I just now got around to playing this ace game for PS3. I’ve beaten it several times now to see a couple of different possible endings. Here are my thoughts, for others who have played it.
The aesthetics and gameplay mechanics of the game are boss. Excellent visuals all around, and exceptionally clever use of the controller. The first level alone could have been an industry demo to show off the PS3’s hardware and controls. I love this new concept of gaming; I really hope more games are made along this mode.
A similar game was the before-its-time Shenmue for Dreamcast, except Shenmue involved a lot of open-world exploring, was far less scripted, and involved using a giant inventory and many other menu features.
Heavy Rain offers the opportunity to essentially play an interactive movie. There’s no HUD, no interface on the screen at all. The control prompts are well placed so they don’t interfere with the overall visuals of the game, so the result is extremely cinematic.
However: the voice acting is terrible. How did a game wind up with such atrocious voicing? Many of the characters lapse into random French accents (the game is made by a French company), and for the life of me I don’t understand why they picked a British actor to do the voice of an East Coast American cop (Nahman Jayden.) Lauren was probably the worst of the main characters, voice wise, and Shelby the best. The kids in the game were the worst of all though, transparently and blatantly voiced by French children trying and failing to fake an American accent.
The mouths and teeth of characters also frequently look awkward and unnatural.