| Heavy Rain | 
| From: Sony
Category: Video Games
List Price: $59.99
Buy Used: $28.98
as of 9/3/2010 16:30 CEST details
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Rating:  344 reviews
Sales Rank: 144
Platform: PlayStation 3
Genre: military_and_espionage_action_games
ESRB: Mature
Media: Video Game
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: PlayStation 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 6.7 x 0.6
Legal Disclaimer: We do not in any way represent that any part we sell is legal to possess in your jurisdiction. Check with you local authorities to ensure it is legal for you to possess before buying!
MPN: 98164
Model: 711719816423
UPC: 711719816423
EAN: 0711719816423
ASIN: B002CZ38KA
Publication Date: January 31, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | A PlayStation 3 exclusive featuring accessible gameplay via intuitive, contextual controls and interface. | | • | An evolving action adventure thriller featuring mature content, reflecting a realistic world setting and powerful themes, in which you shape the story with every decision made. | | • | Action featuring four playable characters that allows you to continue playing as one of the other characters if your initial character is killed. | | • | Savable chapters that allow you to replay the actions of the past, while maintaining the continuity of the events of earlier chapters. | | • | Stunning graphics, animation and technology support an emotionally driven experience. |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Heavy Rain PS3
Amazon.com Product Description
Heavy Rain is an interactive, single player, action adventure game in which every decision players make influences the evolution of a desperate quest to catch a deadly killer poised to strike again. Featuring a complex and dark storyline meant for mature audiences, the game is a PlayStation 3 exclusive featuring a variety of possible endings, advanced crime scene analysis, replayable chapters, four playable characters and the ability to continue play as remaining characters in the event of your current character's death. Story
How far will you go to save someone you love? In Heavy Rain each player discovers their own answer to this question as they experience a gripping psychological thriller filled with innumerable twists and turns, where choices and actions can and do result in dramatic consequences. Spanning four days of mystery and suspense, the hunt is on for a murderer known only as the Origami Killer - named after his macabre calling card of leaving behind folded paper shapes at crime scenes. Even more chilling is the fiend's well established pattern of killing his victims four days after abducting them. The public is gripped with fear as the police seem powerless to stop the carnage, and another potential victim — Shaun Mars — has gone missing. Now four characters, each following their own leads and with their own motives, must take part in a desperate attempt to prevent the killer from taking yet another life. Discover how far you will go to protect a loved one as you join the search for the Origami Killer.
View larger. | Gameplay
Heavy Rain is a single player, action/adventure game with a particularly strong emphasis on a player-influenced storyline as a means of facilitating the evolution of action towards one of many possible conclusions. The game features four playable characters: a father, a photographer, a FBI agent with a special skill set and a retired cop turned private detective. Each have different paths, means and motives to ending the reign of terror that the Origami Killer has imposed on their city. As players follow the path laid before their character of choice, they are able to explore, interact with and view their surroundings in a variety of ways using their controller's left and right sticks. At crucial times players are given a series of choices relating to how to proceed in various situations, with the outcome of these choices revealing both benefits and consequences. Benefits can be important to progressing through the game, while possible consequences can in turn pose a very real danger to characters, including death. But unlike other games, and because Heavy Rain features four playable characters that exist independently of each other, yet simultaneously within the same the story arc, this does not end the game. Players are instead able to play as one of the other available characters, with appropriate changes to possible outcomes due to the absence of the deceased character(s). Key Game Features - An evolving action-adventure thriller in which you shape the story with every decision you make.
- Action built around four playable characters that allows you to continue playing as one of the other characters if your initial character is killed.
- Savable chapters that allow you to replay the actions of the past, while maintaining the continuity of the events begun in earlier chapters.
- Mature content reflecting a realistic world setting that explores powerful themes.
- Stunning graphics, animation and technology that support an emotionally driven experience.
- Accessible gameplay via intuitive, contextual controls and interface.
| Additional Screenshots:
4 unique playable characters.
