There’s a kind of mystic alchemy to the creation of a gaming masterpiece; you can put together a title with eye-popping graphics, killer sound and voicework, amazing gameplay and an engaging storyline and STILL not quite have a classic on your hands. There is an unknown quality that ties all of these elements together into a perfect and cohesive gaming experience, and very few games have managed to do so. Half Life 2 and Bioshock will live on forever in the memories of those who played them because they got everything just right. Heavy Rain is a title that at times almost got it to this level, but two serious design mistakes got in the way.

Play it Again, Sam

A high level of replayability is a trait shared by every gaming masterpiece.  I played my way through Half Life 2 recently for the 5th time, and I’ve toured the world of Rapture in Bioshock 3 times, and I expect to do so again soon.  You don’t replay these games just for nostalgia’s sake, either, you play them again because they are FUN every time you boot them up.  You would think that replaying Heavy Rain would be worthwhile, with all the branching paths the story can take both on the level of individual scenes and the overall narrative, but doing so is just not nearly as enjoyable the second or third time around.

I feared that a game driven almost entirely by quick time events wouldn’t be challenging or interesting enough for an entire game.  In some ways this fear was unfounded,, as I found the QTEs engaging and oftentimes quite exciting.  The QTE-heavy playstyle worked just fine for my first journey through the game, but fell woefully short on successive playthroughs.

Normally I relish a second playthrough of a great game.  I don’t have to pay as much attention to solving puzzles or figuring out bosses or whatnot, and I’m given the freedom to explore the world and gameplay in different and interesting ways.  With Heavy Rain, I was in a rush to just get it done.  I often found myself ignoring the story-heavy interludes , and even allowed many response windows to time-out in the interest of speed.  I just wanted to get through it and see the new ending.

Beyond the problems with the immediate replayability of Heavy Rain, I frankly don’t see myself compelled to fire this game up again in 2 years the way I am with Warcraft III or Half Life 2.  I’ve literally seen everything the game has to offer, and once was more than enough.  The QTEs were a lot better than I expected, but it’s not the kind of gameplay that will draw me in again and again (like fighting Big Daddies, for instance.)  I applaud the inclusion of so many different epilogues and endings, but it’s not enough to provide the game any real longevity.

An American in Paris, Sort Of

I fully understand that Quantic Dream is a French studio, and therefore I can’t necessarily fault them for employing French voice actors almost exclusively.  The problem with this approach to Heavy Rain is that it’s set in Philadelphia, and every character is American.  I realize that this still might not be enough reason to forego French voice actors for Americans.  If Heavy Rain were a 3D action/platformer with scant story sections thrown in for flavor, I could live with it; but the crux – the absoluteheart of Heavy Rain is the narrative.   A game with weighty subject matter and heavy storytelling absolutely demands believable voice actors throughout.  If I were writing a dramatic game focused on French characters, I wouldn’t be knocking on Sly Stallone’s door to see if he was available.

Still, for the most part the voice acting is serviceable, and even borders on good in some cases.  But those times where it is bad, it took me right out of the story.  One particular scene late in the game involves the death of a child, and ought to be emotional.  The obviously French voice actors had me laughing.  If your goal is high drama and you get laughter, you’re doing it wrong.

It’s not only the voice acting that could have used an American here or there, either.  Some of the writing sounds stilted, out of place, and utterly foreign.  There are many examples of this, but here are a couple of my personal favorites.  “He was struck off the medical register.”  We Americans don’t strike people off the medical register.  We take away their licenses to practice medicine.  “It’s a painkiller.  It’s for the pain.”  Wow, I never knew what painkillers were for!  Ouch.

This kind of issue isn’t unique to Heavy Rain.  Quite often the dialogue for games (even AAA titles) is written by the game designers themselves – it’s not standard practice to employ professional writers.  If games are to move forward in terms of storytelling, they MUST start employing real writers more often, and not just the Tom Clancys of the world.  Even if they only employ an editorial staff to proof stuff that’s written, that could be a big step forward.

The Final Analysis

Though Heavy Rain didn’t quite make it into the VIP club of gaming masterpieces, it is a fantastic gaming experience.  It sets a new standard in terms of photorealism, the QTE driven gameplay is often exhilarating, and the story is engaging and appropriately mysterious.  I still feel a bit bummed out about it, though.  Tightening things up here or there could have pushed it into a whole new realm of greatness, but it tripped a few times and didn’t quite get there.  It could have been a contender; a great experience that could have been incredible.  Everyone should play Heavy Rain at least once, and once may be more than enough.  I do hope that its success can help reinforce new standards in storytelling.  Perhaps it could also lead to a bit more imagination when it comes to “adult” gaming experiences that focus more on mature subjects and emotions rather than fountains of blood and sex.  Heavy Rain has at least shown that there is a market for this type of experience, and hopefully it’s a harbinger of similar titles aimed more squarely at older gamers.