Monday, April 12, 2010

Zero Punctuation catch-up: Heavy Rain

This week we're playing "Lazy Wednesday" catch-up, as I post up about 4 weeks of missed review posting. First one at bat...Heavy Rain!

First off, if you haven't played any Heavy Rain yet, this review is spoiler-city, so if you truly want to remain "pure" for the game, watch the review afterwards. If you don't care, continue anyways. Spoiler-alert...Yahtzee hates it.

Yahtzee makes some valid points though - not triggering the right action to progress the story is a common thing a player will do, but that's only the thorough nature in all gamers looking to wring out EVERY SINGLE OUNCE of value from a game. Often times the only reward in fiddling with every accessible area is just to turn on and off something. I don't hear any player scrutinizing another for not turning on the radio before going into the next scene. And unless there's some minor trophy rewarding you for interacting with the entire fucking world, I'd spend less time playing "nightclub" with the light switch.

The biggest point Yahtzee makes is that the game is not a game but a movie. If you play Heavy Rain like a game, you will not enjoy it; if you play it like a movie with you in the driver's seat, then it's another sensation altogether. The game goes by its own clock at times, so your decisions bear real consequences - unless you hit the reset button and replay those scenes over again, but then you're playing it like a game all over again.

I've already put my two cents about the game, but I'll stand by Yahtzee and agree with his views - Heavy Rain is not to be enjoyed as a game, but if you like a good movie, then give it a whirl.

NSFW below, enjoy!

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