Reader Review: Heavy Rain

Do you have what it takes to get a review published right here on Kotaku? Ben does, as he gazes mournfully through half-parted curtains onto a rain-drenched street.

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 Ben Carey. If you’ve played Heavy Rain, or just want to ask Ben more about it, leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Heavy Rain (PS3)

Playing Heavy Rain is like watching Seven for the first time: the suspense builds and builds until right at the very end when you go, ‘Oh my god!’ However, in Heavy Rain you have the distinct advantage of being able to change the ending (no head in a box for me thank you!); in fact you decide pretty much everything that happens in the game.

Loved

Visuals: The visuals were one of the main things the developers were bragging about during the promotional stage and for damn good reason too. The general aesthetic of the game, dark and grungy, is wonderful and the environments look great, but the crowning achievement is the characters’ facial expressions, which are hauntingly realistic.

Diversity: The diversity of tasks, which the player has control of, is astounding and a real credit to the developers. Tasks range from taking part in fights, escaping the police, changing nappies, putting on make-up, and even making love. Show me another game which lets you do all that and I’ll eat my hat.

Story: Heavy Rain boasts a rich, emotionally charged story, which has elements of a thriller, a murder mystery, and even a love story. The team behind it wanted it to be seen as an interactive movie rather than a game, and that’s exactly what they have created. Part Seven, part Saw and part 24, Heavy Rain is a superb mix of action, drama and suspense.

Hated

Heart Attacks: After about the halfway mark you get very little relief from the stressful events taking place left, right and centre. If you play the game anything like I did you’ll be worrying about your characters dying all the time, which can happen if you miss the right button at the wrong time. This puts a lot of pressure on you not to screw up.

Heavy Rain is truly revolutionary and a must play for all PS3 owners.

Reviewed by: Ben Carey

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.

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