GC 2008: Heavy Rain Gameplay Info

Heavy Rain

When a developer attempts to break new ground, especially in the area of interaction, gamers are both intrigued and suspicious. Therefore, and thanks to more information delivered by Quantic Dream's David Cage at the Leipzig Games Convention, we now have plenty of new details on Heavy Rain.

The first official gameplay trailer for the highly anticipated title debuted yesterday, but people were still wondering about the gameplay. Cage said during the presentation that there'd be "no cars, no guns, no enemies, no puzzles, etc." so people were a little confused...what will we have to do when playing Heavy Rain? The Videogaming247 blog and several other sources have obtained more details during the presentation, and we're selecting the highlights for ya-

• First of all, you will only control the head and shoulders of the character. She will move forward automatically at the simple press of a button.
• Just about everything you find in the game operates off the context sensitive mechanic, as seen in the trailer.
• Here's one particularly interesting quote from Cage: "Everything in the interface is designed for emotion, to make you feel what your character feels."
• Nothing about the environment seems to be off-limits. You can sit in a chair, watch TV, open doors and windows, etc.
• Despite Cage's odd statement about "no weapons," he does say the character can pick up anything from screwdrivers to chainsaws to defend herself. Remember, the environment is fully "interactable," and Cage says there are "over 60 scenes" where there's a whole lot of action going on.
• Lastly, we're reminded that this game is not like GTA; it's "not an open world," Cage said. It's very, very story-driven.

There's no question about it: Heavy Rain is already one of the most original titles we've seen in a very long while, and we just hope it's super engaging. We're so used to controlling every last aspect of a character's actions; we've never stopped to think about stepping into the character's shoes and experiencing what he/she experiences while following a tense story. Let's hope Quantic gets this one right, because if they do, we'll be most pleased with the result.

Related Game(s): Heavy Rain

8/21/2008 Ben Dutka

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