Why I'm Backing Heavy Rain

17 Dec 2009 at 00:00:00 by Andy Alderson

I've been playing Heavy Rain for the last couple of weeks and, I can't deny, it's had an effect on me. Aside from walking around singing the game's title to the tune of Prince's “Purple Rain,” I've found myself thinking about Quantic Dream's narrative experiment with annoying frequency. Or, more specifically, thinking about how it's going to be received.

Now obviously, with the game being a PS3 exclusive there'll be a wealth of dribbling fanboys who will slam Heavy Rain on principle, or at least what their lunacy-riddled minds confuse for principle. This reaction, undoubtedly, is a given. However, there will also be gamers with half a brain (each), who don't post on N4G, who are going to slam Heavy Rain for an altogether more considered reason: that it's more cutscene than game. They will say that Heavy Rain's controls are a bit of a mess (they might have a point), that too much time is spent recreating the mundane minutae of daily life (it's not) and that Quantic Dream - and specifically David Cage – is more pretentious than Mark Kermode on Newsnight Review (impossible). They'd be wrong, of course, as what Heavy Rain represents is more than just a whimsical and flawed attempt at updating the adventure game, and here's why:

Characters: The protagonists (and NPCs) in Heavy Rain are, from what I've seen of the game so far, three dimensional characters. All too often in gaming, and other media, we see characters with little in the way of depth as, generally, they sport one characteristic and that's their thing (see Joseph Fiennes in Flashforward - he's an alcoholic. Edgy, no?) The four main characters in Heavy Rain are undoubtedly interesting, none moreso than Ethan and his son Shaun, anaesthetised by tragedy and only able to communicate in superficial, stilted conversation. It's rare to see this kind of subtlety in games and I hope that, as the game progresses beyond the early scenes I played, it offers some character progression.  

Plot: Now, before you get all 'what about Fahrenheit!?! The plot was dreadful' on me, I know. The storyline in Fahrenheit began well but before long it jumped the shark, or rather it jumped so far over the shark that it circled the Earth and came back around for another pass. And yes, I'm aware of the thematic similarities between the two games, but I hold out hope that Quantic Dream has honed its branching storyline skills since its last game. While some previewers have cast doubt on the non-linear narrative, suggesting it's more an illusion of choice than actual choice, from what I've seen this is not the case.

For example, in one early scene featuring PI Scott Shelby, he visits a prostitute who lost her son to the Origami Killer and the way he conducts himself in conversation can influence the outcome of the scene in a number of ways. Basically, without giving too much away, he can leave with information or without it and at the end of the scene you'll be presented with a choice to defend the woman against an attacker or simply walk away. If you choose the latter, you'll feel discomfort and guilt - it's this kind of evocative plotting that makes Heavy Rain stand out from the crowd. As does the fact that there are four main characters which gives the game an immediate dramatic advantage over most story-driven title. This allows QD to show events from four different angles, adding more depth and dramatic tension. Now, I won't lie to you; all of my doubts about Heavy Rain lie in the narrative too. What I've seen so far is very well handled, but I do fear a grand apocalyptic conspiracy coming on. Hopefully, Cage and QD will stay true to their word and make a game about relationships, not sub-Dan Brown conspiracy fodder.

Atmosphere: The tone of Heavy Rain is Quantic Dream's greatest achievement. Again it's rare for games to convey mood amid all the action, but this is something that Heavy Rain delivers in spades. Yes, it's bleak. But, it's intriguingly bleak, in a David Fincher kind of way. The game is littered with mood moments, like when you play as Ethan and sit down to watch TV with your still-traumatised son. The camera shifts to show Ethan's desire to have his son back as melancholic piano music begins. The game is so brilliantly soundtracked that you actually find yourself becoming nervous when the mood music begins. At one point Ethan was given the relatively simple task of retrieving a teddy bear for his son so he could go to sleep. After collecting it from downstairs, the piano music began and I became convinced he would be gone by the time I got back to his room (there's a killer about after all). He wasn't, of course, but that's the genius of the atmosphere – it makes you uncomfortable, and it's brilliantly judged. Some will call it pretentious, I'm sure, especially in light of the news that the game will delay trophy announcements in order to preserve the atmosphere. According to some writers, this is more of an affront to gaming than Rogue Warrior but I think it's a perfectly reasonable and intelligent move by the developer. I wonder how the critics would feel if they were watching a film and were interrupted by a knock at the door and someone shouting “Congratulations, you've made it an hour into Requiem For A Dream!” Probably thankful for a break from the relentless misery, I suppose. OK, bad example.

Nostalgia: Heavy Rain reminds me of games that you just don't seem to see anymore. The seemingly mundane tasks and evidence gathering recalls Police Quest while the dark /foreboding tone has a hint of Gabriel Knight about it. It feels like an adventure game, not an action-adventure game and those who are ready to have a pop at Quantic Dream for the lack of melee combos and iron sights are missing the point. It is basically an update of the point and click, a genre long-thought dead by the mainstream but gaining some momentum with re-releases and episodic titles like Tales of Monkey Island. Heavy Rain is not meant to be about action, it's about thought, feeling and interaction. It  feels both familiar and new at the same time, which is testament to the skill of the developer.

What surprises me most about Heavy Rain is that I'm intrigued by it despite the fact I'm not a fan of quick time events. Hate 'em, in fact - generally, they're a cheap excuse for real gameplay. But, in Heavy Rain, they don't bother me because I'm gripped by the story, characters and atmosphere. The QTEs are my opportunity to change things and, as such, feel more natural and relevant than they do in most titles.

Quantic Dream is trying to do something different with Heavy Rain and, while I'm convinced it won't please everyone, the developer deserves credit for treading new ground. It's not a tit-heavy action game peppered with cliched dialogue. It's not a futuristic shooter set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. There are no 100 ft lizards to defeat in boss battles. This is a game about the way that people interact, set against a backdrop of crime and it drips with atmosphere. I like that someone is trying to do this right. 

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