The publisher has posted a notice on its official forums, revealing that the patch – which should hopefully (though it’s not guaranteed!) fix the freezing issues that have plagued so many users – is now in final testing, with a release imminent.

If you’re stuck for time while waiting for the patch’s release, you could always hone your skills for one of the game’s earliest, yet most pivotal moments.

Heavy Rain issues under investigation [Sony]

Anyone who’s played the game, and got as far as the clown scene at the mall, will know how awful the part that happens next is. Really, Quantic Dream, for all the money that was spent on this game, a few more lines of dialogue wouldn’t have gone astray here.

If you know what I’m talking about, have a go at this flash game. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’d better not. Best case you’ll be all “huh?”, worst case there’s a heavy spoiler at the end.

Press X To Jason: The Game [Heavy, via Joystiq]

Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.

And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.

This review was submitted by Dana Koch. If you’ve played Heavy Rain, or just want to ask Dana more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Heavy Rain (PS3)

Heavy Rain is David Cage’s most recent implementation of the “interactive movie”, but I imagine that this will be the first exposure to the Quantic Dream treatment of the genre for most. Billed as an exploration of the question, “How far will you go to save someone you love?”, the game does not veer too far off that mark. It’s
all about Ethan Mars, a devoted father who gets thrust into a life change for the worst, and is set on an excruciatingly difficult journey to – possible, depending on how you make your choices – redemption. Warning: spoilers.

Loved

Storytelling: The storytelling and pace has been mentioned in some other reviews as a downpoint, but it’s actually quite strong; for example, nothing quite matches the emotional impact of seeing Ethan’s life change so dramatically from the life he has had before: happy, stable, productive, to seeing him on the other side of the opening credits sullen, depressed, and late to pick up his son in the driving rain. While some of the story developments are a bit awkward, and a knowledge of thriller cliché can help you nut out some of the expectations of the characters, there are still some interesting and genuinely revelatory moments through the game. Some of the trials Ethan is faced with are excruciating to even think about when the player is presented with them, and having to play literally in a character’s shoes like this makes the decisions Ethan makes for the trial seem that much more difficult.

Soundtrack: The soundtrack is well written, lush, and cinematic. Every character has a theme, but Ethan’s leitmotif stands out, and is used in some other incidental music throughout the game – really, while you play some extra characters in the game, their stories are really supporting acts for Ethan, and the soundtrack to some extent reflects this.

Hated

QTEs: The much-maligned quick-time events feel rather goofy. It feels silly sometimes, and thankfully, this subsides after getting drawn into the action and story, but it feels rather unnecessary in retrospect. Having the notion of choice and free will is key to most modern storytelling games, but having quick-time events as a means to execute this doesn’t feel like the right choice to make.

Voice Acting: Yes, the voice acting isn’t perfect. Lauren’s voice for example gives her French heritage away in the second chapter (such as, when she says “50 bucks”), and Norman introducing himself with his first name sounds very strange. It isn’t such a big deal, but it’s noticeable, and breaks immersion at times.

Overall, what’s important in a game like this is good storytelling, and if that is present, then the rest almost feel like nitpicks. Luckily, Heavy Rain tells a good story with exceptional characterisation that will most likely keep you engaged, and that’s always a win.

Reviewed by: Dana Koch

You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 500 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.

After strapping on our ARI, it seems further investigation has turned up a few more bodies winners. Oh, and the lovely people at Sony were so impressed by the quality of your entries that they donated five more copies of Heavy Rain.

So, here’s another five winners!

Congratulations guys. I’ll be in touch later today to organise the delivery of your prizes.

Oh, and one more thing…

See that photo right up the top of the post? That was sent in by Jose B. We didn’t name Jose as one of the first ten winners, nor as one of the five extra winners. Sorry, Jose.

However, Jose doesn’t go home empty-handed. Instead of an “Origami” edition of Heavy Rain, Jose has won for himself a very special “Origami” edition of Heavy Rain… signed by the development team at Quantic Dream.

I know it’s not exactly what we promised, but I hope you’ll appreciate the consolation prize.

Heavy Rain is full of moody moments where people look reflective and melancholy, lost in their pangs of regret and remorse, just like the one above. We asked you to create your own moody moment from Heavy Rain by way of the medium of photography.

These were the ten best, each of whom win a copy of the special Heavy Rain “Origami” edition:

Congratulations everyone. I’ll be in touch later today to organise the delivery of your prizes.

UPDATE: I’ll have a nice surprise for a few more of you later today. Stay tuned…

Even if film critics are cynical about LaBrute, he isn’t necessarily cynical about everything. Just listen to him talk about Heavy Rain and the future of video games:

The tag line for Heavy Rain is “How far would you go to save someone you love?” Just by having that message, your final destination is asking yourself how much I’ll give for someone else, how much am I willing to give up and able to do to save someone. You ultimately say to yourself that you love this kid [Ethan Mars' son] more than you love yourself.

That’s not something I see much of in other games, especially ones which essentially work on repeated actions, beating the clock and stimulating various parts of your senses in a refreshing way, which is why you go back to it. But I like the idea you can also go into a game and actually throw these sort of sophisticated questions to people and find interest in a game which plays with all the aspects that makes them fun and actually has some moral responsibility to them — and also the sense that you’re always doing it for someone else. I hope that games keep going in that direction.

So, yeah, he’s a fan. LaBrute even made a short film, called “how far would you go for love?”, that debuted last month when the game launched. Besides Heavy Rain writer/director David Cage, the short film features the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Nicolas Roeg, Stephen Frears and Peter Bogdanovich, among others.

