The concept of control is actually another of Heavy Rain’s core themes; there is a constant tension as to who is controlling who? Who is actually calling the shots? Is it you – the gamer? Or is it writer/director David Cage? Or, is it the Origami Killer? It is here that Heavy Rain most clearly defines itself as a videogame/interactive experience as opposed to an extended movie with a few button presses thrown in. Aside from an emotional connection, watching a movie is a passive experience for the viewer who has no presence within the film and, by extension, can in no way affect what happens on screen. By the same token, the actors are at the mercy of the script and whims of the director. Heavy Rain, on the other hand, offers a fascinating and fluid interplay between director, character motivation and your own input and decision making processes. This may sound awfully pretentious, but in practice it delivers an experience that is arguably as immersive, beguiling and engaging as other, more traditional, gaming experiences.

Heavy Rain takes the notion of control even further in its exploration of what a developer can (and should!) make you do with the joypad. Rather than arbitrarily assign buttons for specific actions, Quantic Dream want your actions to reflect the onscreen circumstances. They do this in obvious ways (e.g. a swing of the controller mirrors a swing of a fist) and it not so obvious ways – for example, should your character find themselves having to perform a task that is awkward or difficult, the required button input feels physically awkward and difficult. This method is best experienced than described, but in practice it works extremely well and further cements the link between your actions and the in-game consequences.

All of the above would be for nothing if it did not have a compelling plot to tie its many elements together; and this is another area in which Heavy Rain succeeds. While drawing from obvious influences (Silence of the Lambs and Se7en spring to mind) David Cage has created a narrative that stands up well within the psychological thriller genre (inclusive of games and cinema). The degree in which the plot alters depending on how you play is genuinely impressive; characters can die, scenes can move (or simply not appear at all!) and it manages to retain its structural integrity throughout with each play-through. It also has a sense of maturity throughout, with certain scenes (that we will not detail, but that have grabbed headlines elsewhere!) being delivered with a degree of tenderness, intimacy and sensuality rarely (if ever) seen in a videogame. Let us put it this way: if Grand Theft Auto’s ‘Hot Coffee’ scene is from Mars, Heavy Rain is from Venus…

If this is all sounding a little bit too good to be true, for some gamers it probably is – Heavy Rain is not a game that will be enjoyed by everybody. Developers have long striven for more choice, more possible outcomes and more control to be featured in their games; and gamers have been proven to be increasingly hungry for such flexibility. The sandbox genre literally blew videogame worlds open, giving you the freedom to go where you want, when you want. The Wii remote (and soon Microsoft’s and Sony’s own motion control systems) invites flexibility and freedom. In many ways, Heavy Rain discards these things; while you can bend the plot, all routes through the game are scripted narrative pathways and the actions you can perform are often dictated by the game as are the choices you can make. In the grand scale of video game culture then, it is something of an anomaly; but judged on it’s own merits, the design choices made by Quantic Dream feel absolutely right – less anachronistic, more progressive, challenging and (most importantly) unique.

One of Heavy Rain’s major shortcomings is its length and replayability. While by no means a short game (again, for spoiler-free purposes, we won’t detail how long it is!), it is obviously not a 40 hour+ RPG epic. It does, however, offer a complete and rounded experience that you will want to revisit multiple times, whether it be immediately upon completion or months/years down the road. The pull to discover how differently things work out should you have made different decisions is also remarkably strong.

Debate will rage long and hard as to whether not Heavy Rain is a work of genius, or simply a case of the emperor’s new clothes and accusations that it is an extended cutscene with minimal interactivity will inevitably haunt it. It definitely treads a very thin line, balancing interactivity and spectacle, but it is a balancing act that it gets absolutely right. It engages you every step of the way, constantly requiring your input and demanding your attention, delivering a stunning blend of player interaction and on-screen drama tied together with a plot stuffed with twists and turns. While it obviously draws on the language of cinema it offers an experience that simply could not be achieved with any medium other than videogames. So, is Heavy Rain the future of gaming? Well…it has without question kicked open a number of doors…we just hope that other developers choose to walk through them.

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