Heavy Rain (Move Edition)

I think about almost a year ago, I wrote a post about the demo for Heavy Rain. Ever since I heard the game would be move compatible, I decided to wait and buy the game. Was the motion controller update worth the anticipation or was I just a dope for falling for the wag?



Summary:

Heavy Rain is a story driven adventure game focused on taking four perspectives on a serial killer's story. You have the FBI agent, the private eye, the reporter, and the struggling father. All four of these characters are in search of clues that lead to the Origami killer. Each have their own agenda and their own flaws which are exploited throughout the game.

The Bad:

Maybe the biggest flaw of the whole game is the voice acting. Some are better than others and the top voice actors are only mediocre. I only wanted to laugh when children spoke in the game or when someone slipped out of their accent.

Graphic hick-ups aren't pretty and some character models are just shitty in comparison to the main four. Kind of takes the player out of the reality of the game in my own opinion.

The camera screwing up in any game that causes me to reset a level, always almost makes me take it out on my poor controller and wall. If you want to change camera angles in the story make sure the transition from position in the players controller is smooth. Yes, I'm pointing my fingers at you game studios.

Button layouts were not well thought out for when they made the Move edition for the game. Asking a player to hold square, triangle, and the move button was no easy task. I think it's stupid I had to use two hands to hit buttons on the right side of a controller.

The Good: 

While most of you know me as a gameplay guy. The one thing that made me keep going in this game was the story. The story isn't mind blowing but the pacing is good enough to make it hard for you to put down the controller.

No game over screen. I like how a character can die or get arrested and that's not the end of the game but the end of his segment. This leaves the game open to multiple endings. Which ending is your favorite depends on your taste. I'm all for the classic 'Hollywood Happy Ending'. I'm sure many of you can guess how to come across this ending.

Motion controls were awesome.... when they didn't screw up. Making the actions to pick up letters and to open and shut doors felt immersive. I honestly felt like my Move controller was an extension of my hand into the gaming world. I can also see a game like this working well with the MS Kinect. Only in two areas of the game did my Move controller not respond properly. Not sure what the reason was but in timed based sections it was really upsetting. But still the motion controls are a definite plus to the whole game.

Conclusion:

If you haven't played this game yet, play it with the Move. Totally worth it. But because of the short story and timed pressed button gameplay, Heavy Rain is better as a rental than as a full purchase. Unless you can get it for $20 or less. The story is interesting and it is replay-able, but because of youtube there's no need to go through all the trouble yourself. Unless you are a trophy whore..