What's new

The Games we play...

Lylat Wars is superb Ian. Loved playing that - we bought it for the Wii too as the N64 lives in Widnes now.

Heavy Rain though... O.M.G. I don't want to over egg the cake here, but it's something very, very special...

As a "game", it's very simple. There's lots of sitting and watching (often poor) acting with a mixed bag of graphics and animation (they range from utterly believable to "pacman-esque"). So, the game must be fantastic due to it's simply stunning and engrossing story line.

Well, no. Again, it's as simple as it gets really. Think Lethal Weapon mixed with Saw (with an added drop of The Matrix). It's not a complicated story at all.

So, what makes it so special? It must be the action pieces where you get to actually take control and play?

Well, laying the table, giving the kids an aeroplane ride or changing and feeding a baby don't really hint at that. However, it's the crux of what makes the game so special.

The game lowers you in gently to the way it works by getting you emotionally attached to the characters and their loved ones. You take part in the mundane so that when the game picks up, you're there with the people and you really feel for them. You feel for what goings on. Lots of phrase like "emotional attachment" are being thrown around, but it's true.

You get to choose too how you want you characters to be. The private detective seems amiable enough, but you can make him a mean drunkard who doesn't care for people. Or you can play the friendly uncle type. Is you FBI agent going to tow the line, or will he play bad cop/worse cop with your out of control partner?

You always feel that you're doing what you feel right. When you watch a film and it enters a tense situation, you always have an opinion. "Shoot the bastard", or "don't be a fool". But in the game, when you're faced with the choices and you know you will have to live with the outcome - it makes it tense and thrilling.

Added to that, you have the screen and choices shaking or fading to grey, the controller pulsing in your hand to your heart beat, the thoughts of your character whispering. When you're there making a choice, it's you right in there.

It's something that it really difficult to explain unless you play it. I was a little unsure, as I don't like to sit through lots of "dull" cut scenes. It works though - you get given enough control at the right points to bring you completely on board. I'm over halfway through my "first run" now, and I still don't know who it is that is the killer, but I have to find out, and I have to find out what is going to happen to the characters I've been playing. I've diced with death a few times with each of them now, can I keep all four alive to the finale?

There are game issues though. Control is sometimes less than satisfactory. In a rush, you'll find yourself going around in circles. While the game works on a system of "it doesn't matter if you succeed or not, the game still gives you a story" - you don't want to feel cheated because of a poor control mechanic. Yes, if you panic and mis-hit buttons, fine - you know you failed because of your weakness, but it drags you out of the story when things don't work properly.

There are other points where the game stops you from doing what you want too - forcing you to tag along with the the story. I wanted to go downstairs in my pants without a shower - I don't care that the "tutorial" wants me to learn to use the towel and get dressed function. Don't stop my character and force me back - I want the freedom. I know you can't have 100% freedom, it's just that most of the time you feel the way your character is going is right and you don't feel dragged, but when it intercepts your flow - it's a bit annoying. Oddly, it's less intrusive than any other game - it's just the game itself flows so well otherwise, it glares.

I don't know if I'll play through again. Minor_Furie is playing too, and although we've seemingly made the same choices - his game is going a different way. The subtlety involved in changing the scenario is a bit too wide spread for the time you need to invest. So It's probably £40 for ten hours of play for me. Still, it's probably the best ten hours of gaming I've ever experienced.

Ollie - you'll love the game, the Saw type of horror aspect is great when you're hooked and there personally....

10/10 - go buy a Ps3 and play it :)
 
^I know I REALLY want it but if I want to go on the EuroLive I'm going to have to avoid expensive spending like on video-games. :(

Anyway apparently Sony Arc will get more games than Natal as it's much easier for developers to make games for. Developers are even saying it's easier to make game for than the Wii!!!
Natal is just an advanced eye-toy anyway and will just be used for gimmicky games whereas Sony Arc is much more interesting as you can actually use it in games. :)
http://www.brandsonly.nl/ps3/2010/02/28 ... han-natal/
 
Also found this:
http://www.brandsonly.nl/ps3/2010/02/27 ... -theaters/

Heavy Rain May Be Forecast To Hit Theaters

Yes folks, that is correct, what you are reading is no joke. New Line Productions along with QuanticDream, Inc. and David DeGruttola a.k.a. David Cage, has filed a short form copyright assignment for none other than a big screen adaptation of Heavy Rain.

The copyright document was created way back on April 23rd, 2007 which is quite a ways back, but still follows Heavy Rain’s 2006 E3 debut.

For the more “spec oriented” among us, here is the full filing:

Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V3551D622
Date of Recordation: 2007-04-23
Entire Copyright Document: V3551 D622 P1-3
Date of Execution: 15May06; 12Jan07
Title: Heavy rain / by David “Cage” de Gruttola.
Notes: Short form option. Exhibit A recorded at request of sender.
Party 1: QuanticDream, Inc. & David DeGruttola a.k.a. David Cage.
Party 2: New Line Productions, Inc.

Names: DeGruttola, David
Cage, David
Gruttola, David De
QuanticDream, Inc.
New Line Productions, Inc.

Is it possible that we might bear witness to a Heavy Rain movie? Further still, would a big screen adaptation of Heavy Rain manage to have the same psychological an emotional affect that the game has had on so many of us gamers? The talent is definitely there, and with the Heavy Rain voice actors looking spot on identical to their video game counterparts, we could be in for one heck of a treat. Only time will tell.

