Heavy Rain

The title isn't a pun, it doesn't need to be. I'm a person who seldom plays a game through in a single sitting, I'll buy one, play about a third of it then pick it up a while later. Heavy Rain is an exception and I cannot praise it enough. I really would like to say something critical about it, I would. The thing is, I can't! Heavy Rain is so different, so unusual and so unique that it is, in a word, perfect. Compelling isn't the word, I really did want to know who the Origami Killer was, and not in the curious way that you want to know the twist in Halo, a real thirst for the knowledge. I could talk about control schemes, I could talk about graphics, both are incredible and wonderfully thought out, but you know, I don't want to. All I can say about Heavy Rain is that it rocked me to my core, it's a terrifying, thrilling and emotional ride through a harrowing time in the lives of four outstandingly well acted characters. If this is the shape of things to come from Quantic Dream, then they are a company to watch. So I'll finish this post without a joke, no quip about a brown colour palette (which Heavy Rain doesn't have) or shot at bad acting. I say this because, in the midst of the worst glut of terrible games I've ever seen, somebody out there is doing it right, and that gives me hope.