"Heavy Rain" - Game or cruel reality? Game Review. Review of the game Heavy Rain: a thriller in the best traditions of Fincher Rainfall in the shower

: D- Ages 17 and up
ESRB: M - Mature
PEGI: 18
USK: 16

• « What are you willing to do for those you love?" (eng. How far will you go to save someone you love?)
• "Everything I did, I did for love"(English) Everything I did, I did for love)

Plot

Heavy Rain has a dark, complex, carefully crafted storyline.

It all starts with an intro, where the player plays as the architect Ethan Mars, whose life was tragic after his eldest son Jason, on the day of his 10th birthday, was hit by a car to death, and Ethan himself, trying to save his son, fell into to whom. Two years later, he blames himself for Jason's death and is in a state of severe depression, which leads to his divorce from his wife, a visit to a psychiatrist and the fact that his youngest son Sean is completely disappointed in him. Since that day, Ethan has suffered from agoraphobia and long-term memory lapses that last for several hours. One day, Ethan receives a strange letter in the mail with a short text, which tells about a married couple who, having returned from church, did not find their children at home and could not find them anywhere. And some time later, when Ethan and Sean were walking in the amusement park, Ethan again had a blackout, and when he woke up, he found that Sean had disappeared.

The police come to the conclusion that Sean was kidnapped by the mysterious serial killer "Master of Origami" (eng. Origami killer), who showed up several years ago. His victims are young boys between the ages of 9 and 13, who were all abducted during the rainy seasons and their bodies found days later. The cause of death for all was the same - non-violent drowning. An origami figurine was found in the hands of each victim, and an orchid lay on his chest. The time of death for all was somewhere a few hours before discovery. The murdered boys are connected only by one thing - they are all from the poor social strata and, in fact, no one needs them. FBI agent Norman Jayden, who is assigned to help the police, believes that the presence of an orchid on his chest and the absence of physical violence (the victims were not beaten or stabbed) indicates that the killer is clearly repentant of his act. Jayden also concludes that since the abductions occurred during rainy seasons, the children were apparently placed in a container that was flooded with water during heavy precipitation. Which means they have less than three days to save Sean.

Ethan's house is besieged by the media, and he himself receives an envelope in the mail with the exact same note and a receipt from the locker at the local station. Arriving there and finding the right cell, Ethan finds a shoe box in it, and in the box - a gun, a mobile phone and five origami figures. On the phone, he finds a video in which Sean is in a pit with water closed with bars. The phone also contains a message - if Ethan wants to save his son, he must pass a series of difficult tests, the instructions for which are written on reverse side each of the figurines. At the end of each test, he will find a small information card that must be inserted into the phone, after which several letters of the name of the place where Sean is located will be displayed on the screen. Meanwhile, the tests are a real threat to life, associated with both huge risk and physical violence (in one of the tests, Ethan has to cut off the phalanx of his little finger). Along the way, he meets journalist Madison Paige, who helps him recover both physically and emotionally. As feelings develop between them, Madison decides to help Ethan and begins her own investigation.

Meanwhile, Jayden and Lieutenant Carter Blake go out on two suspects, but each time it turns out they were wrong. At the same time, Ethan's ex-wife turns to the police, who admits that after their divorce, she once met Ethan on the street, and he told her that he constantly sees boys drowning in water, and soon after this meeting, another victim was found . This statement leads Blake and Jayden to Ethan's psychiatrist, who tells them about his memory lapses, which began due to depression after the death of his son. Blake firmly believes that Ethan Mars is the "Master of Origami". However, Jayden continues to study the collected facts, which makes him doubt Blake's version. They begin to track down Ethan, and the latter only thanks to the help of Madison manages to escape from them.

Playing as a fourth character, Scott Shelby, a private detective hired by the parents of one of the murdered children, the player at some point begins to play as a fifth character, posing as an "Origami Master" as a child. At the age of ten, Scott Sheppard had a misfortune: he and his twin brother John were playing hide and seek at a construction site, and at some point John fell into a pipe in which there was a turbulent stream of water. Scott could not pull him out alone and asked for help from his father, but he was drunk and did not want to hear anything, because of which John drowned in front of his brother. After that, Scott's parents were deprived of parental rights, and the boy was given to a foster family, where he became Scott Shelby from Scott Sheppard. For years, Shelby couldn't help thinking that if it weren't for their father's carelessness, John would still be alive today. Wanting to find out if there is such a father who will do anything to save his son, Shelby began to kidnap the boys, and send instructions to their fathers to pass the tests (as can be judged from the plot of the game, Ethan Mars will be the first father who managed to save son, if he can do it). His job as a detective is just a front because that's how he can discover and eliminate evidence that could identify him.

