Heavy Rain Marketing Kicks Off

Post by trog @ 05:18pm 17/02/10 | 43 Comments

One of the PlayStation 3's most anticipated titles of the year is about to drop - Heavy Rain. For those who came in late, this is a super-atmospheric adventure game by French studio Quantic Dream, and has been raising eyebrows due to it's photo-realistic graphics and animation and it's free-form style of gameplay.

We've checked it out a couple of times in the last few years (here's our 2008 preview) and it is definitely a departure from the norm. It has a really intense style - one of the scenes we saw last year was an incredibly emotional experience involving a father whose son has mysteriously gone missing and the resulting trauma that inflicts on his life.

Sony's marketing engine has kicked off and they're really highlighting the emotive angle of the game with some pretty creepy promotional stuff focusing on the missing son part of the game.

Make sure you check out our game page for more info, screenshots and trailers - if you're a PlayStation owner you're definitely going to want to keep an eye on this one!

heavy rain

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Latest Comments

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Phooks
Posted 05:36pm 17/2/10

Cool beans, but is this PS3 only?

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Namsta
Posted 05:39pm 17/2/10

Heavy Rain is a ps3 exclusive game

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Viper
Posted 05:40pm 17/2/10

Yep, cause only power of TeH CeLl can make digital boobies.

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DM
Posted 05:43pm 17/2/10

This game looks incredible. Already pre-ordered it. 1 of the reasons I sent my PS3 to be repaired today.

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ravn0s
Posted 06:07pm 17/2/10

doesnt look all that fun to me

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Viper
Posted 06:18pm 17/2/10

ill agree its not for everyone but I do like me a good story.....and tits.

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HERMITech
Posted 06:29pm 17/2/10

Ok, lets do a checklist

Good Story - check
Tits - Check
Console - Fail

Does everyone understand the actual meaning of console?

to alleviate or lessen the grief, sorrow, or disappointment of; give solace or comfort:
Example: Only their PS3/Xbox/Wi could console (noun) them when they weren't up the task of playing a game without aim assistance.

last edited by HERMITech at 18:29:14 17/Feb/10

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dynamite
Posted 06:44pm 17/2/10

You can also get the demo. Take this down if it breaches the rules...

Demo

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DM
Posted 06:52pm 17/2/10

Pretty sure you can just download it normally now. I was able too last night but didn't as I don't wanna spoil any parts of the game for myself

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supreme
Posted 07:07pm 17/2/10

havent heard of this b4, looks awesome tho

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ctd
Posted 07:09pm 17/2/10

Played the demo, not really my thing tbh. Interactive movie++ Sometimes I was like why bother? Like when he stops the car you have to push the analogue stick upwards to put it in to park gear lulz.

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Methz
Posted 07:24pm 17/2/10

Im going to buy the game and a ps3 when its released. Not missing this one.

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^rza
Posted 07:40pm 17/2/10

I dunno about you guys, but i thought that demo was lame as f***....

Id go so far as to say... if you took all of infi's and teq's posts in a whole year and rolled that s*** up into a game...it would still wouldnt be a contest....

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Viper
Posted 10:56pm 17/2/10

My real wonder is that they have stated several times that there is full frontal nudity however in the released shower scene I noticed that whilst yes the upper private parts of the female anatomy were indeed visible however for the entire thing any visible bits of the lower female genitalia (Vagoo) were concealed through camera angles. I have also heard that there is a shower scene with one of the male leads and they did mention full frontal male nudity I am curious if the males genitalia (D*** and Balls) are concealed in a similar way.

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Trauma
Posted 11:33pm 17/2/10

My real wonder is that they have stated several times that there is full frontal nudity however in the released shower scene I noticed that whilst yes the upper private parts of the female anatomy were indeed visible however for the entire thing any visible bits of the lower female genitalia (Vagoo) were concealed through camera angles. I have also heard that there is a shower scene with one of the male leads and they did mention full frontal male nudity I am curious if the males genitalia (D*** and Balls) are concealed in a similar way.

That's your real wonder about this game, nothing else? Maybe try Hentai. (or not, if anything will embolden potential child rapists...)

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Midda
Posted 12:01am 18/2/10

This game looks boring as s***. I expected (and reviews have confirmed it) that nothing you do really matters at all. You can miss all the s***** quicktime events, and you'll pretty much always end up with the same result anyway. Pointless.

