Lylat Wars is superb Ian. Loved playing that - we bought it for the Wii too as the N64 lives in Widnes now.
Heavy Rain though... O.M.G. I don't want to over egg the cake here, but it's something very, very special...
As a "game", it's very simple. There's lots of sitting and watching (often poor) acting with a mixed bag of graphics and animation (they range from utterly believable to "pacman-esque"). So, the game must be fantastic due to it's simply stunning and engrossing story line.
Well, no. Again, it's as simple as it gets really. Think Lethal Weapon mixed with Saw (with an added drop of The Matrix). It's not a complicated story at all.
So, what makes it so special? It must be the action pieces where you get to actually take control and play?
Well, laying the table, giving the kids an aeroplane ride or changing and feeding a baby don't really hint at that. However, it's the crux of what makes the game so special.
The game lowers you in gently to the way it works by getting you emotionally attached to the characters and their loved ones. You take part in the mundane so that when the game picks up, you're there with the people and you really feel for them. You feel for what goings on. Lots of phrase like "emotional attachment" are being thrown around, but it's true.
You get to choose too how you want you characters to be. The private detective seems amiable enough, but you can make him a mean drunkard who doesn't care for people. Or you can play the friendly uncle type. Is you FBI agent going to tow the line, or will he play bad cop/worse cop with your out of control partner?
You always feel that you're doing what you feel right. When you watch a film and it enters a tense situation, you always have an opinion. "Shoot the bastard", or "don't be a fool". But in the game, when you're faced with the choices and you know you will have to live with the outcome - it makes it tense and thrilling.
Added to that, you have the screen and choices shaking or fading to grey, the controller pulsing in your hand to your heart beat, the thoughts of your character whispering. When you're there making a choice, it's you right in there.
It's something that it really difficult to explain unless you play it. I was a little unsure, as I don't like to sit through lots of "dull" cut scenes. It works though - you get given enough control at the right points to bring you completely on board. I'm over halfway through my "first run" now, and I still don't know who it is that is the killer, but I have to find out, and I have to find out what is going to happen to the characters I've been playing. I've diced with death a few times with each of them now, can I keep all four alive to the finale?
There are game issues though. Control is sometimes less than satisfactory. In a rush, you'll find yourself going around in circles. While the game works on a system of "it doesn't matter if you succeed or not, the game still gives you a story" - you don't want to feel cheated because of a poor control mechanic. Yes, if you panic and mis-hit buttons, fine - you know you failed because of your weakness, but it drags you out of the story when things don't work properly.
There are other points where the game stops you from doing what you want too - forcing you to tag along with the the story. I wanted to go downstairs in my pants without a shower - I don't care that the "tutorial" wants me to learn to use the towel and get dressed function. Don't stop my character and force me back - I want the freedom. I know you can't have 100% freedom, it's just that most of the time you feel the way your character is going is right and you don't feel dragged, but when it intercepts your flow - it's a bit annoying. Oddly, it's less intrusive than any other game - it's just the game itself flows so well otherwise, it glares.
I don't know if I'll play through again. Minor_Furie is playing too, and although we've seemingly made the same choices - his game is going a different way. The subtlety involved in changing the scenario is a bit too wide spread for the time you need to invest. So It's probably £40 for ten hours of play for me. Still, it's probably the best ten hours of gaming I've ever experienced.
Ollie - you'll love the game, the Saw type of horror aspect is great when you're hooked and there personally....
10/10 - go buy a Ps3 and play it