The game's ending focuses on whether Ethan, Madison, or Jayden can find Sean in time to save him, and at the same time establish that Scott Shelby is the "Origami Master" and kill him. The final outcome of the final scenes depends on the decisions and actions the player has made throughout the game. Of the four characters in certain moments three can die (Jaden and Madison) or be arrested before the end of the game (Ethan), or fail in their search, preventing them from finding Sean before he drowns, or they fail to render Shelby harmless. The details of the epilogue also depend on which events were triggered by which actions in the storyline. If any of the characters dies, the game will still continue, and his death also affects both the events of the game and the events of the epilogue. In total, there are 17 endings for four characters in the game.

Characters

main characters

• Ethan Mars(Eng. Ethan Mars) - an architect suffering from memory lapses. He also spent 6 months in a coma (We learn this from a dialogue with the psychiatrist treating him). He was by no means always like this: at the beginning of the game you have to witness how a tragic accident destroyed his family. First, his eldest son Jason died, then his youngest son Sean was kidnapped by the Origami Master. Ethan must overcome the trials prepared for him by the killer in order to save his son. Due to the fact that his son died, he has mental problems, he began to be afraid of crowds of people. He thinks he is the "Origami Master". Ethan's voice, appearance and motion capture were provided by Pascal Langdale (dubbed by Ilya Isaev).
• Madison Page(eng. Madison paige) - a young girl who earns a living by photographing for glamorous magazines. She was also a military journalist at one time. Because of this, the girl is often tormented by a nightmare in which she fights with unknown men dressed in all-black camouflage uniforms (which resemble the uniform of saboteurs or ancient Japanese shadow scouts and "ninja" assassins) who have entered her apartment. But the real passion of a young photographer girl is investigating murders. She meets Ethan quite by accident (after completing the themes of the first Origami Master task) and begins to help him complete the tasks of the Origami Master, while trying to find out who is really behind all this, and to treat Ethan from wounds and injuries, received by him during the passage of the tasks of the maniac. However, Madison has also been spying on Ethan when he was completing trials in an attempt to write a book about the Origami Master (Ethan learns this quite by accident when Madison's camera and notepad fall out of Madison's jacket). Paige, 27, has a kind, helpful and caring heart and soul. In one of the happy endings, Paige becomes the wife of Ethan Mars. Also, the girl is the protagonist of the Taxidermist DLC, which takes place parallel to the plot of the main game. Madison's motion capture and appearance was provided by model Jacqui Ainsley, but the voice and facial motion capture was provided by Judy Bacher (dubbed by Olga Zubkova).
• Norman Jayden(eng. Norman Jayden) - an FBI agent using the modern Consciousness Expansion Device (URS) system for express analysis of evidence (obviously, it is taken from the movie " Johnny Mnemonic"). Sent by the FBI to help the police catch the Origami Master. He is addicted to tryptocaine. He is the only one who didn't believe that Ethan is the "Origami Master". Jaden's voice, appearance, and motion capture were provided by Leon Okenden (dubbed by Alexander Dzyuba).
• Scott Shelby(eng. Scott Shelby) - a private detective whose lively character and quick speech do not spoil even asthma attacks. Searches for the "Master of Origami". His investigative style and music while playing him are reminiscent of film noir. Scott's voice, appearance and motion capture was provided by Sam Douglas (dubbed by Alexander Novikov).

