) and then the next scene will be the complete opposite, chock full of jaggies and lack of detail (Like in the police station). The voice acting has been sub par at times as well. BUT, with that said, and with the screen tear, I haven't found it entirely distracting.

As to where I am:
I just cashed in my locker ticket at the train station and picked up the shoebox.
Click to expand...

Seriously, really? :???: jaggies in HR?
 
Got my Limited Edition yesterday and I'm enjoying it immensely. I also think it looks absolutely stunning. I'm especially impressed with the lighting and the shadowing. - looks so damn clean, in particular the shadows characters cast onto themselves. No pixelated, flickering low-res shadow-map mess anywhere to be seen. Great job with the character models and locations as well (even though some are clearly better looking than others) So far my personal highlight in terms of convincing character modeling and also the most believable emotional showcase was the guy behind the counter in the little super market. (the scene with the robbery which has been demo-ed to death)

Also: Madison's apartment is enviable (and stunningly realized). I wonder if there's a trophy for using/not using every toilet in the game by the way.
 
Sitting at work mulling through my memory...I remember noticing in the backyard, police station,
when I left my house to cash in my ticket, and in the the train station
. Granted I'm playing in an entry level 42" 1080p, but I've found the total package a completely mixed bag. And for those that are saying this is some of the best graphics this gen, I'm confused. We must be playing a different game. IMO
 
The visuals in Heavy Rain is very understated. I don't see any big set piece like in U2. The scale/complexity usually comes from the number of people doing stuff in a scene (e.g. train station, disco party. shopping mall).

IMHO, the most impressive character is the old man in the grocery store. Looks and feels very convincing and life-like, better than the characters in U2 and KZ2. The best scene is Paco's office
where Madison faked an orgasm while Paco looked on. That look is priceless. :LOL:
. In general, it is indeed a mixed bag.

I don't remember any scene with lotsa jaggies too (May be I didn't go there ?).
 
Sigfried1977 said:
Got my Limited Edition yesterday and I'm enjoying it immensely. I also think it looks absolutely stunning. I'm especially impressed with the lighting and the shadowing. - looks so damn clean, in particular the shadows characters cast onto themselves. No pixelated, flickering low-res shadow-map mess anywhere to be seen. Great job with the character models and locations as well (even though some are clearly better looking than others) So far my personal highlight in terms of convincing character modeling and also the most believable emotional showcase was the guy behind the counter in the little super market. (the scene with the robbery which has been demo-ed to death)

Also: Madison's apartment is enviable (and stunningly realized). I wonder if there's a trophy for using/not using every toilet in the game by the way.
Click to expand...

Spot on.

Shadowing is right up there with the very best. The vast majority of character models are fantastic, but there are a few that jar...........Its a shame they couldn`t all be top drawer. Lighting is indeed glorious in places! The overall IQ is supreme and its just a damn shame the framerate and screen tearing in places couldn`t be eliminated or i`m sure this would of been called one of THE very best (not a game breaker in the slightest, but when it crops up it just removes tou from the overall experience a bit).
As far as the game goes im absolutely loving the life out of it. Only nagging issue is the sometime clunky movement of the character. Coming from my game audio background, HR is a mixed bag. Voice acting in general is pretty mediocre. with ony one or two performances that do justice to the a particular character. Imagine what it would of been like with better performing actors!! The mind boggles. Another thing is the vocal samples are as dry as a bone, so it kind of comes across documentary style. and just doesnt sit right with the game. All the speech should of been processed to take into consideration location, so different reverbs, filters depending on character positions etc etc. Done right a further layer of immersion would of been added. Music is really good and very fitting, very similar in style to Howard Shore, and some of his earlier thriller scores.

All in all then it just touches the old 9 out of 10. i look forward to see what QD do next!
 
Yes, the lighting and shadows are very well done. As a result, the mood and atmosphere are spot-on. The characters also feel real. But HR will find it hard to compete with very dynamic games like GoW3, KZ2 and U2. Those games can dazzle the player with effects, fantasy and flying camera, while HR needs to hold the player down in everyday mundane activities.

What HR can do very well is to seed/plant a feeling in the player's heart and mind. None of the above could. At least I don't think GoW3 bothers.

That's why I feel that the HR visuals is very far removed from the gaming experience. Once I'm engrossed in the story, I see the graphics but I don't really perceive them. I am more preoccupied with the tasks on hand (or in my mind).
 
AntShaw said:
Sitting at work mulling through my memory...I remember noticing in the backyard, police station,
when I left my house to cash in my ticket, and in the the train station
. Granted I'm playing in an entry level 42" 1080p, but I've found the total package a completely mixed bag. And for those that are saying this is some of the best graphics this gen, I'm confused. We must be playing a different game. IMO
Click to expand...
The best? No. Flawless? Neither. But one of the best of sure, it has some bad moments yeah, but really I don't understand your point of views. And aliasing :???: how the hell you have seen that?
 
Sigfried1977 said:
... I wonder if there's a trophy for using/not using every toilet in the game by the way.
Click to expand...

There is none. Also, none of the trophies relate to difficulty either. The trophies seem to be all about choosing/succeeding/failing different things throughout the story.
 
What a wonderfully different kind of game. I fully applaud QD for making an interactive movie that works on a media that has a notorious history of failure.
 
assurdum said:
The best? No. Flawless? Neither. But one of the best of sure, it has some bad moments yeah, but really I don't understand your point of views. And aliasing :???: how the hell you have seen that?
Click to expand...

Fair enough, if you see not an instance of aliasing, it's a better experience for you. I'm having a tremendous amount of fun with this game and any aliasing or poor voice acting has taken nothing away from the experience for me. I've got pockets of free time this weekend and this will surely be one of the few games I take to completion.

I really hope this style of gameplay and storytelling sparks a trend and we see a ton of interpretations of this game.
 
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