Heavy Rain: a flood of choices
Kyle Wilson, '10 | Senior Editor
Issue date: 3/12/10 Section: Lifestyle
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Little do you know, that life is about to end.
That is the beginning of the story of Ethan Mars, the first of four characters you meet in Heavy Rain. What happens after that scene leads to Ethan becoming entangled with the lives of three other people and caught up in the hunt for the Origami Killer, a madman that drowns little boys in rain water and leaves origami animals in their hands. It is a deep story, a moving story, filled with well fleshed out characters and moments that really pull you into their lives. And it made me cry. I am not ashamed to admit this. I cried because of this game and its plot. Damn you, game...
At its heart, this game is all about choice. The basic backbone of the game is the same. Ethan must find the Origami Killer to save his son. FBI agent Norman Jayden is brought in on the case, trying to work through the haze of his drug problem. Scott Shelby is a hard-edged private dick, trying to piece together the evidence leading him to a killer. Madison Paige is a journalist with chronic insomnia who somehow gets pulled into this nightmare. And you, the player, get to guide these people through that nightmare. Really, the choices you make reflect what kind of person you are. How far is your Ethan willing to go to save his son? Would he kill someone for it? Would he take near suicidal risks? Is your Norman a hard core drug user, or is he trying to kick the junk? Is your Scott a nice guy, or is he a bitter, hard nosed-cynic, more comfortable using his fists than his brains? Is your Madison caring and generous, or a slutty bitch?
You get to decide all these things with simple button presses. To talk, you press a button that corresponds to what your character would say. But these buttons only appear for a few moments before the game takes the choice from you, and you might not like what the game makes you say. So, like in real life, you have to say things as they come into your head. To do actions, you press the button that flashes on the screen, or you move the controller in the direction it says. Sometimes you have to move things slowly, like when shaving or when opening a creaking door when trying to be secretive.