Console - Fail

Explain to me how being on PC could in any way make this game better, other than the fact that you don't own a console? Also, you're gay.

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Khel
Posted 12:16am 18/2/10

Definitely seems to be one of those games people are either going to love or hate. Seems almost like an experiment, its more about emotionally engaging the player and telling a really good story, than offering up anything resembling "traditional" gameplay. I'm not expecting it to serve up rivetting action oriented gameplay, or some non-linear open-ended rpgish type of thing, I'm expecting to have my mind blown by a totally awesome, emotionally engaging story and from reading reviews around the place it sounds like thats exactly what it delivers.

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Dazhel
Posted 12:27am 18/2/10

female genitalia (Vagoo)
males genitalia (D*** and Balls)

Thanks for clearing up the ambiguity there, I'm sure many were confused by the meaning of the word 'genitalia'.

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Midda
Posted 12:42am 18/2/10

Definitely seems to be one of those games people are either going to love or hate. Seems almost like an experiment, its more about emotionally engaging the player and telling a really good story, than offering up anything resembling "traditional" gameplay. I'm not expecting it to serve up rivetting action oriented gameplay, or some non-linear open-ended rpgish type of thing, I'm expecting to have my mind blown by a totally awesome, emotionally engaging story and from reading reviews around the place it sounds like thats exactly what it delivers.

Fair enough, but I don't see what exactly it is that this game is trying to offer. It seems they wanted to make a game that feels like a movie, but it looks more like they've made a movie that has tedious, pointless tasks that need to be completed in order to see the next scene. Why do I want to make my character walk slowly through this scene and get into a car? What's the point in doing that? What would have been more emotionally engaging would be to just make a movie. That is assuming, of course, that the story actually is compelling. I've heard mixed reports, but I certainly don't want to be spending ~$90 on what may or may not be a decent movie with some quick-time events. That, and all of the player animations are really distracting. Their faces look absolutely dead, like they didn't even try.

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Khel
Posted 02:45am 18/2/10

I believe the idea behind getting the player to do the mundane little tasks at the start is to get you into the shoes of that character, living their life so to speak, so when bad s*** goes down and s*** happens to them, you feel more involved and more attached to whats going on, and you care more about what happens to the characters.

I got no idea if it works, but I think thats the idea behind it.

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Hogfather
Posted 03:09am 18/2/10

I am bi-curious if the males genitalia (D*** and Balls) are concealed in a similar way

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Viper119
Posted 03:32am 18/2/10

That style worked for The Longest Journey, which is still touted as one of the best adventure games of all time.

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simul
Posted 05:14am 18/2/10

Really looking forward to this, from what I've heard the path'ing narrative is pretty sweet (only let down by one big plothole), although only the last 3rd really deviates.

I never could track down a copy of Indigo Prophecy so definitely hoping I can get a copy of this one.

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Khel
Posted 06:09am 18/2/10

Indigo Prophecy was called Fahrenheit here and in the UK and probably some other places, so you might have some more luck if you look for that.

I loved it, sure it was flawed, but it just rocked me, I've been looking forward to Quantic Dreams' next game pretty much from the moment I finished Indigo Prophecy.

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Tim Tibbetts
Posted 06:58am 18/2/10

In the vast majority of adventure games you cannot die, so failing at the QT actions and not dying is hardly a new thing.

I would be a little annoyed though if the experience was exactly the same regardless of whether you failed everything or succeeded.

That being said, I enjoyed the demo, and I will be getting the full game.

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Khel
Posted 07:09am 18/2/10

Even the early gameplay demos they were showing off at E3 last year showed different stuff happening depending on what you did during the QTE's. Sure, overall, the story probably follows the same path and you end up at the same place, and there'd be certain key points in scenes that have to always happen a pre-determined way so that the story can continue on the right track, but the smaller details and a lot of the stuff in between can change quite dramatically (well, from the little that I've seen anyway).

They made a big deal out of how some of the main characters can actually die, and the story will keep going, the game won't end, but I don't know if they followed through with that promise.

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ravn0s
Posted 08:44am 18/2/10

In the vast majority of adventure games you cannot die, so failing at the QT actions and not dying is hardly a new thing.

hmm i read a while back that all of the characters can die and if they do you just go onto the next character and miss the others story.