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Advanced crime scene analysis.
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Story influencing actions.
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Stunning graphics quality.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 344
 Beautiful, engaging, and adult...but has one minor flaw. (NO SPOILERS) February 23, 2010
J. J. Marino (Rochester, New York)
290 out of 308 found this review helpful
Overview (no major spoilers): You play several different characters in hopes to track down a serial killer that targets children. There are many twists and exciting plot reveals as the game goes on. Most of this takes place in rainy or dismal settings, so get used to your characters being wet all the time.
Issue seen on PS3Slim (others have seen same on original PS3, I dont have one to confirm):
Ok lets talk about the issue I have with the game so that we can get to the good stuff. The video is choppy. No two ways about it. I have the new PS3 Slim and the video jerks and stutters just enough to be annoying over time. You can tell its pushing the system pretty hard. Other times its smooth and beautiful. Most of the time the jerky video is not during anything fast or major, just when the character may be walking it looks like Monty Python sketch about silly walks. It doesn't tear, it merely is just a very slight lag when moving the character, 1 step is smooth 2nd step is slower, 3rd step is slower yet then back to smooth again maybe 2 steps and repeat the slow down. Its not overt and you might not notice it at all. Ok thats my major gripe, now onto the game.
Interface:
Fantastic and feels very immersive. At first the interface seems really clunky and weird until you get the button combinations down then it is very smooth and easy to figure out. Eventually you really dont have to think about it at all. This game is rewriting what interfaces are in video games and even though it is cutting edge it sometimes feels a bit like Dragon's Lair. If you find that you just cant keep up due to whatever reason you can change the difficulty setting by selecting how comfortable you are with the PS3 controller. They attempt to use the sixaxis controller like it was meant to be used but it feels a bit, eh, ok. Its not as intuitive as say, Flower [Online Game Code - Full Game].
Load times:
The load times do take a little longer than I would like, however they use it as a chance to show off the incredible facial modeling and motion capture. The characters look around and you can see the really fine attention to detail.
Adult themes:
One thing I like about this title is its frank dealing with adult themes. Its not overt sexuality, but there is nudity both male and female, and also psychological illness and struggle that most children would not be able to handle. I recommend this for people over the age of 18 and also with sound mental capacity. Reason being is, the story has some very dark imagery that is both disturbing and essential to the thriller. There are graphic depictions of drug use, and it is not pretty.
Fight sequences:
At times in the beginning you can practice fighting with doing other mundane things such as juggling and playing with one of the children in the game. It shows you through a very inventive way the skills you will need later on to fight. One thing that I like is that the producers offer this in a subtle way. Once you have this hit X now - Up - now Triangle, Now down sort of timing it becomes second nature. If you remember Dragon's Lair then you will find yourself right at home here.
Imagery:
The game is dark, its almost always raining, there are times though when you can escape through a virtual environment in the game to lush areas. It is always beautiful and quite breathtaking to see some of these vistas. After playing for several hours to see the sun was very refreshing and almost brought my spirits up. Then it was back to the case. The visuals are spot on. There are pieces of plastic caught in the barbed wire of the fences, cans roll around the street, there is dirt under and over a light switch on the wall. These are some of the great details to look for. So much attention to the small details help to make it more believable. In the beginning you are in a modern home with fantastic architecture and it looks just like a movie set. Textures, reflections, water all play very integral members of the cast. At times I forgot to move because I thought I was watching a movie, not playing one.
Vocals & Storytelling:
I am playing the US version and the voice acting is very good. I appreciate the vocals at times more than the graphics (which is saying alot). They are actual actors and not the textures guy doing a voice for the game. What you get is a compelling story told through many peoples viewpoints. Think Steven King or Dean Koontz with regard to many characters telling the whole story. This is not a hero quest layout and often I had trouble finding who to root for. That in itself makes it a very powerful story. I never felt that the story was out of hand or too deep to grasp. I really felt as I was integral in many ways to what was going on the screen.
