Heavy Rain for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

Please note I did not finish the game due to frustration.

Heavy Rain calls itself Interactive Drama, rather than a videogame. The first trophy you'll unlock is called "Interactive Drama". Heavy Rain is trying to be a movie.

Unfortunately, if Heavy Rain WERE a movie, it would probably be straight to DVD.

As a movie, Heavy Rain doesn't get very much right. Here are some examples:

Dialogue, Acting and Facial Expressions- all are very important in film. Well, the acting, expressions, and dialogue are AWFUL in this game. Ethan's performance is terrible, his son, Shaun, who you are trying to save throughout the game, delivers his lines like he's a kindergartener being coached from behind the camera. Some of the character reactions to situations are either UNDERWHELMING or OVERWHELMING, but never on key. The FBI agent has an incredibly irritating voice.

Suspension of Disbelief- I can suspend my disbelief about many things, but still... Heavy Rain did a few things that are just head scratchingly confusing or stupid. For example, in the prologue, your first son disappears at a busy mall, and after running around looking for him all over the place, you finally find him standing across the street. This never gets explained, your question of "Why is my son, who I just told not to leave my side, outside the mall and across the street?" never gets answered, because he gets hit by a car crossing said street, causing the guilt when your second son is kidnapped.

Another unbelievable detail: you have to drive against traffic for 5 miles and reach a destination in that time. About 3/4 of the way through that "trial" there is a barricade of police cars, cops standing with guns, etc. Either this stupid fictional city has the fastest, most responsive police force in the world, or I've got a bunch of slacker cops in my city.

The serial killer is unbelievable and over the top silly. This is coming from a Criminal Justice major. Trust me.

As a game, Heavy Rain is

This game was a super refreshing break from the shooters and 3rd person rpg's so man of us play today. Sure there are some plot holes, but overall a great play. I would say one of the negatives of this game is that its not very long, but all the time I put into it was well worth the experience. Highly recommend for someone looking for something that will draw them into a game like only a few have before.