So, better late than never I guess. I said I would start this game months back, and I did indeed purchase it of ebay, but my ADD struck me pretty hard and by the time HR arrived here I was onto something else. But I'm back again and I'm finally giving it a shot. I heard a lot about this game when it came out - some good and some bad. I was curious to see it for myself and make up my own mind. I love to pick sides in stupid Internet debates. These are a collection of my thoughts as I played through the game.

Was the part with trying to recall what time you took Shaun to the park or what color clothes he was wearing supposed to be impossible? I mean, smurf, I can't remember anyway but the dialogue choices flying around didn't help.... Also I'm not even sure if I could have known what time we went to the park.

If the fight scene with the ******* trying to rape Lauren is any indication, I'm gonna do very badly at those. I reloaded about three or four times. It looks like the prompts never change, at least on the easy setting, so I guess for future, more important fights I can just memorize what I gotta go. I got a Trophy for that too. Did I not have to help her? What kind of monster would have walked away when you know quite clearly what was gonna happen? Or maybe the trophy is for if I had smurfed it up so badly that I got KO'ed and she got raped anyway.

But I'm getting kinda ahead of myself. That was a very effective beginning. A bit cliche perhaps but the transition from the ideal prologue to seeing Ethan as he is now, with Shaun as he is now, was quite well done. It made me feel very sorry for that man.

The stuff with Jayden is way different but I like it. I didn't expect super tech gizmos in this kind of game. I guess plain old detective work is kinda dull though. I stayed behind to look for as many clues as I could if that matters any. I'm not sure how important my choices are in this game but that one ******* asked if I wanted to leave with him and I said no. Also Jayden is a coke head or something? I wasn't sure if I smurfed up that part... I just moved out of his "office" and then it moved to a scene of him getting his fix. Also holy trout it was a bit overboard with how weird he looked while he was freaking out. Shaking I get but the "WOAH!!!" drunk animation was a bit much.

Speaking of freaking out, no idea what's going on with Ethan. Guessing that's intentional.

Overall solid presentation and interesting premise so far. Also FANTASTIC music. My main complaint at present is....voice-acting. It's...not all bad but...it could be a lot better. Honestly right now it feels like a problem with direction more than actual acting.

Also how the hell old is Shaun? Riding mechanical horsies and see-saw?

Dammit...I'm trying to play Jayden good. I didn't yell at Blake even as he gave me every reason to. I wanted him to be professional and cool and calm.

But I shot the guy...I was purposefully avoiding the R1 thing the entire time, I wanted to talk him down because that ******* Blake was the one who pushed him over the edge. But I just saw....something...something was happening and my finger hit R1 before I knew what I was doing.

And he was only reaching for a crucifix...goddammit....

I'm guessing you can avoid the car crash but I only messed up on the final part of that sequence and I didn't want to redo it. But man, Ethan sure is resilient. Madison was there to help but he's still trucking along with one or two broken ribs. I thought that was kinda hard to do.

That was a pretty intense bit though, really dug it. it's why I didn't want to redo it.

OKAY **** THE TUNNEL PART. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG THE PIECE OF **** KEPT CHANGING PERSPECTIVE ON ME AND I CAN'T SEE AS IT FUCKING IS. GODDAMMIT. I DID NOT FAIL ONMY OWN **** YOU GAME.

Thank God it turns out you don't need to pass all the trials to get a good ending. Otherwise I'd be very, very mad. Well, I WAS VERY VERY MAD until I read that you can get a good ending without it.




Never thought I'd feel so bad about killing a dope dealer....


Holy Hannibal Lecter, what the ****, now a crazy surgeon? I won the first fight but I thought I lost so I restarted. Mads goes limp and he's cackling away like a cartoon villain so I figured I done goofed. But she was playing possum, the clever girl.

Overall, this game is making me nostalgic for the easy days of Leon and Krauser's QTE Knife Fight.

Yet I love it all the same. It's just so....immersive and intense.