Replayability:
There are so many different ways to go in this story that it could mean infinite replayability, although I doubt its that much. Even so it could be like 200+ different ways to play it meaning it is a very good value. Just do what you think the characters would do and live with the decisions, or go back and try again.
Synopsis breakdown:
Pros:
>> Motion capture is some of the best I have seen, only sometimes seems too stiff (like going up stairs)
>> Interface is easy to use once you get the basics down
>> You can change the difficulty based on how fast you think you can pull off the moves, so it doesn't penalize older players with slower reaction times.
>> A true adult game (mild sex), but with real life issues and themes.
>> Gritty and holds no punches
Cons:
<< PS3 Slim with plenty of HD space had jerky motion and felt a bit pushed
<< Harkens back to old school movie games with the controls based on timing and buttons (its ok not much of a con but thought I would mention it)
Overall this game will touch you in many ways. It is both wonderful to look at, yet you will find yourself wanting to look away when the bad stuff happens. You become very attached to each character and the smallest decisions you make may change the whole conclusion of the game. Matter of fact there is no guarantee that anyone will solve the case, so, be wise with your choices.
Highly recommended.
Thank you for reading my review.
Exciting New Territory February 24, 2010
oatmeal (Chicago, IL USA)
89 out of 96 found this review helpful
Playing Heavy Rain, I couldn't help but think of the original NES Super Mario Bros. (duh-doo-doo duh-doo-DOO!) . . . but not because they have anything whatsoever in common. While a classic, Mario (and most other games to follow) was crystal clear about what being a "video game" meant. You're a cute little character, you jump, squash bad guys, and save the princess. What developer Quantic Dream does here (and with their previous game, Indigo Prophecy) is to venture into new territory for gaming. The result was, to me, pretty exciting.
"Interactive movie" comes close to capturing the essence here. Think a moody drama, a murder mystery, and a psychological thriller rolled in one. Now imagine that you haven't merely watched the characters' story unfold, but you've also controlled them brushing their teeth, fighting off an attacker, and struggling through a life-changing crisis. But you not only control those actions, you also get to CHOOSE some of those actions--and sculpt your own (somewhat) unique version of the story. You're not only watching the movie, you're also playing the lead roles and contributing to the screenplay.
Much of this comes from QTE (Quick Time Events - timed controller responses following onscreen prompts). What's different here is that, in many cases, whether you perform these timed presses "successfully" or not, the game goes on, and adapts accordingly. In fact, much of the time, there isn't a clear definition of "success" in these situations--as some decisions in this game can have unexpected repercussions in the unfolding of the narrative.
They've presented this unique game with some pretty stunning graphics. The character models and animations are so lifelike that I found myself looking up some of the actors on IMDB.
The controls are unconventional, but, in my experience, well-suited. In addition to the QTE, you're often moving around an area, and finding objects to interact with (similar to old-school adventure games). During dialogue with other characters, you'll often be given a choice of several different tactics (i.e., to reason, to threaten, or to flee).
You can shape your own story, within certain limitations (no spoilers). Characters can live or die, and entire scenes can be changed, added, removed, or replaced--all depending on your decisions and the outcomes of quick time events. With that said, many of the changes you can make are subtle, and only certain scenes are going to allow you to greatly alter things. For me, this was understandable: to let every scene drastically affect the rest of the game would have required them to prepare thousands of scenes (we'll just have to wait for that in Heavy Rain III on the PS5).
One, in my opinion, head-scratching oversight by the developers is that they used mostly French actors to do American accents for the characters . . . and it shows. Their dialects often range somewhere between robot and Martian. A tip--reviewer "W. Kong" posted a very clever solution: switch the audio language to French, with English subtitles. If you're open to this, the acting (extremely important in this kind of game) sounded MUCH more natural to me.
Heavy Rain is "not for everyone." It's for mature audiences; not just because it has sex, violence, and profanity, but also because it has "adult content" of a very different kind. These characters live in a harsh world of regret, heartbreak, and love: a love that runs much deeper than rescuing Princess Peach.
