With E3 2012 and Quantic Dream's announcment of a new title drawing ever so close, I thought now might be a good time to look back at Heavy Rain…
Maybe it was the mysterious origami bird with a bit of blood on it or the sullen gray faces that loomed in the background of the cover that led me to pick up a dusty copy of Heavy Rain from a side table in my friend’s apartment. I had loosely paid attention to news and updates on the game during development and was impressed by the trailer but a year from release and it had been all but forgotten. I asked to borrow it and that night began to experience the amazing drama that Quantic Dream had created.
Enter the life of Ethan Mars, a seemingly successful architect, husband and father of two sons. Ethan wakes up in his house on a beautiful day and goes about his daily routine while waiting for his wife and kids to return home. Take a shower, shave, brush your teeth, get dressed and go to work in the downstairs office. These base tasks give you a chance to become familiar with Heavy Rain’s difficult-at-times control scheme. If unsure what to do, guidance is as easy as a button press that brings up a thought bubble, press a corresponding button and Ethan will explain what’s on his mind and what needs to be done. I later found that one of the games main criticisms was indeed its slow start. If you are a run and gun type of gamer you may find yourself somewhat bored during the hour or so prelude however, what I found is that the calm and basic setting of this sequence gives an outstanding and tragically beautiful contrast to the hardship that follows Ethan throughout the game. Think of it as a chance to see the sun before the dark clouds roll in.
Without revealing too much, the story shifts from one of peace to complete strife due to a tragic accident that will haunt Ethan and all but destroy his life. The compelling score that reflects the torment of Ethan’s inner psyche lulls you into a morose comfort zone of a sort as you jump forward in time and reacquaint yourself with a darker and more sullen Ethan Mars.
Just as you settle yourself in for the challenge of figuring out what has happened since the incident and dealing with Ethan’s new psychological issues, the perspective changes and you are Scott Shelby, a former marine and ex-cop turned private investigator. His disposition is somewhat pleasant despite the fact that he is suffering from asthma and on the hunt for a murderer of young boys called The Origami Killer. This new angle gives a more broad perspective as to the current events of the in-game world and also a chance for an introduction into Heavy Rain’s action sequences which are similar to Fahrenheit aka Indigo Prophecy, an earlier released title by Quantic Dream. These sequences involve reflex button-pressing to perform physical actions such as evade, attack, catch falling objects, etc. The pace is suddenly quickened as you save a prostitute from being beaten up by a thug. Scott is the old fashioned good guy of Heavy Rain and offers a reprieve from the grief of Ethan and after all the drama, getting to beat up a bad guy feels pretty great. It should be mentioned that by this time your choices in game will begin to affect how the story unfolds. Heavy Rain is extremely adaptive to the point of simple dialogue choices making a huge difference in how a certain situation plays out. This adds a lot of tension and you may find yourself taking more than a little time to think about what you want to do. The effects of making the wrong choices can vary from a conversation going sour to watching someone die. What you will never see is a ‘Game Over’ screen. Quantic Dream did a great job of making Heavy Rain completely immersive in that, while what you do in game can cause extreme changes to the story, you will never be removed from the story.
Soon after getting a look at things from the eyes of old Scott, you will be digging in the mud for clues as Agent Norman Jayden. Jayden also suffers from an illness and is after The Origami Killer but, unlike Scott, Jayden is an active agent in the FBI and sports a very interesting pair of glasses that augment reality and allow him to access utilities for tracking down clues and piecing together information.
Last but not least is Madison Paige, a victim of insomnia and frequent nightmares that will provide the player with some very intense segments that require quick thinking. Fairly early in her story she meets our old friend Ethan and eventually begins to help him put the puzzle together that is Heavy Rain.
I have no regrets about picking up Heavy Rain. It is truly an experience if you are a fan of intense drama, psychological thrillers or just story-driven gameplay. Quantic Dream found a way to blend all three of these ingredients into a completely immersive world seen through the eyes of four characters that will stop at nothing to track down a killer.