Game process

The game has a unique control scheme. The R2 game controller's trigger button makes the character move forward. The button's analog functions are used, allowing the player to control the character's movement speed by pressing the button hard or lightly. The left analog stick controls the movement of the character's head and the direction of the character's movement relative to the direction of his gaze. David Cage explains that this allows the character's movement to be independent of the camera's perspective. Whole game process built on the use of a series of context sensitive actions and Quick Time Events . Players can play the character's thoughts by holding the L2 button and pressing the appropriate buttons to make the character say or do what he is currently thinking. These thoughts are sometimes blurred, and choosing them at the wrong time affects the character's reaction, causing him to say or do something. Also, the Russian dubbing of the thoughts of the heroes has one small omission. And it lies in the fact that during tense moments, thoughts in the original are spoken in a restless or "nervous" voice, and in Russian the characters in these situations experience paradoxical calmness in their thoughts.

Action sequences when, for example, a character is attacked will play as temporary events (example: Fahrenheit). The player is shown various symbols indicating the need to press certain buttons, move the right analog stick in the desired direction, shake or tilt the controller. The correctness of the execution of these commands affects the development of events that shape the course of the plot.

Game development

Quantic Dream started work on heavy rain in February 2006. The project was announced at the 2006 gaming exhibition, where a technology demo The Casting presented to the media and the public.

Part of the game physics is available with support for PhysX technology from nVidia. Initially, it was planned to release two versions of the game for the PC, designed for computers equipped with the appropriate physics processing unit, and for machines without this component. However, after the game was announced as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, these versions were discontinued.

In an interview given to GameDaily.com, Quantic Dream co-president and executive producer Guillaume de Fondomier stated that the characters in Heavy Rain are being played by real actors.

Some time in early 2007 poster heavy rain appeared on the Quantic Dream website, which is under reconstruction. It showed an origami model called the "Spanish pajarita" (pajarita is an ancient classic figurine that has become a symbol of origami in Spain), with blood dripping from one of the corners. Also became known the new subtitle of the game The Origami Killer, a list of (apparently virtual) actors (Ethan Mars, Scott Shelby, Madison Page, Norman Jayden) and a tagline: "How far are you prepared to go to save someone you love?” (“How far can you go to save someone you love?”). All four of the "actors" (Mars, Shelby, Paige, Jayden) were stated to be playable characters.

gamescom 2009

PS Move support

Release on PS4

Soundtrack

Ratings

Sales

Within a month of its release, over 1,150,000 copies of the game were sold worldwide. PlayStrum writes: "Heavy Rain is a popular game in gaming industry became unpredictably successful in the eyes of many people, what can I say, even David Cage was surprised ... ". A little more than a week after the release, almost the entire circulation was sold, as a result of which, in order to avoid a shortage, Sony had to reprint the circulation of the game.

In 2013, at the Digital Dragons conference in Poland, one of Quantic Dream's bosses and executive producer of all its games, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, gave the audience specific financial calculations. It turned out that the development of Heavy Rain cost 16.7 million euros. Together with marketing and distribution costs, the amount more than doubled to 40 million euros. But Sony eventually brought them back, earning over 100 million euros from the game.

In total, over 3 million copies of the game were sold on the PlayStation 3.

Notes

1. Jim Sterling. Sony announced that Heavy Rain will be released in Europe on February 24 (indefinite) . gambling addiction(January 11, ). Date of treatment January 15, 2010. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012.
2. Heavy Rain is "interactive drama" - Sony (indefinite) . Retrieved February 19, 2008. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012.
3. Stuart, Keith Heavy Rain creator: I am fed up with space marines! | The Guardian. (indefinite) . The Guardian (March 21, 2011). Retrieved May 6, 2011.

Here comes the rain again... Heavy rain again...

Good day to all, dear readers! I am glad to welcome you to a slightly different section of this site. Here I try myself for the first time, and therefore I wanted to choose a special game for such an undertaking. Fortunately, the relevance was on my side, because the release on the PlayStation 4 the greatest game Heavy Rain took place just on March 2nd. For those who are not aware of the rapture that has consumed the crowd, I will explain: Heavy Rain is an interactive adventure video game developed by the French studio Quantic Dream exclusively for game console PlayStation 3 at the end of February 2010. For many gamers, it was this exclusive that became the reason for buying or at least renting a console. A game in which every choice can be decisive, every fail can be fatal. Tense nerves, shaking hands, but unforgettable emotions. Here's what I've been able to learn about Heavy Rain over the years. Therefore, I simply considered it my duty to try out Remastered in action! I counted on tightened graphics, a breathtaking plot and a saline tear flood. But what happened in the end? We'll figure out!

… Story...