Dammit, Ethan just learned about Madison's true identity and occupation after they made sweet, sweet love. (although i fucked up taking off her bras... I swear, bras are the bane of my existence, both in reality and video games) I wasn't sure if they should do it but I ended up going with it because, ****, Ethan needs a little something to motivate him. You can't go on with nothing but slim hopes. You need at leas ta little light in your life. I also had him forgive her because this lady has nearly died twice for him and is a fugitive from the law because she wants to help him. She's obviously not just in it to get a story or to write a book.

But then I went and screwed up her warning him. Couldn't find a damn phone. Ethan still escaped though, rather dramatically. I love teh camera angles in this game.

But no sooner than has Ethan gotten out of a bind than Shelby and Lauren are in a bind of their own. That old bastard. I was worried Shelby would leave her to drown but nope, he saved her. I really like Lauren. She's had my sympathies ever since I first met her. Then Shelby was back...with a vengeance. That whole sequence was awesome. I spared the old bastard because I can already see who Shelby is and why he's doing what he's doing. Well, part of it anyway. Man, those kids, those accents...oi.

I think I'm closing in on the ending though. Jayden had a fight with the killer and got some gas station receipts which I think are vital to getting the good ending, or a good ending. Oh and speaking of the club chapters, Madison is one **** lady. I'm not too broken up over the fact I screwed up and made her take off one more layer of clothing for Paco.

And that's Heavy Rain. Everyone made it to the warehouse and only one person died. you know the one.

I teared up a bit for the first time all game when the timer ran out and Ethan thought he was going to die. Then he didn't. It is this that makes me think none of what we saw from Shelby was an act. I truly believe he cared for Lauren and all the rest of it. Now some might say he's a psycho, and that's true, but I don't think he is an unfeeling psycho. It was his feelings that made him what he is. Quite frankly, I didn't come away hating Shelby like a lot of people. I guess it's because I knew he was the killer all along but overall I think it all makes a lot of sense and transforms him to by far the most interesting character in the game.

Now I do need to comment on something because I was reading TVTropes' Character Sheet for HR characters. The one character who lives and doesn't get a happy ending is Jayden. The poor guy is losing his mind.... Now I thought it was on account of the drugs but the trope page says it's due to the ARI System. I don't recall the game ever saying the ARI System was such a massive danger to a person's brain or that's why Norman took the drugs in the first place.

But apart from feeling bad for the two of them, the ending was pretty nice. Ethan has another chance for a good, happy family with Madison and Shaun.

The game was very interesting. I'm sure if I felt like it I could think of some plotholes...god knows I've seen so much hatred for the game that there's possibly a whole bible dedicated to Why Heavy Rain Sucks. But the game was so unlike any other game I've ever played.... I recently played "myself" for the first time due to Dragon Age but here, while I wasn't playing myself exactly, I was still so engrossed in everything that happened that it might as well be me. I'm not Madison or Ethan but that doesn't mean I wasn't freaking out at certain scenes for those two. Everything is just so visceral in Heavy Rain that it really gets inside you in a way I've never really felt with other video games. Stuff like accidentally killing that religious nut or executing the drug dealer hits home so much more effectively than even my evil choices in DA.

And of course the soundtrack is fantastic. I hope not even HR's critics can disparage the great music.

For favorite scenes/moments....Madison visiting Ann Sheppard was also heartbreaking. It's an all too realistic and grim situation - a poor old woman wasting away in loneliness. And when you finally jog her memory she worries her only living son hates her. Shelby destroying all the evidence is also up there with just how sad it is. For "fights" that really stuck out to me, Madison and The Doc. Pres X to futilely scream for help as you await your horrifically painful death.

On a less positive side of the game's audio...well, is the voice-acting better in Beyond Two Souls? Obviously Page and Dafoe are gonna be good but what about everyone else? I think Shelby and Madison had the best voices in HR and Jayden's VA has a queer charm to him. Ethan was okay, but it varied a lot from scene to scene. Everyone else was meh to awful.

Overall, great game, loved it. I might even play it again someday and just let everyone die or whatever.

I think my fave characters were Shelby and Madison. Also my ability to pause during the prompts to give myself time to see them probably saved the game for me. Otherwise I'd be screwed. I hope Beyond has that.

Oh and looking over my progress reports, they never did address what was up with Ethan and his blackouts. At least I don't think they did.