LaBrute says if he did make a game, it would be something like Heavy Rain. The director will be releasing his latest films Death at a Funeral, a remake of a 2007 British film. La Brute helmed The Wicker Man remake that was released in 2006.

Neil LaBute dips into Heavy Rain [PlayStation] [Pic]

Yes, that’s right, we’re now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of the Kotaku community.

And thanks to the very kind chaps at Madman Entertainment, purveyor of all kinds of cool, indie and esoteric film, the best reader review we publish each month will win a prize pack containing ten of the latest Madman DVD releases.

This review was submitted by Matt Cirina. If you’ve played Heavy Rain, or just want to ask Matt more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Heavy Rain (PS3)

Generating discussion around the web is Sony’s latest exclusive “Heavy Rain.” Does it carry the joy of a waterslide? Or is it nothing but a wet blanket?

Loved

The Characters: They grew on me and I admit, I got attached. I loved them all, from the tired swagger of the old private detective, to the FBI agent who could have been a dead ringer for some estranged relative of Agent Cooper from Twin Peaks.

The Graphics: While there were many visits to uncanny valley through Heavy Rain, There were moments that absolutely blew me away. Moments that added to the profound effect of Heavy Rain. Which brings me to my next point:

Storytelling Innovation: I was honestly left in awe. It took me only a half hour to find myself feeling complex emotions that I thought were only reserved for books or films. This is the only game in which I actually felt genuine remorse for any harm that came to a character because of my decisions. It makes the morality systems in other games look like gimmicks.

Hated

Controls: While for the most part they were smooth, I found myself stuck with the character facing a wall on some occasions.

Soundtrack Repetition: Don’t get me wrong, I loved the soundtrack, it’s just that the developers seemed to like it too, and insisted on playing it over and over again at the most inopportune moments.

Silly Dialogue: While I loved the story as a whole, some of the dialogue felt heavy-handed, like those moments where sitcoms try to be serious and meaningful but almost always fall flat.

Regardless of flaws, Heavy Rain is a fantastic new step towards true, powerful storytelling and maturity in games and I can’t wait for more.

Reviewed by: Matt Cirina

You can have your Reader Review published on Kotaku. Send your review to us at the usual address. Make sure it’s written in the same format as above and in under 500 words – yes, we’ve upped the word limit. We’ll publish the best ones we get and the best of the month will win a Madman DVD prize pack.

Thanks to Sony, we have TEN Heavy Rain “Origami” Editions up for grabs. This edition contains the full game and comes in a special origami style disc case. I repeat: you cannot buy it anywhere!

So how do you win this beautifully crafted PS3 game?

Heavy Rain is full of moody moments where people look reflective and melancholy, lost in their pangs of regret and remorse, just like the one above. We want you to create your own moody moment from Heavy Rain by way of the medium of photography.

Snap a pic of yourself or a friend that resembles a fictional screenshot from Heavy Rain and send it to us at the usual address. You must include the Kotaku “K” somewhere in the shot. Minimal photoshopping is OK, but we’re really judging the idea here more than the execution. Multiple entries are not allowed.

You’ve got until next Sunday, March 7, to get your entries in. We’ll be posting your entries as they arrive between now and then, and then choosing the ten best at the conclusion of the comp.

Entries such as Andrew B and his feline feeding fetish:

Or Lance M’s domestic dilemma:

Or Brendan M’s dark, shadowy secret:

Or Steven P’s discovery of a ninth origami killing:

Or Scott B’s paralysis of choice:

That’s another five of the entries I’ve received so far, all again plucked at random from the steadily rising pile. They might win, they might not. Do you think you can do better?

Good luck!

[Terms and Conditions]

Thanks to Sony, we have TEN Heavy Rain “Origami” Editions up for grabs. This edition contains the full game and comes in a special origami style disc case. I repeat: you cannot buy it anywhere!

So how do you win this beautifully crafted PS3 game?

Heavy Rain is full of moody moments where people look reflective and melancholy, lost in their pangs of regret and remorse, just like the one above. We want you to create your own moody moment from Heavy Rain by way of the medium of photography.

Snap a pic of yourself or a friend that resembles a fictional screenshot from Heavy Rain and send it to us at the usual address. You must include the Kotaku “K” somewhere in the shot. Minimal photoshopping is OK, but we’re really judging the idea here more than the execution. Multiple entries are not allowed.

You’ve got until next Sunday, March 7, to get your entries in. We’ll be posting your entries as they arrive between now and then, and then choosing the ten best at the conclusion of the comp.

Entries such as Belinda M’s possibly inadvertant recreation of an in-game scene:

Or Jose B’s macabre homage to American Beauty:

Or Paul S’s horizontal shower:

Or Ryan T’s emo-tastic closeup:

Or the bizarrely-named mottomomo’s existentialist ennui:

That’s another five of the entries I’ve received so far, all again plucked at random from the steadily rising pile. They might win, they might not. Do you think you can do better?

Good luck!

[Terms and Conditions]

Heavy Rain for the PlayStation 3 is an emotionally engaging psychological thriller. Se7en, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, is an emotionally engaging psychological thriller. What happens when you combine the two?

As I played through Heavy Rain, I actually found myself waiting for the “What’s in the box?” moment, so seeing a mash up of Quantic Dream’s interactive fiction with Se7en just seems so natural to me.

Reader Tary Yu sent us a link to this little clip, expertly crafted by YouTube user and machinima artist LBQ2TS. Nicely done, especially the loading screen.