For starters, of course, a bit of plot. Quite small, because for spoilers we now have almost the death penalty, and even more so with regard to this game. So! There are four main characters in the game: architect Ethan Mars, journalist Madison Page, FBI agent Norman Jayden and private detective Scott Shelby. All these faces are united by one terrible personality - a mysterious serial killer, nicknamed "Master of Origami". The terrible feature of his murders is that the victims are always children drowned in rainwater. Well, the plot thread is tied to the fact that the son of Ethan Mars becomes a new victim of a maniac. The man turns to the police, where the specially arrived Norman Jayden takes on the case of the Master of Origami, using the modern ARI augmented reality system for express analysis of the evidence. The thing is quite useful and has made a significant contribution to the possible success of this investigation. In addition, at the request of the parents of the victims, Scott Shelby also takes over the case, working directly with people, and not with gadgets. In addition, Madison is also accidentally interested, using her channels to break through the necessary path in the investigation. However, Ethan himself is not going to sit still. According to police estimates, all participants have only about three days to save the child. Three days to solve a riddle to which no one has been able to find the answer for several years. Will it be possible this time to break the deadly vicious circle? Depends only on you!

Well, it's probably worth stopping here. Believe me, this is a really stunning feature, but the less details you know before getting to know the game, the more interesting it is to immerse yourself in this story, imbued with the joys and sorrows of absolutely ordinary people with unusually sad destinies. To build my own assumptions, to have my own point of view regarding what is happening and to experience absolutely sincere surprise and tension was helped by my ignorance ... almost complete. I just knew who the killer was. And for this big, damn it, thanks to Vasily! I didn’t even have time to come to my senses to turn off the stream, and the spoiler had already left his lips ... But even with all this, the game found something to surprise me, scare me, and even more so strain me. For which she is a huge plus!

… Buttons...

Well, now a little about the gameplay component. There will be few letters here just because talking a lot about the gameplay in the game of the interactive movie genre somehow does not work out. But this is precisely now, when this genre is no longer something new and unusual. And in the years of the release of Heavy Rein, it had not yet turned into an assembly line, and therefore it was a novelty. So what can we do? Well, of course, walk first, explore the location and perform various actions using the notorious qte. But what is interesting is that we can perform non-plot actions for a strictly limited period of time, because. at one point, something plot will happen, and what you did not have time will remain on your conscience. Since we are talking about movements, it is worth noting the camera, the positions of which are as many as two. And you switch them yourself, although sometimes none of the options is convenient. This is a mistake. As for qte, then, of course, there are variations. Either hit the buttons with all your might, or hold down five buttons at once, wave the gamepad around the room, or turn different twirls with the stick, and sometimes turn them slowly. Everything depends on the situation. But in general it is worth noting that you are allowed to choose the level of difficulty, so twirling and five buttons turn out to be optional entertainment. Also of great interest are the thoughts of the characters that you can learn and help yourself, because sometimes there may be useful ideas for resolving difficult situations. In addition, work with augmented reality glasses deserves special words. With their help, you can conduct a blood test, prints, compare the data obtained with the map and thus find clues.

Now let's move on to the part of the comparative analysis, which will include the derivation of all the pleasant moments and not so. What will be more and what will be the final verdict? That is what we will find out now!

Pros:

1. The plot of course! The story is simply breathtaking! With complete ignorance of the whole truth, the player is able to turn into a continuous bundle of nerves and descend to the very depths of the abyss of despair, having failed in his search. Because as the story progresses, it makes you more and more empathetic. And most importantly - to be afraid of losing the hero himself. After all, everything is possible here!
2. Cruelty. In relation to heroes, players. To all! The game makes you nervous, afraid, perform qte especially carefully, because sometimes only one miss is enough to be left without the top of your head.
3. Music. Well, what can I say, without proper musical accompaniment the atmosphere becomes incomplete and does not affect the player properly. There is no such thing in Heavy Rein. All sounds and melodies are perfectly matched.
4. Secrets. You never know how your remark or action will come around. Who will be a friend, and who will be a traitor. Who can fly off the coils, and who knows how to remain cool. Well, you can never guess exactly at what stage of the investigation the journalist will have brains so as not to meddle in dangerous places alone.

