Heavy Rain First Impressions
I bought Heavy Rain on the day it was released. The first thing I needed to do upon putting Heavy Rain into my PS3 and starting it up was to download an update. If this was a 360 game and I was dealing with Live, this process would have taken just a couple of minutes. Unfortunately this was a PS3 game and I was dealing with PSN.
The first time I tried to download this update the download started but stopped and didn’t get started again for seemingly no reason at all. The second time it stalled before even starting the download for, again, seemingly no reason at all. The third time the download started and kept on going, but the speed at which it was downloading was unacceptable. I was able to watch an entire episode of The Dish in the time it took to download the update.
Once the update was downloaded the next thing to do was install Heavy Rain to the PS3’s hard drive. Unlike other games where they give you a progress bar or Old Snake to look at, Heavy Rain actually gives you something to do.
Included in the package with Heavy Rain is this square piece of paper. During the installation process, you are given instructions on how to turn this piece of paper into this.
By the time you are finished crafting this piece of origami, the installation should be complete.
This whole process, infuriating at first and somewhat rewarding at the end, took about an hour. An hour I could have spent playing the game. Let’s just hope the actual playing of Heavy Rain offers more rewards than just a paper artform to put next to my Modern Warfare 2 night vision goggles.
Shawn
I remember happier times with my dad. In the backyard playing helicopter and airplane with him and my brother. Watching him draw buildings that people could live and play in. Even him comforting me as I mourned the loss of my pet bird are things that I look back on fondly now.
After the accident that took my brother away, my dad never seemingly got up. He looks depressed, isn’t maintaining himself the way he used to, and even walks around like he doesn’t quite have a handle on how to do so fluidly. He doesn’t even eat well, not that the microwaved chicken is anything to salivate over.
I know he means well, I can see the remorse for his failings in his eyes as he tucks me in at night. Perhaps one day he will pick himself up and find a way out of this perpetual downpour. At least then he might shave off that short scruffily beard he’s grown.
Heavy Rain Second Impressions
Video games tend to follow a similar basic structure: Level, level, boss, level, level, bigger boss, level, level, bigger boss, level, boss, bigger boss, final boss. Nearly every video game does this. Mario, Metroid, Mega Man, Zelda, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, and on and on and on.
Before its release, Heavy Rain was talked about not being a video game. I don’t know why this is because Heavy Rain follows basic video game structure, it’s just presented differently. Inner monologue, dialog between characters, fight scene, discovery of a plot point, discussion of the plot point, fight scene, character development, plot development, fight scene.
I’m not saying that this is a bad thing. This kind of basic video game structure can produce a challenging and compelling video game experience, if it is done well. Heavy Rain appears to be utilizing this structure very well, so far…
Heavy Rain Review
Among the shows that I watch on a regular basis are Rescue Me, Burn Notice, Skins, and Mad Men. These are dramas with deep rich characters, multiple slow developing plot lines, and performances that are nothing short of brilliant. These shows stimulate a part of my brain that craves smart, funny, romantic, and, most importantly, adult entertainment. These are shows that I would have found absolutely dull as a teenager. I look back at the shows I watched as a young teen, compare them to the shows I watch now, and marvel at how much different they are. I'm truly embarrassed by that which used to entertain me compared to what now entertain me.
Heavy Rain is the kind of entertainment I would have found dull when I was a teenager but find enthralling now. Exposition about how they feel about minor things in their environment, subtle facial ticks that give away true feelings about someone or something, and contextual swearing all serve to create a deep and compelling narrative for those mature enough to appreciate it. If you're not mature enough yet, Heavy Rain can serve to teach you about what storycraft is.
Heavy Rain: A
Is That A Giant Penis Float?
Kawasaki Fertility Festival 2009 from Alexander kubalsky on Vimeo.
A New Evil Empire Emerges
Amid the devastating earthquake in Chile, the ongoing healthcare debate, and the hype surrounding Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain, one story went unreported this week in the general media. A tactical military strike took place on several military bases in the South American country of French Guiana on Tuesday, March 2nd. As previously reported on The Four Stars Blog, French Guiana is the headquarters for the military wing of Electronic Arts.
Previously the EA Army has butted heads with the Church Of Scientology’s Sea Org. In the days following the military strikes, speculation was that this attack was a first strike by the Sea Org against the EA Army. This speculation disappeared after a post on Megalomaniacal.com was made public. This post was attributed to Bobby Kotick.
The post reads as follows:
“The military strikes carried out in French Guiana on Tuesday were not the acts of the Sea Org, the US Military, or even god. These attacks were carried out by The Great Empire of Activision. The Great Empire of Activision is asserting its dominance in all things in all ways. Anyone that stands in the way of The Great Empire will be crushed. We easily destroyed a part of ourselves, don’t think we won’t do the same to you. Quote the Kotec, nevermore.”
There has been no response from Electronic Arts to Activision’s attack on their military headquarters in French Guiana. This was to be expected as EA has never publically acknowledged the EA Army. No one knows what the next move will be from The Great Empire of Activison, although the presence of a panel truck with the Tony hawk Ride logo on it sitting outside the offices of the Redertainment Corporation of America does concern me.
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