If, after reading this, you're still curious about this original gaming experience, you might want to check it out. Your first playthrough just might end up as one of the more thrilling pieces of entertainment you've come across in a while.
Redefining what video games are, and where they will eventually go. February 24, 2010
Tristan J. Lueking (Bridgewater, VA)
75 out of 84 found this review helpful
I have never written a review on Amazon for any product. Heavy Rain is so good, that I decided to write a review to add to the already glowing reviews here on Amazon.
Describing Heavy rain is like describing an extremely well oiled machine, it starts slowly, revs up speed, and takes you on a ride you will ultimately never ever forget. Heavy Rain is so unconventional, its brilliant. So different, that its original and so much fun, that it's amazing that games haven't gone fully in this direction until now. I was excited when I opened my pre-order packaging and popped Heavy Rain into my PS3, something new, and different, a breath of fresh air to gaming had finally arrived. I love the Uncharted series, Assassins Creed, Dragon Age Origins and Call of duty, I love Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid and Dante's Inferno. But this game, is the first game to have me feel true emotion to the choices I made. I can't explain the feeling you get when you see a choice you made that you thought was right, be the wrong choice and you can't just start over. There are no "Game Overs" or "Continues" in Heavy Rain, the Story is what you make it, and this concept is simply not explainable until you make an incorrect choice, and feel it for yourself. As the story gained even more momentum I found myself making choices that really defined "Me" as a person, not in game, but within myself. Again, a game that makes you think how "You" would react and make the choice based on that, is simply amazing. The graphics in this game are another reason it works so well. Everything seems real, down to the facial animations and set pieces. Voice acting and sound for the most part is good, sometimes things you and others say sound wrong though, and sometimes certain lines sound forced.
The game takes you on a ride, and I haven't completed it yet. I already have a dozen or so things I want to do differently on my next play through. Choices I made that looking back, I shouldn't have chosen the path I did. I noticed I got a ton of trophies for various chapter events, so I decided to look at my trophy list. 27% complete. I was expecting far more. If your a trophy hunter, this game will have you playing each scene in hopes of snagging all the trophies for this game. All that being said, the game has amazing re playability.
Now, let me get something out of the way, this game is not for everyone. The game is a very intellectual game. You have to take it seriously for the game to really "wow" you and make you feel for the characters. If you play it, but don't care, or feel its stupid, or don't pay attention, the game will be extremely boring. The game is not for everyone, and is certainly not for young kids. This is NOT a first person shooter, or third person shooter. There are guns, but everything is not the same as Call of Duty. All event's occur in quick time events, and let me tell the naysayers, this way of game play is so beautifully done here that at times I was standing up screaming at the tv, and at times I would drop my controller at mistakes I made. I even had to take a few breaks from the game as it really started to get to me. Say what you will, but if you really connect with the characters and feel what they feel, the game can shock you at times, and make you feel shell shocked. I even forgot I was doing the QTE sometimes, as it all just flowed perfectly.
The game is simply amazing, but it is not without some faults. The controls work, especially QTE, but to me walking isn't as horrible as some say, it is simply annoying. Sometimes the camera will switch at bad times, and your character will quickly turn around when you didn't want them to. This especially happens during scenes of urgency. Also, my system has frozen 3 times during game play. This isn't a deal breaker, but it does break the emotional spell the game has, and is bad for pacing when you have to reboot your ps3, etc, etc. The QTEs can also become a bit overwhelming with way to many buttons to hold down at certain times, and I understand this, as it is supposed to overwhelm you, so I don't see this as an annoyance. The beginning is also very slow, but I suppose this is fine since it's kind of a tutorial. However, don't let the tutorial sway you into thinking the whole game is like it, because it isn't the game REALLY picks up, and it's a crazy roller coaster, where you decide the story outcomes.
