[AndreaDraco83]

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

(((((((Andrea)))))))

[orient]

The reviews seem overwhelmingly positive so far! Despite the few knocks it has received for slightly cumbersome character control, iffy six-axis integration and occasional spotty voice acting, it seems to be everything we'd hoped it would be. Heavy Rain is probably the first adventure game in years to really push the boundaries of storytelling in games.

[D.C.]

Oh, wow. Those reviews are very positive!

I've just finished playing BioShock 2 and the entire game was built on the foundation of being thorougly unnerving. It looks like Heavy Rain is going to give an entirely different take on this.

[zeljka]

How many endings will Heavy Rain have? Is there an information about that? Sorry if you had already gave the answer here...

[Sughly]

Originally Posted by HaroldO

With DRM, Nintendo of America and the portrayal of gamers in the media, I don't feel like I have look around much for something to rant about.

Unless I'm mistaken and there have been censorship issues in the US, things could be worse - you could live in Australia and have one single moron that's holding us back from censorship free games and a *gasp* R rating for games. If they don't fit into an M rating, then they get banned or drastically censored. We've even got a political party started up by gamers to put him out of office in the next election.

But at least we get some nice boxart , if that's at least one positive out of the situation...

EDIT: possibly the more relevant comment is that I have to admit, I was probably gonna avoid the title (or at least until it's half price 6 months from now). But with all these reviews and positive comments, I think I might just have to pre-order . With a few scattered censorship comments though, there hasn't been word on censorship for the PAL (or Aus, specifically) version has there? I'll cry if there has been, but I don't imagine they would...

[Jannik]

Hehe, I like this comic strip about Heavy Rain: "It's a game about people"

[D.C.]

Originally Posted by Sughly

With a few scattered censorship comments though, there hasn't been word on censorship for the PAL (or Aus, specifically) version has there? I'll cry if there has been, but I don't imagine they would...

We got Fahrenheit fully uncensored, so that makes me optimistic Heavy Rain will follow suit. (Though our OFLC is anything but consistant. )

[Sughly]

Originally Posted by D.C.

We got Fahrenheit fully uncensored, so that makes me optimistic Heavy Rain will follow suit. (Though our OFLC is anything but consistant. )

So true, so true

[SoccerDude28]

The evolution of adventure games is upon us. Are you ready to take part of it?

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Soccsie

The evolution of adventure games is upon us. Are you ready to take part of it?

Not yet. I only have $100 in my PS3 fundraising envelope.

And I don't honestly think Heavy Rain is an adventure game as we know it. Adventure games per se are stuck in the past and refuse to progress. Heavy Rain is leaps and bounds beyond that.

[orient]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

And I don't honestly think Heavy Rain is an adventure game as we know it. Adventure games per se are stuck in the past and refuse to progress. Heavy Rain is leaps and bounds beyond that.

Yes, I think the big difference here is that new adventure games still impose unnecessary restrictions upon themselves, whereas Heavy Rain does not conform to a well-established structure.

Also, traditional adventure games augment narrative with puzzle-solving, which slows down the pace and creates a rather leisurely play experience. Heavy Rain seems the complete opposite, with intense gameplay and high stakes. You're often forced to act out of instinct as opposed to careful deliberation.

There is of course joys and benefits to both, the pivotal factor being that we haven't seen a game quite like Heavy Rain before, while we've seen a million different point & clickers that, mechanically, are almost identical.

[Phaid]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

And I don't honestly think Heavy Rain is an adventure game as we know it. Adventure games per se are stuck in the past and refuse to progress. Heavy Rain is leaps and bounds beyond that.

What do you mean by "stuck in the past"? Emphasis on puzzle solving bothers you (which is something HR got rid of in favour of QTE and context-sensitive actions to ensure absolutely none has any troubles finishing it)? Budget not big enough to create fully 3D visuals, making a "cinematic" experience possible bothers you, as well? Aren't you overreacting a bit?

I don't know about you, but I'm not too fond of the idea of every adventure game out there following in Heavy Rain's footsteps. Interactive moves have their right to exist, but let us not pretend this game is breaking new ground.

