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QuanticDream have been attempting to turn games into involving and engaging interactive pieces of entertainment for the best part of thirteen years now. However, instead of a case of unlucky thirteen, it’s more like third time lucky because after two largely flawed, albeit compelling and well-realised attempts, they may have finally achieved their Holy Grail.

To call Heavy Rain a game would probably be misleading but to call it a movie would be equally inaccurate. So you’re probably wondering what it is then. Heavy Rain sits between these two mediums like a slightly bigger iPhone but with more of a reason for its existence.

However, it definitely functions closer to a movie side with narrative and characters made the focal point from the first scene. It becomes more than just a movie because you have near-total control over every single decision, each one of the four playable characters make. Every action or event depends on your reactions and choices. Should this character trust another? The choice is yours. Will he escape from the car in time? If you can figure out how before it’s too late.

Normally all of this would be emotionless and meaningless, after all they’re just pixels and if you die you’ll respawn. This is where Heavy Rain detours from traditional gaming; if a character dies, they’re dead. Still the question remains, why would you care? Well again this is where the game is a cut above the rest, you’re given a reason to relate and care about every character.

Heavy Rain sits between both gaming and movie like a slightly bigger iPhone but with more of a reason to exist.

The main piece of the puzzle is Ethan Mars who after an accident quickly loses his American Dream and starts to see a shrink along with enduring a tough relationship with his kid. Things soon get worse when the man known as the Origami Killer kidnaps his son. This sets up the plot for the rest game, Scott Shelby is a P.I. who has been hired by parents of past victims, Jayden Mullins is a new-in-town FBI profiler with an addiction while Madison Page is a journalist looking to cover the story. Each one has their hook, something you can relate to, something that makes them human.

The problem is that these words won’t do the characters justice because it’s the way game reveals pieces of information, shows a character in a new light and generally twists and turns until it looks like one of those horrible turkey twizzlers you ate at school. What gets you involved further is that you have so much control over every little action and it’s not the binary good or bad choice, it’s choices from the illusive shades of grey between. The natural grey that developers have been looking for years, sorry guys, QuanticDream beat you to it.

Normally these choices would be arbitrary but every choice to make will affect the outcome of the game. However, just like in real life you won’t have ages to debate what way to go, you’ll have to make them on-the-fly when presented. It becomes quite draining after a while, especially towards the latter stages of the game where the choices get tougher and tougher.

The way you physically control the story is actually well realised. Most actions take place on the right analog stick and feel so incredibly natural that it’s scary. You then have rapid button presses for tests of strength, which have actually left me emotionally and physically exhausted in attempts to save characters from peril. The game will also use the Sixaxis motion sensitive feature to varying degrees of success. While hurling metallic sheets out of the way makes sense, on-the-spot motions will often leave you frustrated when the game fails to pick up on your hurried motion.

The controls have left me emotionally and physically exhausted in attempts to save characters from peril.

Another gripe I have with the controls is that you essentially have an accelerate trigger like you’re controlling a tank or vehicle. I understand how that works, as will a majority of the people who play games, but for something that could have a wide spread appeal like Heavy Rain, that’s just off-putting and confusing.

That’s quite minor when compared to the technical hiccups that Heavy Rain succumbs to. Stuttering animations, loss of sound and complete system lock-ups were commonplace throughout the game. It’s hard not to let these pepper my experience as I lost a bit of progress every time the game just gave up, nevertheless, it was my involvement with the characters that kept me persevering throughout. It probably has to be said that these issues, apparently, have only effected a small percentage and a patch is supposedly on the way.

Otherwise the game looks stunning. A few animations look awkward and performing 180 turns with your character is definitely laughable but considering that the game relies completely on how the virtual actors look, they’ve done a decent enough job. Considering where we are at with presentation in video games, Heavy Rain towers above the competition with believable interaction, smartly framed camera shots and acceptable dialogue – even if the latter does verge on cliché.

All of that would be a waste of time if Heavy Rain was a badly conceived story and QuanticDream have often been criticised in the past for losing their grounding on reality and just taking bizarre and unexpected twists that make no sense. I can thankfully say that they’ve learnt past mistakes and created a compelling narrative that keeps you guessing, in a good way. You will have the occasional mundane or apparently meaningless scene, but while spending five minutes alone drinking orange juice and getting ready for the day, doesn’t sound like great material for a game, it helps you connect with each character and aids the overall pacing of the game.

QuanticDream have learnt from past mistakes and created a compelling narrative that keeps you guessing, only in a good way this time.

That’s the difficult thing with Heavy Rain; I want to tell you everything but nothing, all at the same time. The game’s main appeal is its narrative and I want to tell you what happened in my version of events, I want to discuss how impactful a specific scene was while exchanging different choices everyone made. The problem is that Heavy Rain needs to be experienced with fresh eyes and no knowledge of what might or might not happen.

This is one you might need to take my word on, or the word of the entire industry. It’s not a game, it’s not a movie but it’s definitely an experimental success. While it might not be traditional, it’s definitely unlike any experience you’ve had on a console before and needs to be tried by anyone and everyone.