Heavy Rain

One month shy of Heavy Rain's release into stores, CNET Australia had a hands-on preview of the PS3-exclusive title. When we read the first pieces of info on this title our first thoughts were "oh dear, that sounds like a series of user-controlled cutscenes". Despite claims that verge on the hyperbolic — "don't watch the story ... direct it" and "gameplay ... based around the developing plot, emotional involvement and the player's decisions and interactions" — we're beginning to think that the developers Quantic Dream might actually pull this one off.

The premise is that a serial killer is on the loose in an unnamed US city, kidnapping young boys who then end up being discovered dead three days later, drowned in water with an origami figure on their chests. Throughout the game the player will take control of one of four disparate characters (a missing boy's father, a private investigator, an FBI agent and an investigative reporter) to track down the killer.

In some ways the basic gameplay recalls the now comatose adventure game genre, as players are able to guide their current character around a small section of the game's world to advance the plot — for instance, at the beginning of the game you're not able to leave the upstairs portion of the house until you've showered and put on some clothes. Walk past an item that can be manipulated and a white overlay appears, giving you directions on how to interact with that item via the right analog stick. Action sequences are interactive cutscenes requiring the user to press buttons in the correct sequence and at the right time.

Once the premise is set up, the city becomes wet, gritty and, well, very noir.
(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment)

The title — we're loathe to use the word game — promises that "the dynamic narrative unfolds as a direct consequence of the player's actions and ... interactions [with others]", although how much story branching there is the publisher isn't letting on.

Throughout the "game" players are able to call up a character's thoughts and possible actions by holding down L2. This not only drives the plot, but in scenes where a character is nervous the cloud of actions and thoughts jitters nervously, disappearing and reappearing in rapid succession, adding to the film noir atmosphere evoked by the title's dark, rain-soaked visuals.

We're still struggling to define what Heavy Rain is — a player-controlled movie or grown-up adventure game are our best guesses right now — but the end of February can't come around quickly enough.

Oooh, something bad's going to happen in this nightclub.
(Credit: Sony Computer Entertainment)