Yeah that’s what I look like, get over yourselves.
The wait for a chance at
Heavy Rain was filled with peril, there was a distinct possibility that despite staying in line for a half hour I wasn’t going to get a chance at it. The code was
very early, warning signs that the system was overheating were displayed with extreme frequency, and at certain points it would just lock up entirely, causing a lot of arm-waving to Eurogamer staff to come and “on-off” the machines.
The issues and waits really helped me decide how I was going to approach certain sections, Heavy Rain isn’t something you can play, more it’s a sequence of situations you have to interact with. A critical audience would see it as a collection of button bashing quick time events, but this is only true in a very broad sense.
I was able to try out two areas of the game. The first is a store that you visit to follow up a lead as a private detective investigating the “Origami Killer”, a dude with a penchant for paper models and kidnapping children. After an unfortunate conversation with the shopkeeper that appears to close off your search, a robber enters and it’s up to you to
sort that out. I had seen this go in very different ways, I was adept at dispatching him before he realised I was there, but botching your approach in any way would cause a stand off. You would have to keep the trigger buttons held down to keep your arms in the air, whilst picking dialogue options to change his mind. It never works, he’ll either shoot you and run away, or you’ll get another chance to attack him while his attention is elsewhere.
The second “level”* is done slightly differently, as another character you’re able to use some form of futuristic evidence scanner, and can see clues in the environment telling you where to go next. The chapter contains a tense boss fight that few had the correct level of reaction to survive, and even when that’s over a simple mistake leads you to imprisonment inside a car headed toward a crusher. If I’m being vague it’s only because I don’t want to spoil a second of it — but even then your outcome might not be the same as mine.
Check out
Heavy Rain if there’s a Demo, or preferably try and find us tomorrow if you’re in England and have some free time. An,d let’s be honest, if you’re in England you
definitely have some free time.
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EGX: Heavy Rain.
Linear Mode
