Heavy Rain Demo

[Zipp]

I spent a lot of time playing the demo today. For anyone interested in a comprehensive look at how Heavy Rain plays and whether it will hold up to the hype, check out the following link:

http://www.honestgamers.com/zippdementia

[Zipp]

NOTE: I'm going through and fixing up some basic typos right now. Sorry about that.

EDIT: Done.

[Necrotic]

Loved the demo. The approach to how the game handles context-sensitive actions feels more intuitive than any other game I remember playing. It doesn't seem groundbreaking, and it really isn't something we're unused to, but it uses them in such an intelligent way it makes the concept of timed button pressing kind of feel new again. I've never had more fun doing what is essentially quick time events.

The fight scene was a lot of fun, I look forward to more moments like that. I liked the sort of contorted feel of pressing the buttons in a certain order when climbing the muddy hill as the agent, too, or how it feels to try and keep him from losing his footing as he climbs back down. It simply feels natural.

Walking does feel sort of strange though. Holding the trigger down to walk... got used to it, I can see why they did it for practicality reasons given the camera angles and controls. But it never quite feels fully comfortable. Also, the words that whir around your head when choosing what to say isn't always clear about what's intended. Some minor gripes.

The atmosphere, the voice acting, the dialogue? Quite absorbing. Better than anything I've seen in an interactive adventure game for a long time.

After reading 1up.com's review and playing the demo, I can't wait for the full game.

[Strike911]

Don't get me wrong, I want to own the game (and I will) but I'm just not as enthusiastic about it as I was after playing the demo. Some of these scenes in the demo were really cool, but the walking is clumsy for as cinematic as the game is aiming to be. Moreover, the voice acting doesn't really match up with the facial expressions (non-verbal emotions) of the characters at times, particularly the woman in the first demo stage, which broke the immersion for me at times. The voice acting didn't feel on the button at all times, either. In all these instances, it broke the immersion for me since the game tries so damn hard to looking real. It looks great, but small details really stick out when they don't look natural, and I guess that's just the uncanny valley for you.

I see how this game could have a really interesting story-based experience (the story is what this game is about after all) but it just feels like it's missing some of the polish I've become used to AAA games, merely because its trying to be so realistic. Again, every time I had to make my character walk I lost the immersion... I had to try and make the walking look natural on my end by using the controller, which honestly isn't my responsibility as the player.

I hate to make film comparisons but the demo almost felt like an indie art film. I enjoyed the demo all in all, but it definitely lacks polish in a few small areas.

Still will be a day one purchase for me.

Hell, if those are the only flaws then I can deal, since the rest of the experience was stellar. The game offered a lot of intense situations that were really compelling to play through. At the end of the demo, I wanted to know more, which is the mark of an interesting story.

EDIT: Maybe my loss of immersion can be solved by playing the game longer lengths. Maybe I'm just not used to the way the game works yet... its definitely not traditional (in a good way: it's a breath of fresh air). I don't want to come across like I didn't enjoy the game, but I noticed (after the fact) that my post was mostly negative words. So no hate, here!

[Zipp]

I think you have a good point about it feeling like an indie film, Strike (especially as I'm surrounded often by amateur indie film projects and try hard to not be amongst their number). Sadly, I think that's better than the majority of video game writing and direction.

Very few games have had amazing scripts. Only a few come to my mind. Longest Journey, Uncharted 2 (which wasn't anything DEEP, mind you, but fit perfectly for its genre), parts of the Metal Gear Solid series, and maybe FFX depending on who you are. ICO, too, but that was because it was so damn minimalistic. Oh, Blade Runner, as well.

[Necrotic]

Longest Journey

THANK YOU for acknowledging this game. It's has writing far and above almost any other adventure game I've played.

Grim Fandango needs to be given credit for its writing too. Brilliant stuff.

And yeah, I can agree with the whole indie film feeling. Indie films can really be categorized into good indie and bad indie though. Strangely enough, as an (obviously unintentional) symptom of the occasional uncanny valley-ness of it, it sort of reminds of David Lunch-style good indie. David Lynch doesn't often focus on good acting, and instead he focuses on feelings, symbols, acting quirks, speech quirks, abstractness, or interesting cinematography. And yet many people consider his films masterpieces.