1. Bugs and friezes. Everything is simple and concise here. People from the crowd pass through the heroes, each new episode in the beginning necessarily frisit. It even somehow does not fit in my head, but unfortunately there is a place to be.
2. Graphene. I honestly have no idea how everything was with this case in 2010, but now the picture looks ... somehow not very, and in some places even not very much. Sometimes the characters are muddy and blurry, and sometimes they are completely angular. I was hoping the graphics would be much better. Although the faces at the time of downloads look gorgeous.
3. Still, I can not say that this project is original. To my disappointment, I saw a lot of similarities with the previous Quantic Dream project - Fahrenheit. Lonely unfortunate main character with a lot of problems, mysterious murders, weather anomalies, flashbacks, control of several heroes. To be honest, I even a little want to conclude that Heavy Rein is Fahrenheit, but more elaborate and with normal logical endings. And the minus is because I would like something new. Although if such an association did not occur to me so often during the game, I would omit this item.

… Outcome...

I'm extremely happy with this game! Overwhelmed by the opportunity! The most amazing thing about her was that I felt like a father who has to save his child, and an FBI agent who has to do what ordinary police are not able to do! And those three days were the most tormenting. When you understand what is happening and why there is so little time at your disposal, you begin to chaotically and impatiently grab at all opportunities, just to be in time. Only the decisive factor will not be time, but what you are ready to do in order to save this time! It is when this simple truth is revealed to you that you will understand why the game has earned such fame for itself!

Well, as for the verdict, it is rather a reprint. And it came out so ... well, so-so, as if almost not reprinted. But since the eyes still do not bleed, and the emotions are still seething, it means that even in 2016, the original Heavy Rain is able to conquer gamer's minds and hearts! Therefore, I highly recommend!

Beginnings of the industry interactive games - this is a set of related videos in which you can choose one or another insert to continue. But time goes by, the technology of games is improving, including interactive ones. And now French video game developers come into play. Quantic Dream. The first significant and successful project was the game "Fahrenheit" ("Fahrenheit"). Thanks to this creation, the studio QD gained even more fans and wide recognition from major gaming publications.

Immediately after leaving "Fahrenheit" a new project has been announced "Heavy Rain". The game was released on February 24, 2010. It took 5 years to develop the studio. During this time, the developers took into account all the disadvantages of the previous project, so as not to repeat the mistakes again, improved the graphics and presented it in the same genre - interactive cinema.

Plot

Ethan Mars- one of the main characters of the game. He has everything: a loving wife, two sons and a quiet family life. It would seem, where does trouble come from? But in an instant, his life turns upside down. His eldest son is killed in an accident. Waking up from a coma, Ethan, who was abandoned by his wife, was left alone with his youngest and only son. He greatly regrets that he did not die instead of his son, but remained to live with depression and memory lapses. But the troubles didn't end there either. While walking with his son, Ethan had another memory lapse, after which he woke up at some empty intersection. All attempts to find his son were in vain. The boy is kidnapped. Kidnapped by Origami Master. And now the outcome of this touching story depends on us.

The developers did not manage with one character. I introduced you to Ethan, so I'll introduce the others:
Madison Page- young girl, photographer. Her passion in recent years is investigating murders. This passion gave rise to insomnia and a mania for the threat of his own life.
Scott Shelby- private detective. This elderly man helps everyone in his path. And even his age and disease will not stop him from catching a maniac.
Norman Jayden- FBI agent. His mission is to capture the Origami Master. To do this, he uses the development of the Pentagon - an augmented reality system, abbreviated as ARI. This gadget is equipped with goggles and a latex glove. However, this system is not harmless, and the agent pays with his health.

Each hero has his own story line, which helps to reveal the character of all the characters to the player and which, in the end, connects together like puzzle pieces.

Gameplay

One of the interesting features of the game is the thoughts of the hero, which we can listen to at any time. The interactions between the characters are also very impressive. We have the right to choose one answer or another, the consequences of which will affect the course of the plot. It seems that the characters come to life and communicate like real people.

The only thing that saddens gamers is that QD tried only for the console PS3. The game is definitely worth the money and time spent, as it is not in vain. So, whoever has a “third Sonya”, then feel free to purchase this interactive masterpiece!

