Heavy Rain Demo First Impressions

Heavy Rain is not your typical video game. That’s first and foremost. This game will rub some people the wrong way and some people who do buy it will end up wanting their money back. It’s not from the lack of graphics or entertainment value…it’s rather from the lack of action in the traditional sense.

You see, Heavy Rain is one big quick time event (QTE), to put it simply. The game plays out like a movie with commands for you to push a button or move the analog sticks in a direction to make your character complete a sequence.

The demo starts you out as Scott Shelby, a private detective hired to investigate the murders of the Origami killer by one the victims’ families. You start out walking down an alleyway into an apartment complex. You eventually make your way up to a room where a prostitute lives, this woman’s son was also murdered by the Origami killer. It should be noted that walking in the game is sometimes labored and a bit one directional. This makes the game seem less movie like and more video game like…which is a good and bad thing.

After interaction with the woman in the apartment building you exit the room back into the hallway. This is where you have a brief asthma attack in which another QTE will calm you down. While catching your breath against the wall in the hallway a man walks past you and goes to the room you were just in. He knocks on the door, the woman yells that she doesn’t want to see him anymore, the man pushes his way past her into the room in which screaming pursues. Being the PI that you are, you knock on the door again and ask if the woman is alright. The guy answers and tells you to get lost. This is where you can either push your way past the guy and enter the apartment or he’ll quickly close the door in your face in which you’ll have to be more persistent the next time.

This is where the game will make its money. The following QTE’s are some of the best in-game QTE’s that I’ve played in a game before. Once you get into the apartment you and the man are quickly thrust into a QTE fight in which if you don’t push the correct button in time you’ll get your ass kicked. The scene is pretty intense and pretty long for a QTE with it lasting about a minute and some change. Once you kick the other guy’s ass you’ll leave the apartment again gaining some trust from the woman. The game alludes that this woman may be an intricate part of the story. The demo then switches over to an FBI agent’s perspective at a crime scene where the Origami killer has taken the life of his next victim.

Here at the crime scene game play becomes a little different. You still have an abundance of QTE’s but you also have the ability to be the actual detective and search for evidence and clues in the crime scene itself. The FBI agent wear’s a type of glasses that allows him to scan the ground and his surroundings for clues, it also allows him the ability to scan these clues for blood samples, DNA reports, etc. Pretty badass if I must say so myself. After securing the crime scene and checking out all of the clues and eventually examining the body, the demo ends.

It’s a pretty short demo but it basically gives you what you need to know about the game. The graphics are outstanding, that’s the least of the game’s problems. My major problems with the game, thus far, is that in the dark spots of the game or even the dark levels…such as the crime scene one in the demo, it’s just too dark. I often found myself hoping I was going in the right direction following someone who was talking to. The game looks promising but it’s definitely not for everyone. If you’re into fast paced action, this probably isn’t the title for you.

Be on the lookout for Wiispace’s review of Heavy Rain once the game drops.