Regardless, I feel much of the stuff going on is quite convincing a majority of the time. I played on an SDTV at first and noticed that on my roommate's HDTV, a lot of the problems I had with voice acting and other nuances that seemed to be less noticable in HD, strangely. You'd think the opposite would be true.

[OverCoat]

inb4 PRESS X TO JASON etc

[Dissidia]

I heard you can drink orange juice in this game.

[Zipp]

Yeah, Heavy Rain is one of the first games that you simply can't play on an SDTV and one of the reasons I bought an HDTV. Uncharted 2 was another one in this category. I'm sure FFXIII will be the next and then God of War III. Oh, and Bayonetta is also impossible in SD.

We're reaching that point where SD is no longer a viable option. Like when MGS1 criticized players <i>in-game</i> for having mono speakers. I was one of those players.

[Thin Crust]

Like when MGS1 criticized players <i>in-game</i> for having mono speakers. I was one of those players.

When did that happen?

So I just played through the demo and I want this game so bad. Except I won't buy any games until I get money for school, which should be very soon. But First I need to play Darksiders.... and rent Brutal Legend.... And "insert random insult" Bayonetta.

[Nekofrog]

R2 to walk is the shittiest thing I've ever heard of in a videogame.

Voice acting ranges from okay to awful.

I wanted to enjoy this game (i even got the demo a week ago by getting a euro account), but I couldn't. Too many strikes against it.

[Thin Crust]

I think Ethan is the origami killer. Any thoughts?

[Zipp]

When did that happen?

If you go into the helicopter (Hind D with Liquid Snake inside) fight and call the colonel numerous times, one of the things he tells you as advice in winning the fight is to listen to the sound of the helicopter to tell which side of the building it is on. If you have a mono-television, though, after saying this he gets a bemused tone in his voice and asks you if you're using a mono-television. Then Mei-Ling comes in and is completely surprised that you have a mono-television.

In other news, damn html code for changing between forums...

[Necrotic]

I think Ethan is the origami killer. Any thoughts?

The trailer after the demo suggests a few things, here's what I gathered from it:

Ethan is probably the Origami Killer.

He's probably doing it because his other son's been kidnapped. After the loss of his first son he couldn't stand to lose another one of his kids, so he's either being forced to kill or he's being driven to madness by the circumstances. In the trailer there's the part about him having to cut off one of his fingers in front of a camera and it kind of makes you wonder at what point that happens in the game, before or after he becomes the killer.

I also suspect that that's hardly scratching the surface as to what actually goes on throughout the whole game.

I'm freaking excited. Not much longer before I get my hands on it now.

[Tinus]

Off-topic I guess, but:

Yeah, Heavy Rain is one of the first games that you simply can't play on an SDTV and one of the reasons I bought an HDTV. Uncharted 2 was another one in this category. I'm sure FFXIII will be the next and then God of War III. Oh, and Bayonetta is also impossible in SD.

This is nonsense, I played through Bayonetta in SD and didn't have any problems. It doesn't stop you from enjoying the game in the least.

From what I've seen from Heavy Rain the game doesn't seem to require HD graphics either, although I'll admit I haven't played the demo.

The only game that has been a problem for me so far is Mass Effect 2 on the 360, the text is really hard to read sometimes. That's not just because of the small font though, it also has to do with the fact that they often show white or yellow text on a white background.

[Necrotic]

Off-topic I guess, but:

This is nonsense, I played through Bayonetta in SD and didn't have any problems. It doesn't stop you from enjoying the game in the least.

From what I've seen from Heavy Rain the game doesn't seem to require HD graphics either, although I'll admit I haven't played the demo.

The only game that has been a problem for me so far is Mass Effect 2 on the 360, the text is really hard to read sometimes. That's not just because of the small font though, it also has to do with the fact that they often show white or yellow text on a white background.

It's not that he's saying you can't play the game on an SDTV, it's that he's saying you would never want to settle for less than an HDTV given the option because said games look so sexy.