I think everyone is waiting for the next project from the developers Quantic Dream entitled "Beyond: Two Souls", which, like "Heavy Rain" will become a PS3 exclusive and remain in the interactive genre. Let's see what the developers have in store for us this time.

Verdict

My mark:
10 / 10
Thank you all for your attention!
See you!
I repeat - "this is my personal opinion about this project" !!!

I remember very well a cold February day in 2010 when I bought myself a CD with the game Heavy Rain for Sony consoles. I was in extremely high spirits, because this new game from one of my favorite studios - Quantic Dream. The game was just incredible! I have never come across anything like this in my years of interactive entertainment. It's been exactly six years and I've had an opportunity to review the Heavy Rain remaster for PS4 that I just couldn't turn down. Too great was the temptation to re-feel long-forgotten emotions.

The head of the French studio Quantic Dream, David Cage, has always dreamed of creating a hybrid of a movie and a video game. His first experiment was the game Omikron: The Nomad Soul, released in 1999. It is noteworthy that the soundtrack for the game was written by the famous musician David Bowie, who always dreamed of leaving his mark on the gaming industry. Omikron was difficult to attribute to any one genre, as it combined elements role play, shooter, fighting game and traditional quest. To record movements game characters Motion Capture technology, innovative for that time, was used, and the huge fantastic city in which the player found himself literally lived his own life (and this was a year before GTA 3 was born!). The players received Cage's debut work very warmly, which only strengthened his confidence that he was moving in the right direction.

The second Quantic Dream game was Fahrenheit, an adventure game released in 2005. An exciting story with elements of mysticism and fantasy, the ability to alternately play for different characters, innovative for that time splitting the screen to show the scene from different points of view, the introduction of QTE technology into the gameplay - all this did not go unnoticed by game critics and gamers, even despite a number of shortcomings and a very mediocre graphic component. The game has become one more confident step towards the dream of creating a real high-quality interactive movie for the Quantic Dream studio.

In 2010, the game Heavy Rain was born, created with the support of the Japanese company Sony exclusively for the PlayStation 3 console. It once again demonstrated to the gaming community that there is no limit to perfection, and David Cage is still stubbornly moving towards his goal. How did this game stand out from other attempts to create interactive cinema? Following the release of Fahrenheit, David Cage was heavily criticized for mixing multiple cinematic genres in the game's storyline, confusing some players as a result. That is why this time there is no science fiction in the game, except perhaps for some gadgets that are somewhat ahead of their time. The main emphasis this time was on certain psychological characteristics of a person and the oppressive, growing tension that the developers tried to convey to the players through the story they told, so the game can be safely attributed to thrillers.

At the heart of the plot of the game, Cage placed the love of parents for their children. He thought for a long time about how far a person is ready to go for the sake of those he loves. The fruit of these reflections was an outline of the plot of Heavy Rain. The protagonist of the game is the architect Ethan Mars, who has everything a man of his age can dream of: a loving wife, two sons, a great job and a luxurious house. But life is a rather tricky thing, so any idyll can collapse in an instant. The son of the protagonist as a result of an absurd accident dies under the wheels of a car. After that, Ethan's wife leaves, and he sees his second child only a couple of times a month. And all this against the backdrop of a strong sense of guilt for the death of his own child, which Ethan can not overcome. It would seem that it could be worse?

And it can be worse if your second son is kidnapped Serial killer nicknamed Master of Origami. He got his nickname for the fact that at the place of abduction he always leaves a figurine of some animal, folded out of paper. The maniac forces the fathers of the children he abducted to perform various deadly tasks, somewhat reminiscent of the plot of the movie "Saw". In case of successful completion of all the tests, the maniac promises to return the child to his father, but, of course, no one has yet escaped from this bloody "Fort Boyard" alive. The psychologically exhausted protagonist rushes to help his son, and he is not at all afraid of the maniac's tasks, each time becoming more and more insane.

The plot of the game is incredibly dark. The oppressive atmosphere of hopelessness, accompanied by ever-increasing rain, puts pressure on the player, gradually pulling him out of his usual comfort zone. The game presents us with some really difficult moral dilemmas. Could you kill a complete stranger to save your child's life? Could you cut off your own finger so that your son does not suffer at the hands of a distraught maniac? The choice of the player depends on how the further plot of the game will develop. Each of your decisions, one way or another, leaves its mark on all subsequent events. This should not be forgotten for a second.

