Heavy Rain review addendum

Little did I know as I wrote yesterday's review of Heavy Rain that both I and the missus were to finish our respective games during the evening, but let me tell you; it was certainly a singular experience. However, both our endings, and the way we got there, were different in big ways. First off, the missus actually lost the game, if you can use such a term when discussing this particular game, and I won it, even though you don't really win (nor do you lose). "What do you mean?" You may ask, and the question is fitting.

When thinking about video games we're accustomed to thinking in more or less black and white terms. You play, solving puzzles, quests, killing bad guys and saving maidens in distress, but if you run out of lives you're presented with the "Game over" screen. If, however, you manage not to spend all your player lives, and you manage to make it through to the ending and beat the game, you normally get some kind of end-game video sequence or something to that effect. Heavy Rain, however does not work that way.

While playing you get attached to your characters, you sympathize with them, and you want them to prevail. It may not happen right away, and you probably will not know when it has happened, but it will, and when it does you are emotionally invested in the game and your characters. You lead them on their way through the adventure to confront the darkest recesses of the human mind, and as you play on you begin to feel invincible because you're meant to survive and to succeed (and because some parts of the game are deceptively easy). After all, who would let the main characters in a psychological thriller die, let a killer go free and kill a ten year old boy?

Well, as the missus found out, it is possible to get your main characters killed - all of them, and if you do the resulting chain of events is such a heart wrenching affair that you will be devastated. She was saddened, angry, disappointed and surprised all at once, and she was, in fact, so affected by this outcome that she simply went to bed - leaving me to, with slight apprehension, play out my game. But was she presented with the ubiquitous "Game Over" screen? No she was not, because this is not that kind of game. Instead, we were forced to sit through a long end-game sequence in which the origami killer was never identified, in which all the main people were dead, in which an innocent man were given the blame for the murders, and in which the origami killer's latest victim died because no-one who could save him were left alive. We were both at the edge of our seats, and I think I saw tears form in the corners of the missus' eyes. Absolutely devastating.

At this point I guess you're wondering whether or not I am exaggerating for effect, but no I am not. The game really is that effective as long as you are capable of being emotionally tied to something, which most of us are, and it is that effective for a couple of reasons. First there is the obvious emotional connection you surprisingly quickly form with your characters. Secondly it is that effective because you are never given any second chances - what's done is done, and there's nothing you can do about it except start over from scratch. And third, there is the inherent sense of right and wrong that we all share. Killing people is wrong, most of us would agree with this, and thus most of us would agree that killing children is worse still.

We all want murderers to get caught and put to justice, and even though our opinion of what would constitute justice in any given situation might differ, we all share that one conviction; murderers must be held accountable for their crimes. When they are not we are reminded of the frailty of life and ordered society, we are reminded of the potential for evil in humans, and we are reminded of the all too real fact that many killers go free because there is simply not enough evidence to convict or apprehend them. These are all issues we are not used to being confronted with in games, and thus it is doubly effective in particular because you yourself have orchestrated the chain of events that led you to that particular conclusion.

So what about my game? Did I win?
Well, yes - and no. I think it is meaningless to talk about winning or loosing this game, because no matter what you do the game will eventually end. It may not end the way you want it to, or the end result may not be entirely to your liking, but you will get an ending. I won in the sense that I managed to save the origami killer's latest victim, and I managed to identify the killer - I think, but for many of the people involved in the story it was a hollow victory. The origami killer had still killed eight little boys, and so there were eight families who had closure, but their child was still gone. Obviously there is nothing that can be done to avoid this particular issue, but their sadness sticks with you - as does their relief and satisfaction at being given at least some justice for their children. So was it a happy ending? Well, as far as such things go in a story like this, yes it was.

However, I was still left with unanswered questions at the end of it all, and I am sure I will have to play through the game again, but differently, if I want to have them answered. There are many paths to take towards the ending, and as you play the story through different branches the story will unfold in different ways. I am sure I will do so, and I am sure the missus will also want to give it another go in order to get her own closure with the origami killer and provide justice for the parents of all his victims. For my part though, I noticed there is a DLC available that I will play through before giving the main game another go.

In closing I will say that I remain convinced that this game is a must-have for everyone who owns a PS3 - it truly is a remarkable experience.