[Strike911]

Honestly though, tiny-text and resolution issues aside, I kind of feel like new games developed for HD look more realistic in SD since all the detail gets obscured by the limitations of the resolution. It gives the appearance of the image having MORE detail than it would on a console developed to utilize 480p. Hideo Kojima said something similar years ago when HD was just a novelty and MGS4 was still in production. Of course Heavy Rain will be playable in SD, but like Zipp said, their is so much detail in the graphics, you just can't fully appreciate all the details unless you view it in HD. The game will stellar regardless of resolution, clearly.

I wouldn't trade my HD capability for anything, in fact, playing anything in SD just feels awkward and (I REALLY hate to use this term) "last-gen." I've been spoiled with HD gaming and movies for so long now, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. Playing my Wii just is weird sometimes after watching TV or playing a game in HD because of the loss in quality and sharpness.

[zykO]

i thought the demo was pretty rad, actually. i was a big fan of the choose your own adventure books as a kid and if that's the core of this game, i'm sure i'll enjoy it when i play the full feature.

also, i run my ps3 through a 1080i rear projection hdtv and while it isn't anywhere as sharp as a 1080p flatscreen, the graphics generally look more real as strike is suggesting. i've noticed the same thing too and on my TV, which is still HD but not nearly as sharp as the higher resolution, shit looks BADASS.

anyway. i like the game. not the gnarliest thing since sliced bread as its creators seem to suggest btu still pretty neat.

[Tinus]

It's not that he's saying you can't play the game on an SDTV, it's that he's saying you would never want to settle for less than an HDTV given the option because said games look so sexy.

Fair enough I guess.

I personally never got the whole HDTV thing.

[DarkeSword]

Fair enough I guess.

I personally never got the whole HDTV thing.

Do you own an HDTV?

[Bleck]

This is literally the first game I've ever not wanted to play because of how bad it looks. Some of the clankiest animations and awful voice acting I've ever seen.

[Thin Crust]

This is literally the first game I've ever not wanted to play because of how bad it looks. Some of the clankiest animations and awful voice acting I've ever seen.

Star Ocean 4 says hi kay?

[BooDidley7]

I gotta try this demo now.

I played through Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit), and if I paid more than $10 I would've been pissed. Otherwise it's entertaining, but often for all the wrong reasons after the first hour or two. Essentially it tried to be all the things Heavy Rain is now claimed to be, a mature storyline with adult issues and presented accordingly, but it quickly collapsed into laughable absurdity.

I really doubt Quantic Dream can make it through the entire game (Heavy Rain) without eventually hitting similar pitfalls.

[Zipp]

Off-topic I guess, but:

This is nonsense, I played through Bayonetta in SD and didn't have any problems. It doesn't stop you from enjoying the game in the least.

From what I've seen from Heavy Rain the game doesn't seem to require HD graphics either, although I'll admit I haven't played the demo.

The only game that has been a problem for me so far is Mass Effect 2 on the 360, the text is really hard to read sometimes. That's not just because of the small font though, it also has to do with the fact that they often show white or yellow text on a white background.

I speak from personal experience. I just picked up an HDTV this December and played on an SD for years. On an SD the text is hard to read, it's harder to aim properly, things get cut off from the peripheries of the screen, and the higher end graphical effects just don't excite in the same way. Probably the worst thing is that the colours are dulled on an SDTV compared to HDTV resolution (and no, you can't logically argue that this is false). Finally, for taking full (or any) advantage of the PS3's bluray player, you need HD. Trust me. I watched Advent Children both ways. Not the same on SD.

Of course I'm not saying games WON'T RUN on SDTVs but at this point there is such a focus on detailed graphics and precise colouring that I believe you miss out on at least 20% of a game's offerings by playing it on SD.

[zykO]

I gotta try this demo now.

I played through Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit), and if I paid more than $10 I would've been pissed. Otherwise it's entertaining, but often for all the wrong reasons after the first hour or two. Essentially it tried to be all the things Heavy Rain is now claimed to be, a mature storyline with adult issues and presented accordingly, but it quickly collapsed into laughable absurdity.

I really doubt Quantic Dream can make it through the entire game (Heavy Rain) without eventually hitting similar pitfalls.

hahah yes, even in the first few minutes of the demo, there are plenty of them