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| From: Sony
Category: Video Games
List Price: $59.99
Buy Used: $30.95
as of 7/29/2010 22:05 MDT details
You Save: $29.04 (48%)
New (29) Used (53) from $30.95
Seller: bestcdjoint
Rating:  325 reviews
Sales Rank: 105
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Manual), French (Manual)
Platform: PlayStation 3
Genre: action_games
ESRB: Mature
Media: Video Game
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: PlayStation 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 6.7 x 0.6
Legal Disclaimer: We do not in any way represent that any part we sell is legal to possess in your jurisdiction. Check with you local authorities to ensure it is legal for you to possess before buying!
MPN: 98164
Model: 711719816423
UPC: 711719816423
EAN: 0711719816423
ASIN: B002CZ38KA
Publication Date: January 31, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: This item is in Very Good condition with all original artwork and materials. Case and/or artwork may show visible wear. May have store or price stickers affixed.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-30 of 325
 Very Heavy June 2, 2010
webslinger42
I played the demo and thought this could be fun. I was right! I know my controller very well now and if you get this game, you will also have a chance to bond with yours as well! If you don't like the endings (they can be great,bad or just strange etc.) that are forced on you in other games...well you chose the endings in HR. You have to play it just to see how helping a character or doing nothing changes the game. The story can be very brutal and can be very loving. HR asks the question WHAT would you be willing to do for the one you love? How far will you go?
Interesting story...I was hooked June 1, 2010
CJC (USA)
I am huge fan of a game that came out years ago called Indigo Prophecy. It was my first time playing any type of game that really engaged the player. It was amazing how your decisions had to be quick and you it was so realistic. I was disappointed when a second part did not come out for that game.
Now, here is Heavy Rain. From the same makers of Indigo Prophecy and they definitely followed up on this big time, but with a different story. I absolutely love it. The controls are not difficult and the story will keep you guessing.
One thing I was disappointed in was not having a more "bang" at ending. It was a simple ending and it was nice, but I wanted to know more...I wanted to know what the future would hold for Ethan, Madison, and Shaun. Maybe a little flash forward into what would happen after the story ended would have satisfied my appetite for this game.
I also was not thrilled with the moments where I had to find something and I ran around like a mad man with no hints or maybe a reminder of which direction I need to go. The hints they gave were usually so quick or just verbal that you really had to observe your surroundings. Maybe a PIP that I could access when I needed help with direction would have been very helpful. I liked that they had a PIP at times, but I would have liked to have control of being able to open it when needed.
Other than that, I did not have any major complaints. I think it was a very fun and engaging game. If you like being in a realistic, "can't take the past back" type of game, then you will love this. Every single decision you make brings you closer to the conclusion and there is no going back. I loved it!
 It has issues, but it's still revolutionary... June 1, 2010
M. Ram (San Jose, CA, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Most of the other reviews have the major points covered, but I'd like to add my own thoughts about Heavy Rain. While it's a quality game overall (especially due to its replay value), for nearly every positive there are issues that keep it from perfection. I'll try to keep these points brief:
GRAPHICS
+The first thing you'll notice is how amazing the graphical quality is. It's as close to photo-realistic as I've ever seen, and I've played my share of eye-popping games. In closeups, you can see the pores and individual hairs on people's faces! The main character models are great. The backgrounds and other areas are impressive too, especially when things change around you.
-Unfortunately, it doesn't always run perfectly. There is often a second or two where you see the textures load on top of objects. Sometimes when you walk through an area, the screen will tear/jitter/flicker, like there's a frame rate issue. Rarely, you'll notice a crummy looking floor or wall, or a jagged edge on a desk or cylindrical object (like a trash can). In a few areas, you'll walk through massive groups of people, and they'll all have sort of a "miscellaneous" look to them, like high-res versions of The Sims or something. Occasionally, the animations will look clunky; certain actions, like splashing water on your face or kissing, still have a ways to go before they can look convincing.
AUDIO
+I might as well cover this here. The background music is fittingly eerie for most of the investigation, and exciting during the action sequences. It sounds straight out of the movie Se7en (Norman's segments often have music reminiscent of The Matrix scores, making me think the producers had Agent Smith in mind during the ARI virtual reality scenes). I like how you can turn on a radio in some areas and have that replace the standard music. The voice actors were well cast in their roles. Most of the lip-syncing is perfect.
-Sometimes the background music changes fairly abruptly. A few times, the characters would speak about a piece of information before it pops up on screen (usually when picking something up on ARI) or stop talking abruptly when you move your character to another place onscreen. I know I'm in the minority when I say this, but I found most of the voice acting (outside of Shelby) to be somewhat bad. There isn't enough emotion when the characters speak or interact, and though most of them are supposed to be American, most of the voice actors are not, which leads to strange pronunciations at times ("Ennahthing" instead of "Anything").
