Heavy Rain Demo Impression

Do you remember when you were a kid and you read 'Choose your own adventure books'? Sometimes you would read so far into the book only to find out that whatever choice you make ends in travesty. Quantic Dream's "Heavy Rain," may take interactive story telling to a new level.

In the demo you play as two of the four characters: Scott Shelby, an old private detective, and Norman Jayden, a FBI agent. First, you start off as Shelby and the demo gives you a little tutorial on how the controls work. The left stick is used to control the direction in which your character looks and R2 is used to make your character move forward. Most of the time during the game you can hold down L2 to hear your characters thoughts. The right stick is mainly used to control the actions of your character. I.E. press the right stick left to open the car door. Move the stick right and down to pull out money to bribe the a man at the front counter. Really, really different compared to most games out there. Definitely interactive but I'm still not sure I feel like these controls are a extension of my own personal body. It may be that because the controls are so new that my brain feels like it's not natural.
Shelby has come to an apartment to see a prostitute. She's definitely not happy to see you and as the player I wasn't sure if the visit was for business or pleasure. I pressed the thought button and all that was cleared up. I threw out some cash and began talking to the woman. Apparently, her son was a victim to the 'Origami Killer' and you came to see if she could give you more info. From this point on is where you "choose your own adventure," you can decide to be aggressive and try to force answers out of her or you can sympathize and persuade her to give you answers. I decided to sympathize becuase I felt like that fit my character better. In the end I didn't get any new leads (this maybe different for others experiences) I leave the apartment but not before leaving my card. As I leave Shelby has an asthma attack and you play a little time button sequence event to breathe in your inhaler. After that you can see a rather muscular man approach the prostitute's door. He's aggressive and barges in her apartment. You can stay and help her or leave. Once again the hero inside me tells me to save this woman. She might thank me by giving me more information on her son.
I quickly got into a fight with the big man. This part was awesome! Even if you make a mistake unlike most common game's with time button sequences the story moves on. I was hit several times but managed to dodge the deadly blows. I imagine that Shelby could have died if I wasn't quick with my fingers. The man finally gives up and the prostitute thanks me and I leave. According Quantic Dreams even if one character dies in the game, the story moves on. Each time you play the game the story can be different. That sounds awesome.

Next you check out a crime scene with Agent Jayden. What's cool about Jayden is he has some high tech glasses and gloves. You use these tools to analyze the crime scene. There's no major action sequences but you get to play detective. The detective mode is a lot like Batman Arkham Asylam's detective mode. Screen changes filter and you can suddenly see foot prints or pheromones floating in the air. I did my detective work and got to a hill that I had to climb with another time button sequence event. However, I wasn't a fan of this one. Sometimes you have to hold two buttons at the same time which felt a little awkward for me. After two attempts I finally climbed the hill but not after getting my FBI suit all muddy. You find tire tracks that can possibly belong to the 'Origami Killer.' There weren't as many critical choices in this part of the demo. Demo ends and the new trailer begins.


All-in-All: The story has me quite interested in it. I like a good mystery novel every now and then. The controls are new some parts are exciting while some parts just feel awkward. I think people will either love or hate the controls of this game. I really liked the demo and I may pick it up when it comes out in Japan. This is a hardcore game and I don't see it selling to the masses. Hopefully, the final game will be just as awesome.