I’ve been struggling to write this review without putting any spoilers out there. Heavy Rain is a game that needs to be experienced without knowing what happens at the next turn. David Cage and company over at Quantic Dream bring this generation’s first (and hopefully not last) interactive drama to the PS3 to much critical acclaim. Building upon the strong foundation of Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit in the rest of the world), the game drops expected control schemes for more of an quick-time feel. How well does it all come together? Read on to find out.

I didn’t know what to expect going in to Heavy Rain. I knew a lot of my fellow games press were raving about the title, so I was expecting something good. What the game delivered was frequent edge-of-you-seat moments and a significant player investment in the characters. With a plethora of choices and possible outcomes to the game, every action you perform will have repercussions down the line. Something you may deem meaningless early in the game could lead to a character’s demise later. Any and all of the game’s main characters can die and various points and the story goes on. I’ve now experienced three of the game’s ending and each time, a different number of main characters were alive. The story is very captivating and will easily keep you coming back for more. With simple button presses and analog stick movements used for controls, Heavy Rain is very accessible for both video game veterans and newcomers alike.

I’m sure a lot of you have read a previous article where I told Heavy Rain that we’re no longer friends. A major glitch shipped with the game causing game saves to not load, which forced me to stop playing about 2/3 through the game. Once Sony and Quantic Dream pushed out a patch (which took longer than I expected), it was back to the game and I didn’t put it down until I finished the first time. I would be remiss to not mention this major flaw, which has since been corrected, as it was a source of major frustration for many gamers. The other issue I had with Heavy Rain is a the poor voice acting. For a game the revolves so heavily around your investment in the main characters, I expected some better voice acting here. There are a few times where it completely takes you out of the experience. Others just become comical, like yelling “Jason!” horribly for five minutes.

All in all, Heavy Rain is a fantastic game and is an absolute must play for all PS3 owners. Now that the freezing issues have been remedied, there’s no excuse for not picking this one up. Had those freezing issues now plagued the game for the first month, this would have been a 5 star title. Taking it all into consideration, I can’t in good faith give 5 stars because of what happened, so Heavy Rain will have to settle with 4 stars from me. Go out and get this one.

[A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.]