I don't reckon it's a good idea as Heavy Rain is all about making choices that affect the future and having a strong emotional bond with the characters and wanting them to succeed. Somehow I think a film about running round a garden giving aeroplane rides and tucking your children into bed won't be very interesting.
 
Thing is Ollie, every (good) film does that anyway. To get you involved in the characters and to care for them - you need to connect with them. To do that, a film will spend time with the characters and their more mundane lives. This is where you understand their life and the way they feel.

Good films aren't like crap horror :p

Anyway, the biggest problem I can see is that plot is convoluted and too simple to make a film. It would appeal to Saw fans, but for somebody actually wanting a decent story and film - it just wouldn't work.
 
^Saw does have a decent story as it's more of a crime thriller than a horror.
But I'm not going to get into that argument again. :p
 
Can Heavy Rain be compared to another game or is too unique? I don't want to read all the reviews about it in case it spoils it but I don't want to buy a game I wouldn't like...

If you had to compare to it another what would it be? Just so I could get an idea if I'd like it or not :D
 
Finished Heavy Rain. Best 10 hours of my gaming life ever spent. Really upset with the ending I managed to get for myself, buggered it up. At least I can't blame anyone but myself for the way the story unfolded.

Time to get back to it and see if I can make things different the next time around... I think my FBI guy will be more violent and the private dick drunker. Cowardly hero? Yeah - why not? :)

Edit - just read your post Pierre.

It's a mix of stuff.

It's got point and click elements. So you need to search rooms and the like looking for the objects you need to solve puzzles.

It's got button press sections like in God of War, Borne, etc where it throws up button presses/sequences to hit to achieve your goal.

Sometimes it mixes both of these things together, and you're under pressure to find the right "point and click" clue and then button press to achieve what you want.

Then there's just the story playing out in long cut scenes - where sometimes you're able to join in with what's going on. It's not quite the button pressing or point and click thing. You choose who close you get to people, how relaxed, what to say, if you want to comfort them, etc ,etc. Those bits are like watching a film only you just have a bit more input to it.

So yeah, you can kind of say what it's like - but it doesn't do justice to the whole package.

If you don't find the clues in the point and click bits - fine. It just changes the story somewhere further down the line.

Fail the button pressing bits and the story carries on no matter what.

Nothing you do actually matters - you can't win or lose. You just try to achieve something and either manage it or fail. You always feel you're doing something though.

It's seriously gutting when one of your characters dies :(
 
Tbh Heavy Rain is about the only game that's been made that's made me want to buy a PS3...

Oh well, may pester my flat-mate to get one so we can 'share' it next year :lol:
 
Two points... I completed Heavy Rain last night and it's just amazing. I won't post any spoilers but I must replay to get alternate endings! There's long life to this game.


Secondly: FatPS3 owners (The PS3, not the owner) do not turn on your console, hit the switch at the back and wait for further information. Major issues with old PS3s is causing many to loose save games and trophies. I turned mine on unknowingly, but not lost anything, I don't think.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/ga ... games-sony

http://twitter.com/SonyPlayStation
 
^Yeah I couldn't log on this morning.
A problem with the PS3 has left many owners unable to access the PlayStation Network or, worse, play many games – including this week’s number one title, Heavy Rain.

PlayStation 3 owners worldwide are reporting that they’re effectively locked out of their online accounts and are unable to use any of the PlayStation 3’s online features. An undisclosed number of games have fallen prey to the problem too, presenting perplexed PlayStation punters with a mystifying error code whenever they try to log on.

It’s all because of some kind of 'calendar bug', which was triggered as March 1st came around. If that wasn’t already puzzling enough, it seems that this issue only applies to older PS3 models – owners of the sleek new PS3 Slim should be unaffected. Whatever the case, we’re assured that Sony boffins are working hard to ensure that normal service is resumed as soon as possible:

"Know that we have narrowed down the issue and have engineers working to restore service even as you read this. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you, and genuinely appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this," said a Sony representative earlier.

Alas, there’s no sign of any progress at present and we imagine that patience may become increasingly scarce before too long. Sony is reporting all developments via its Twitter feed, though – see SonyPlayStation for more info.
http://uk.videogames.games.yahoo.com/f8 ... 8b6f8.html

Don't think I've lost anything though. Just can't log on.
 
I've lost all of my Heavy Rain trophies! They go when you try to run the game, so don't! Most i should be able to pick up again when I replay the game, but some will be harder to get again.
 
The issue is to do with the leap year they think... Or rather it's NOT a leap year, but the hardware inside the older PS3's thinks it is. So when the firmware and everything says today is 01/03/2010 - the internal hardware counting is going "no, it's 29/02/2010 - don't try and fool me or I'll fall over and give up"

Slims are fine.

Trophies will return (probably) if you synced them before today. The trophy info is held on the Sony servers so it should be safe.

I hope that nobody, EVER (looks at Ollie) mentions a RROD again. ;)
 
My trophies synced at 8:31 last night... I completed it near 11:00. So i've lost a fair few trophies from the climax then! This is a major balls up for Sony, I am not a happy customer today.
 
furie said:
I hope that nobody, EVER (looks at Ollie) mentions a RROD again.
But that's a reccuring problem though that still hasn't been fixed and is effecting millions of gamers all the time. This has only happened once and It'll probably be fixed before tomorrow.

I didn't do much this morning though. I think I just went to check a video I downloaded yesterday and then got a sign in error. I tried a couple of times but it didn't want to sign in so I watched the video and turned the system off. Haven't checked my trophies yet but I sync them reguarly so they should hopefully be ok.
 
Top