GAMEPLAY
+Like many, I was skeptical about playing an "interactive cutscene" type of game, but when the sequences are delivered like this, it's easy to become a believer. You get comfortable with the controls over time, though the action/fight sequences are always thrilling (and if you find them too easy or too hard, you can change the difficulty). I liked that you could change camera angles to get a better view on things, and "read" a character's thoughts to get their feelings on the situation.
-Early on you'll be doing mundane tasks like getting dressed or checking out the contents of a fridge. These diminish in number later on, but there's still an annoyance when looking around. It felt like 9 out of every 10 drawers I opened were empty (the game encourages you to search every nook and cranny, yet most yield nothing), and taking different stances or talking to people in a certain way usually didn't change the plot. The first playthrough takes around 12 hours but the second takes 8-10, as by then you've realized most of the searching is pointless. At times (even at the end of the game) you'll enter the wrong button sequence (such as pressing one instead of tapping it rapidly) because the prompts are covered up, too similar, or otherwise unclear. A few times it was a pain getting my character to stand in the right place - you press R2 + the left stick to walk, and it doesn't always make you go where you want (mainly with Shelby). The SIXAXIS sequences didn't always seem to register, especially when turning the controller over (like a wheel). One more thing most haven't mentioned - you can't run, only walk. This makes a few places really annoying to get through. Plus, a little boy is about to drown and these people are content to stroll around everywhere.
THE WOMEN!
+/-(This is an aside)...The game's view towards women isn't the greatest. The minor female characters (Ethan's wife, Lauren, etc) are all victims in one way or another, usually looking towards the men to help them. Madison Paige, the sole female lead, has a bit of a tawdry introduction (and some racy scenes later) and alternates between being a "damsel in distress" (though she gets herself out of jams) and sort of a caretaker. She's a tough girl and I liked her a lot, but they could have given her a stronger role in the story. You can unlock the game's trailer in the special features, where the three main shots of her feature her a) getting "sweet talked" by the hotel manager, b)dancing in a club and c) taking her top off before a shower. How fair is that?
PLOT
+Others have said that the game starts off slow, and they're right, but it builds up really nicely over the course of the story, and by the end you won't want to stop until it's complete. Even then, there are so many different outcomes (depending on who lives or dies and what major actions they took during the game) that you'll want to play through it several more times. The second time through, you can pick up on all the little tidbits they scattered throughout the game that pointed towards the identity of the killer.
-Sometimes the story goes off on tangents for apparently no reason. Norman's segments sometimes felt disconnected to the rest of the game. Plot holes are sometimes apparent, like why characters go into dream sequences (when the ending reveals they shouldn't) or how characters arrive at locations even though they aren't privy to the others' information. Some of the endings have strange segments where you have to fill in the blanks yourself.
All of this might lead to the conclusion that I didn't enjoy the game, which isn't the case. It has annoyances here and there, but the overall experience (especially the reveal towards the end, which floored me when I came upon it) was one of the best I've had this console generation.
Played them all May 31, 2010
Ritchie A. Knox
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have to say this is the most brilliant game I ever played. A notch above Arkham Asylum and Infamous. Very under rated, it's all politics.
A very Unique, Compelling game May 30, 2010
S. Fraissl (california)
I really loved this game.
I am an avid gamer, and have never come in contact with a game quite like this. For any of you old school gamers, it kind of had a vibe like the Gabriel Knight series.
Its basically a crime mystery/psychological thriller. You get to play multiple characters throughout the game, who are all involved directly in the story. Each character's story is compelling in its own way, and provides the player valuable insights into the storyline. Im not going to spoil it, so I will not include anything about the story, other than it is suspenseful, intelligent, tragic, and very very interesting.
The game does an excellent job of making the player feel the stress, urgency, and suspense of what is going on. At various points in the game you have to make button combinations to say, escape a life threatening circumstance, or to save someone else, or find a valuable piece of information. There are multiple outcomes for this story, so through your actions, and the success of your manipulation of the controller, as well as your attention to time, you will get an appropriate ending. The timed actions get so stressful at times, its as if you are the character. When you have speech options, and the character is flustered, or can't think, your options will shake or spin around, mimicking the characters stress level, making it more difficult for the player to choose the option. I thought this was genius.
You cannot save the game on your own, it autosaves at points. So this is like real life in the sense that you cannot go back and start again at the point of your choice, as in real life, if you make a bad decision, you have to live with it.
There is also a little origami sheet that comes in the box that I believe provides clues. I have yet to figure out how to make the figure.
Showing reviews 26-30 of 325
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