Heavy Rain offers you to alternately play as several characters. In addition to Ethan Mars, you will be in the role of obese private detective Scott Shelby, an asthmatic who is leading a private investigation into the case of the aforementioned maniac. The next protagonist is military journalist Madison Paige, who is trying to recover from all the horrors that she had seen during her difficult work. The life of a girl at some point is closely intertwined with the fate of Ethan Mars. FBI agent Norman Jayden closes the quartet of characters, using advanced government technologies to search for a maniac, allowing him to see evidence invisible to the naked eye at the crime scene. Norman is seriously addicted to a strong drug, but he is trying with all his might to overcome his addiction.

Each hero of the game is attractive in its own way and, as you already understand, is not without human flaws. Amazingly, David Cage managed to bring together these bright personalities, harmoniously complementing each other and giving the game a unique charm. Each of the characters was played by a real actor who, in addition to the voice, gave the character his own appearance. The actor's face, facial expressions and movements were carefully digitized and transferred to a 3D model. It turned out very badly for its time. But six years later, I have to admit that technology has come a long way since then. And if the facial expressions in some places look more or less decent, then the animation of the movements of the characters looks too rough, and in some places it is completely ridiculous.

Heavy Rain's gameplay is a leisurely exploration gaming locations, search for clues and action scenes that require the player's attention and speed of reaction. As in the previous game, most of the actions during fights and chases are performed using QTE, that is, you will have to quickly repeat the sequence of buttons shown on the screen. At the moments of exploring locations, everything is more simple: with a certain movement of the analog stick or the DualShock 4 controller, you open the cabinet, take the item with the second analog stick, and so on. In particularly tense moments, you will have to simultaneously hold down and hold several buttons at once, which will require some skill and good coordination of movements.

Cage's games have been criticized by many for putting a lot of emphasis on using QTEs, which severely limits the players' freedom. But personally, I don't see this as a disadvantage. After all, if in any game I am not allowed to run, jump, aim and shoot, it does not always become less exciting from this. Restrictions are present in general in any games, even with open world. If you give the player free rein, Heavy Rain from a dark thriller in the spirit of David Fincher's movie "Seven" will turn into a comedic misunderstanding, where the player will create atrocities and completely forget about the missing son of the protagonist. Cage understood this very well, and therefore took the necessary measures to limit the players for the good of the atmosphere. That is why the plot of Heavy Rain keeps you in suspense from the first seconds to end credits, not allowing to be distracted by various nonsense.

Another remarkable, in my opinion, the solution of the developers is the system for choosing replicas and making decisions. From time to time options for phrases or actions will appear and circle around the head of the character under your control, and you are free to select one of them by pressing the appropriate button on the gamepad. The more the character freaks out, the harder it is to do this, as the phrases start jumping wildly and shaking randomly. This simple and elegant solution of the developers is able to convey the emotions of the character to the player as accurately as possible, destroying the thin partition between the virtual and real worlds. Every now and then the player is offered to perform completely routine actions for the characters, for example, set the family table, or complete the architectural project of the protagonist. All this is not at all necessary for passing the game, but one way or another it allows you to better feel how the character lives and breathes.

Another important feature of the game is the irreversibility of your decisions. At some points, you can make the wrong decision, because of which one of the main characters will die. Despite this, you won't see any Game Over screen. The game will continue and it will continue until all the key characters are dead. There are no manual saves in the game, progress is recorded in the background, in a way that is invisible to the player. So, if you feel that you have made a fatal mistake and there is a smell of fried in the air, immediately exit the game and replay the current episode from the very beginning, before it is too late. Otherwise, there is a great risk of being left without one of the main characters, thereby missing a serious piece of the plot. Of course, this game has several endings. To be absolutely precise - 18 pieces.

I should also tell you about the technical improvements that the remaster of the game from six years ago can boast of. The resolution has been increased from 720p to 1080p (the frame rate has not changed), the lighting of most scenes has been redesigned taking into account modern technologies. Object anti-aliasing has been greatly improved (now MSAA), and a technology has been added to the game that makes soft natural shadows (HDAO) possible. The game engine has been partially rewritten to allow multi-threaded image rendering. Textures, of course, look more clear and realistic. Here, perhaps, are all the changes that the re-release of the game offers us.

