Ever since the "Casting" video, I've been keeping an eye out for Quantic Dream's "Heavy Rain". Now, the game to me, is truly one of a kind. It's a game, and yet it doesn't have your run in the mill video game cliches. No life bar's, no health up's, power up's experience point's, bosses and whatever recycled crap you can find in your ordinary video game. And with that in mind, one can only wonder, will it revolutionize the way we see games, or will it fail in the process of doing so? Let's dissect into this a little more.
Heavy Rain is considered as a true "mature" game. Why? Because it doesn't involve explosions, shoot out's and gore. Instead, what they lack in action, they make up for it in story. Us gamer's tend to play a game, finish it, and that's that. There's only a select few of games that actually DRIVE us to care about the characters and what they're going through. Did anyone actually care when Nathan Drake was getting tired from all the bs he was getting in Uncharted 2: Among Thieve's? Doubt it. But nonetheless, everyone enjoyed it cause it had good gameplay mechanics. Fluid hand to hand combat, nice shoot out's and amazing level's that spice up the game. And with Heavy Rain, we have normal people, who live normal lives out to find a serial killer. You don't run around hoping to find cover. No. You simply play a character who lives a normal ordinary life.
A small example of what I'm trying to point out here. In the game, you do thing's that are usually never done in a game. Have you ever been given the chance to take a piss or drink juice in Assassin's Creed? Nope. Why? Because it's useless. But that's the thing with Heavy Rain and its whole "It's a mature game" debate. Kid's will find it so pointless and dull. But what they fail to realize is that they are trying to make us, the gamers, understand our characters. Make us grow to know them emotionally. You make choice's in the game not because it's the "cool" or "heroic" option to choose. No. You make the choice's you think you would choose if you were in his or her position. And you see how that play's out. And eventually, the character's you play, will be more than just a character you use to finish the game. They eventually become a part of you as you play the game.
This is just a thought in my head. But to answer my own question. I think it'll be a miss. Developers such as Infinity Ward, Bungie, Ubisoft, etc will always stick to their formula because there's no need to "try new things" Sure Modern Warfare 2 has a lame story. Sure Prince of Persia has repetitive gameplay. But for some reason, it sell's millions of units. Why? Because that's what gamers want. It's been like that ever since. So why the hell would they want to play a game where the first 9mins is about... SPOILER ALERT............. Showering, dressing up, brushing your teeth, making breakfast and such. END SPOILER. I mean, I can think of at least 20 friends of mine that would rather play a crappy game like Wii Fit (yes, I hate the Wii) than play Heavy Rain. But unlike them, I'm up for something new. And I'm proud that Quantic Dream is up for the challenge.