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trog
Posted 10:39am 18/2/10

Yeh pretty much what Khel said. I think people are either going to love it or hate it. I suspect those that hate it won't really "get" it, more than they think it's a bad game.

It's not really my sort of game. The demo I saw last year left me feeling thoroughly depressed, which I took as a sign it really succeeds in what it's trying to do to set the mood - watching the father of the missing kid wander around for 30 minutes looking like he was about to slit his wrists, the problems he has with his other son, etc - it's very dramatic and done really well.

I think it's one of those games that will probably achieve critical success but not do too well at the box office despite that. Be interesting to see what the reception is like; maybe gamers are more mature than I give them credit for :)

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HERMITech
Posted 09:33pm 18/2/10

Explain to me how being on PC could in any way make this game better, other than the fact that you don't own a console? Also, you're gay.

Aww Midda, what happened to the love? Did I touch the G key on your consoles Gaypad?

For the record, have a dead Xbox in cupboard, working one that hasn't been touched in years and had a Wii up until the girlie at the time moved out after wi *giggle* split.

Consoles have ~~there~~ Edit: For Midda their place, much like children.
Should be seen and not heard - or should that be in this day and age "touched".

I'll concede you may have a point with it being on PC wouldn't make a scrap of difference.

last edited by HERMITech at 21:33:33 18/Feb/10

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Midda
Posted 07:13pm 18/2/10

It's "their."

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DM
Posted 07:19pm 18/2/10

From what i've heard if you f*** up at critical moments your character your controlling at that moment will die and the story continues with the other ones. What happens if you kill all 4? And this game could be done on a PC. Indigo Prophecy was like this wasn't it?

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Viper
Posted 09:21pm 18/2/10

Just saw a sex scene from the game, I was very dissapointed, their kissing looks like if you held two fish together and pretended they were kissing and once again any potential shots of lower genitalia are concealed.

I dont think its big thing but I am all for games pushing boundries especially in this area as its something that I believe helps define games as for adults, im not expecting hardcore porn but still. For a game that is advertised as having FULL FRONTAL NUDITY it is awfully lacking in this department.

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Trauma
Posted 11:44pm 18/2/10

Viper you remind of the fat guy in Gamer.

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DM
Posted 11:58pm 18/2/10

Theres sex scenes in the game and nudity? Great... that'll go down well in the middle of my lounge room for all to see

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Khel
Posted 09:06am 19/2/10

Heh, yeah, I was thinking of moving my PS3 back up to my room to play this, it seems like the sort of game that would be kind of weird and awkward if people were watching you play it.

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pixem
Posted 09:22am 19/2/10

from what i've heard, you don't necessarily end up in the same place depending your decisions. You can fail in the whole game even if you get to the end if you made poor decisions which you can't redo or know at the time. You may end up losing the game but not realizing till the end when it all goes to s*** for your characters. Which then means you got to start from the very beginning, rather than from your last "checkpoint" like in other games which to me defeats a lot of the affected by our choices style in the genre.

This bit of info has definately got me a lot more interested than I was about the game. Really pumped to give this a try now.

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greazy
Posted 01:09pm 19/2/10

http://www.ausgamers.com/gameres/4594/images/source/Heavy_Rain-PlayStation_3Screenshots15334HR_SCREEN02_HIGH_copy_copy.jpg

I CAME!!!!!!!!1!111

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Khel
Posted 02:32pm 19/2/10

So thats not rain running down her face?

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Twinsen
Posted 02:40pm 19/2/10

female genitalia (Vagoo)
males genitalia (D*** and Balls)

Thanks for clearing up the ambiguity there, I'm sure many were confused by the meaning of the word 'genitalia'.

hahah dude'o that made me lol out loud... wait thats like saying atm machine.

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weedy
Posted 10:55am 23/2/10

Just tried the demo, was good except i think they have gone a bit overbored with you having to move the sticks just to do the smallest thing, these sorts of games are only good if htey last a long time and doing that all the time is just gonna peeve me off.

Still ill prob buy it

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SueyJitSu
Posted 11:54am 23/2/10

I agree with Khel ...
"I've been looking forward to Quantic Dreams' next game pretty much from the moment I finished Indigo Prophecy" as well.
It's great to be immersed in a game which is made by people who do things differently and think outside the "mainstream" box.

Can't wait!!

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