[kotkin]

I agree with Orient. Point and click games they have to redefine themselves. We have thousands of replicas, same plot, same gameplay, similar puzzles. I don't say that all adventures has to be like Heavy Rain, but they have to be as refreshing and experimental this game is. The point and click gameplay unfortunately degenerate a formula. And when we deal with formulas, creativity is gone.
I adore Quantic Dream's creative thinking. I play point and click for years, but Heavy Rain demo it was so immersive like anything I ever played.

[Phaid]

Originally Posted by kotkin

I agree with Orient. Point and click games they have to redefine themselves. We have thousands of replicas, same plot, same gameplay, similar puzzles. I don't say that all adventures has to be like Heavy Rain, but they have to be as refreshing and experimental this game is. The point and click gameplay unfortunately degenerate a formula. And when we deal with formulas, creativity is gone.
I adore Quantic Dream's creative thinking. I play point and click for years, but Heavy Rain demo it was so immersive like anything I ever played.

I completely do not understand what the point and click interface has got to do with creativity or lack therof.
Have you played Blade Runner? Fantastic design, "cinematic" camera angles and feel, branching paths, multiple endings, choices which have real consequences, very "detective-like" puzzles, no handholding, excellent plot... all that achieved with the traditional point 'n' click interface.
That's but one example, there are other titles, each unique in their own way despite sharing similarities in terms of interface. I can't shake the feeling you're commiting the mistake of generalizing, stereotyping even.

[orient]

Originally Posted by Phaid

I don't know about you, but I'm not too fond of the idea of every adventure game out there following in Heavy Rain's footsteps. Interactive moves have their right to exist, but let us not pretend this game is breaking new ground.

It is breaking new ground, but I don't think you have to worry about the adventure game genre becoming more like Heavy Rain.

We've seen many technological advances throughout the past decade. We've seen the rise of new genres and the fall of old ones. Through all this, the traditional adventure has largely stayed the same, and I don't think Heavy Rain is going to change that.

The biggest difference between Tales of Monkey Island and Secret of Monkey Island is the streamlined interface and fairer difficulty. These two areas seem to be the only ones in which adventure games are willing to evolve. But that's okay. The magic of the video game medium is that there's always an audience for almost every type of game. As long as people keep buying point & clickers, people will continue making them.

[Sughly]

I think it's ironic that adventure games, or more specifically 'point and clicks' are considered stuck in the past when you take a genre like first-person shooters that literally haven't changed since their inception. They are still however the most popular games, and for some reason an improvement in graphics from one title to the next means a massive innovation in gaming.

I think the biggest evolution the adventure genre has made is in it's story telling. What's more important to the genre as one amongst others that I consider far more stagnant and stuck in the past is that ability to convey great characters and emotion and story, and this is always changing and evolving for the better. And sure it maintains general mechanics of point and click interfaces, but those interfaces evolve and change over time too.

I think for this reason, Heavy Rain is extremely interesting. I think the father element to the story is the most interesting aspect. But I also agree that it is, essentially, a seemingly QTE based game and in terms of gameplay shouldnt necessarily be considered this massive evolution. Reviews are already saying that they are mostly trivial QTE's that feel like fillers between chunks of story. It is a great step forward in it's storytelling, but as the new way of playing adventures? I'd like to hope not.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by Sughly

I think the biggest evolution the adventure genre has made is in it's story telling.

Hmmm, after playing Mass Effect 2, I don't think so.

[Sughly]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Hmmm, after playing Mass Effect 2, I don't think so.

I'm not saying adventures are exclusive to storytelling though, only that it is a genre evolving in its own right. There are other games in genres with examples like Mass Effect and of course Uncharted, and they are great but they are also also few and far between (though these days so are good, solid adventures - something that will change with 2010's lineup).

[orient]

Yeah -- I mean for me, Mass Effect, The Witcher and Fallout 3 delivered really compelling narrative experiences.

The advantage these RPGs have is simple: they're reactive, organic and open-ended, as opposed to rigid, pre-rendered and predetermined. They have more meaningful choices for you as the player. They have mechanics that are deeper than an inventory system and rubbing items together.

Adventure games have a steep hill to climb now that storytelling in games has improved with the aforementioned series'. I'm right behind them, though -- Heavy Rain's already making an impact. Hopefully there will be more traditional adventures this year with excellent stories and maybe some slight innovations.