As for the new content, everything is rather sad here. Not only was the support for motion controllers completely cut out of the game PlayStation Move, so for some reason they forgot to include an additional plot DLC episode "Taxidermist", which tells an exciting story from the life of journalist Madison Paige. And this is really sad, considering that even the re-release of Beyond: Two Souls, which I talked about not so long ago, included the story DLC “Additional Experiments”. At the same time, here and there in the game, I noticed some cosmetic changes. For example, during a fight in Madison Paige's apartment, her wet hair after a shower is slicked back, and not disheveled, as in the original. With the exception of such trifles, nothing has been added to the game at all.

Pros:

• Gripping and truly mature storyline.
• The game forces the player to make difficult decisions.
• How this story ends depends on your actions.
• Improving the quality of textures and post-processing effects.
• Interesting and quirky main characters.
• Fun gameplay.
• Enveloping atmosphere.

Minuses:

• Wooden animation of character movements.
• For some reason, the story DLC was not included in the remaster.
• PlayStation Move support has been removed from the game.
• Complete lack of new content.

Well, for its time, Heavy Rain made a kind of revolution, in fact, offering the players what they so passionately desired - high-quality interactive cinema. Not without flaws, of course, but the movie is exciting, emotionally rich and very entertaining. The game shows miracles of ingenuity, transferring the tension and desperation of the characters from the TV screen to the players. And in this, perhaps, she still has practically no worthy competitors. If for some reason you bypassed this project in 2010, you have a unique opportunity to be in the place of the main characters of the game. If you have gone through Heavy Rain before, you can refresh your impressions if you wish. I bet the game 8.5 points out of 10 and I continue to look forward to the release of David Cage about a charming android girl named Kara.

: MA15+- Mature 15+
BBFC : 15 - 15 Certificates
CERO : D- Ages 17 and up
ESRB: M - Mature
PEGI: 18
USK: 16

In an interview given to GameDaily.com, Quantic Dream co-president and executive producer Guillaume de Fondomier stated that the characters in Heavy Rain are being played by real actors.

Some time in early 2007 poster heavy rain appeared on the Quantic Dream website, which is under reconstruction. It showed an origami model called the "Spanish pajarita" (pajarita is an ancient classic figurine that has become a symbol of origami in Spain), with blood dripping from one of the corners. Also became known the new subtitle of the game The Origami Killer, a list of (apparently virtual) actors (Ethan Mars, Scott Shelby, Madison Page, Norman Jayden) and a tagline: "How far are you prepared to go to save someone you love?" (“How far can you go to save someone you love?”). All four of the "actors" (Mars, Shelby, Paige, Jayden) were stated to be playable characters.

gamescom 2009

PS Move support [ | ]

Release on PS4 [ | ]

PC version [ | ]

Soundtrack [ | ]

Ratings [ | ]

Sales [ | ]

Within a month of its release, over 1,150,000 copies of the game were sold worldwide. PlayStrum writes: "Heavy Rain - a popular game in the gaming industry has become an unpredictable success in the eyes of many people, what can I say, even David Cage was surprised ...". A little more than a week after the release, almost the entire circulation was sold, as a result of which, in order to avoid a shortage, Sony had to reprint the circulation of the game.

In 2013, at the Digital Dragons conference in Poland, one of Quantic Dream's bosses and executive producer of all its games, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, gave the audience specific financial calculations. It turned out that the development of Heavy Rain cost 16.7 million euros. Together with marketing and distribution costs, the amount more than doubled to 40 million euros. But Sony eventually brought them back, earning over 100 million euros from the game.

In total, over 3 million copies of the game have been sold on the PlayStation 3.

Notes [ | ]

1. Jim Sterling. Sony announces Heavy Rain will be released in Europe on February 24th (indefinite) . gambling addiction(January 11, ). Date of treatment January 15, 2010. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012.
2. Heavy Rain is "interactive drama" - Sony (indefinite) . Retrieved February 19, 2008. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012.
3. Stuart, Keith Heavy Rain creator: I am fed up with space marines! | The Guardian. (indefinite) . The Guardian(March 21, 2011). Retrieved May 6, 2011.