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Pros:
- Amazing Story, grabs you emotionally and sucks you in. From what I hear characters can die as well, which adds a sense of urgency to each event. (I haven't experienced it though)
- Quick Time Events are extremely well done and feel perfect.
- Graphically stunning, the best I have ever seen to date.
- The soundtrack and voice acting is superb.
- Re playability extremely high due to the amount of trophies, and choices in almost every chapter you complete. Everything can be completed in a different way for multiple play throughs.
- Downloadable content on the way, meaning even more awesome chapters to play, and possibly more trophies to collect.
- Not a bad length, the game from what I hear is near 10 hours long which is admirable, and will last most people awhile, especially with different play throughs.
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Cons:
- Walking can look silly at times, and can be an annoyance especially when the scene requires precise movements.
- Beginning can be slow, and may deter some people. Keep at it, the game opens up at about the 2nd hour of playtime, and when it gets going, it doesn't let up.
- Occasional system freezing, and sometimes I see texture popping and screen tearing. To me this doesn't matter much, the game auto saves frequently.
- Some voice actors don't always deliver their lines correctly during some scenes.
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Rent or Buy?
I would say a solid Buy, however be warned, this game is not like anything you have ever played before. You have to understand that going in, it is not a Call of Duty style game. It is not instant gratification, you don't kill someone and they respawn later in the level. If you kill someone, they are gone, and that's it, you live with the consequences and the game goes on, with or without them. You have to take the game seriously to fully feel everything the characters feel, and to really get into the game. You have to weigh choices against other choices, and sometimes what you think is right isn't. It's a phenomenal gaming experience that I think everyone should experience, however it's not for children. This game truly is a Mature adult game. Not because it has pointless bloodshed, but because everything that happens in this game has an adult theme that could potentially scar younger players if they really get into it. This is a solid game, with a few flaws, but YES, get it, and enjoy it. Its well worth it.
I will update this review for DLC, as well as if anything changes later on. But right now, I can't give this game enough props. It's great.
One of the Best Games of All time. February 24, 2010
Alex The Russian
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
This game has it all and much much more. Fist i want to say this game is not for everyone. The people that will like this game are more of the hardcore gamers and adventure players. This game has more plot twists then mystery book and it ties everything in perfectly. I felt like i was the character that i was playing not only do you feel scared and exited, you feel like your choices will make an impact. Just know that when you pick the controller its really hard to put it down. I have read a lot of reviews and been following this game for some times. Most bad reviews of this game are by people that truly don't understand what this games tries to accomplish. The game is very well though out to the point that every detail is there and the story has meaning and depth. I would strongly advice to pick a copy and enjoy gaming at its best
Be careful who's opinion you buy. April 3, 2010
A thoughtful watcher
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I just had to throw in my two cents after seeing how petty some of the negative opinions of Heavy Rain on this website are.
Heavy Rain is not a game for instant-gratification adrenaline junkies. Or in other words if all you really want is excessive, over the top violence and/or gratuitous sexual content then Heavy Rain is not the game for you.
But on the other hand if you would like something serious and mature then the chances are Heavy Rain will deliver.
I found Heavy Rain to be a very emotionally engaging experience. Possibly more so than any other video game I've ever played. While there is some sexual content in the game it's not there for it's own sake. It's there because it has relevance with regard to the story, atmosphere, or overall premise of the game. And I've also found the "plot holes" accusations that have been leveled at the game by some to be largely unfounded. It may be true that the game doesn't hand you every single detail on a silver platter, but such absent details by no means constitute "plot holes".
I don't think it's necessary for me to describe the game in detail because there is evidently a sizable number of other people that have already done that.
So yes, the game is admittedly not for everyone. But nevertheless it's a noteworthy and commendable achievement. And it's also an important one in light of the fact that it belongs to a medium (video games) that is often dominated by mindless entertainment and diversion. It's a reminder how much potential the medium has.
So I am giving this game five stars partially because I genuinely like the game and partially to balance out the petty cheap shots that it doesn't deserve.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 344
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