![]() Or you may even have to press and hold 3 buttons at once, in the correct order. Maybe you have to flap the controller up and down rapidly. You might have to press and the hold the Right Trigger while tapping another button. No, in Heavy Rain you are expected to do a wide range of things, sometimes all at once, in a very short time. ![]() First of all, because they sometimes come at you without warning – “ oh, the cut-scene is over, I have to fight for my life!” And when I say quick-time events, I don’t mean God of War-style, with only 4 buttons to push in a predictable sequence. The game alternates between periods of watching, like a viewer of a movie, with fast-paced quick-time events that will really test your dexterity at times. No, what really made the experience for me back in 2010 is the same aspect that pulled me back in this time around: the game mechanics. I may have missed some of the updates that I am sure were added to the visuals, but I didn’t see a massive difference between this Remaster and the PS3 version. You see this particularly when movement is called for. It does not have more polygons, and so characters in particular look a little stiff now. Yes, this time around it has been upgraded with 1080p resolution, but that only refines the lines and edges. Put up against The Witcher 3, Shadow of Mordor or other recent games, it wouldn’t stand a chance (maybe against Fallout 4 – sorry, had to say it). Now, in 2016, it still looks decent, but certainly cannot compete with today’s AAA releases in the visuals department. Character models showed a new level of detail, and art direction was right up there with any feature film. ![]() Graphically, Heavy Rain was praised as being cutting-edge back in its time. Still, even knowing the outcome, I must say that I still felt engaged by revisiting the story, much like you still want to see your favorite movie again, even though you know how it ends. Maybe even worse (without giving anything away to the newcomers), knowing the ending also makes you question the logic of the plot itself, which anyone who finished it will know. If you are one of those people, you might feel like a lot of the original magic of discovery is just not there this time around. I mean, it is a murder mystery after all. “Heavy Rain shows its age as you slowly walk, looking like a lifeless mannequin.”Ī big downside to remastering such a story-driven title, though, is that of course anyone who played it already on the PS3 will already know the ending – which is a pretty big deal in the case of Heavy Rain. This is, however, the exception the main character actors all do a good job, and sound convincing in their roles. In one particularly-bad example, Ethan Mars sounds like an American, but his son Shaun has what sounds like a pretty strong French accent. ![]() While the story supposedly takes place in the United States, some actors give away their European accents at times. The dialogue feels genuine and realistic, and the actors mostly do a good job of delivering their lines with a conviction that, again, is not often found in video games. What makes the story compelling is the writing and voice acting. But unfortunately, it has lost a bit of its impact in a gaming industry that has matured a lot in the last 6 years, particularly in the area of storytelling. But by game standards, it is certainly a level above what we saw in games back when it first came out. By classic movie standards, this is no Silence of the Lambs or Seven. Taken on its own merits, it not a bad story, but nothing revolutionary either – it is the kind of dark psychological thriller story we have seen often in many a Hollywood film. It is that group of characters, and not the central plot itself, that drives the Heavy Rain experience. “Even after all this time, it’s a title that still has the power to pull you right in with its smart gameplay and stylish presentation.” ![]()
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