heavy rain
Latest
Japan's Heavy Rain box art barely stays above water
The Japanese box art for Heavy Rain, featuring a nose and mouth barely staying above water, is probably the most sinister and mysterious out of all the regions. Andriasang has posted all three images in succession for comparison. No word yet if the Japanese art will be available online to print like the European cover -- but that would only seem fair, right? (Come on, play along.) It'll be interesting to see how the game does across the oceans, with the European and Japanese covers lacking a certain marketing appeal that's quite prominent in the North American cover. Heavy Rain will try to grab attention with its box art -- and whatever else it has at its disposal -- when it releases later next month. %Gallery-30067%
Rumor: David Cage doesn't want to do a sequel to Heavy Rain
According to a second-hand report from TheLostGamer, the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine UK contains a concrete answer from Quantic Dream founder David Cage about the possibility of a sequel to Heavy Rain. "I don't want to do a sequel because I've said what I had to say about these characters and this story," Cage explained, later adding, "honestly, I have nothing else to say." If Quantic Dream wants Heavy Rain to provide a cinematic experience, it certainly makes sense not to drag the proceedings out over the course of a few games. Besides, it would be simply unfeasible for Heavy Rain 2 to import every single decision you made in first game. How's it supposed to remember every time we chose to juggle, watch TV and eat sandwiches instead of searching for our poor, kidnapped child? [Via VG247]
Heavy Rain official site launches, announces 'Four Days Challenge'
Heavy Rain's marketing may be missing that "mainstream appeal" factor it needs to push sales with the Wii Play crowd, but the folks in charge of the game's website sure do know how to whet the whistle of those of us chomping at the bit for anything new. Starting on January 26 and running "in real time across three weeks," the Heavy Rain "Four Days Challenge" intends on tasking participants with solving a murder mystery. The advergame's description claims it consists of "interacting with characters, identifying clues [and] making decisions," allowing those involved to complete said tasks between Tuesday and Friday of the three weeks that the game is scheduled to run. You can head over to the sign-up site right now and get yourself all set up for what is sure to be three weeks jam-packed with pure, unbridled excitement. Or a viral marketing campaign. But hey, at very least, you'll get yourself a voucher for a free Heavy Rain t-shirt in Home. That's something, right? Right? Hey guys, where are you going? %Gallery-30067%[Via VG247]
European Heavy Rain special edition looks wet, classy
If you're still a little incensed about the totally boobular North American box art for Heavy Rain, you might want to skip right past this post. See, Sony Europe recently revealed the EU-only special edition bundle for Quantic Dream's mystery/thriller, and it looks pretty wonderful. It's got stylish fold-out packaging covered in realistic, imprinted raindrops, and comes with a DLC voucher, a page covered in helpful notes and some do-it-yourself origami. More importantly, the front of the game doesn't look terrible. Europe's current ratio of not-terrible Heavy Rain covers to terrible Heavy Rain covers is an impressive 2:0. They are batting 1000, as far as not-terrible Heavy Rain covers are concerned.
Sony making Heavy Rain Euro box art available to print online
For those who find the titillating, boobastic and breastical US cover of Heavy Rain a bit wet and in-your-face, Sony is apparently giving US audiences an alternative. Associate Product Manager Cristian Cardona states on the PlayStation Blog that the company will have the European box artwork available as a download to print "around launch." The launch of the western interactive novel is expected February 23. At that time we'll go into our local games retailer with European cover in-hand, purchase a copy and replace that pure-marketing cover for the more artistic one, STAT. %Gallery-30067% [Via Shacknews]
US Heavy Rain box art attempts sex appeal
Click to Titanic-size. Are you afraid that Quantic Dream's PS3 adventure game is going to be lost in the Q1 flood of games? Our preview notes that the heavily story-driven game is missing mainstream appeal, something SCEA is trying to rectify with its American box art. As revealed on David Cage's Titter, the North American Heavy Rain box art does away with the simplicity of its European counterpart. While the origami bird still remains, the US box emphasizes Madison, wearing a form-fitting tank top, wet from what we can only assume is the titular heavy rain. If we didn't know better, we'd assume this game was all about wet t-shirt contests. That should sound absolutely titillating to the average GameStop and Wal-Mart shopper, right?
Heavy Rain release date official: February 23
Did Qore say February 16 was the day Heavy Rain would be released? It meant February 23! As if specifically intended to correct this morning's report, Sony just announced the for-real North American release date for the adventure game. A reminder: pre-ordering the title will get you free launch-day access to the first downloadable Heavy Rain Chronicles episode, which won't be available otherwise until a later date (at which point it'll be $5). Sony also confirmed European release dates for Quantic Dream's interactive novel thing: February 24 for mainland Europe and February 26 in the UK and Ireland. %Gallery-30067%
Qore: Heavy Rain forecast for February 16
The latest issue of PS3's interactive monthly show-thing, Qore, offers a release date of February 16 for Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain. In this Qore menu screen captured by Examiner (pictured above), the release date -- presumably for North America -- is listed as fact, just like that's what it's always been. However, we shouldn't take this as an official announcement. Since Sony chose to reveal the European collector's edition of the game with a big post on the PlayStation Blog and a press release, we would expect something similarly flashy for the official launch date reveal, and not just a low-key, incidental listing as seen in Qore. At best, this is the sort of unintentional "leak" that makes Qore a can't-miss publication. As for a UK date, CVG's shadowy sources indicate that the best guess for the PAL version release is still February 26.
New Heavy Rain trailer heavy on spoilers, Japanese
We'd warn you that this new trailer for Heavy Rain is filled with spoilers. Thankfully, it's in a language you probably don't understand: Japanese. With Quantic Dream's PS3-exclusive thriller arriving in Japan next month (quite possibly before America gets the game), this trailer is packed with enough dramatic moments to make us run to Japan to get a pre-order. [Thanks Jem A.!]
Report: No Heavy Rain Collector's Edition for US
U.S. gamers looking to get their grubby mitts on that ridiculously ornate version of Heavy Rain won't, it turns out. One of SCEA's reps confirmed to VG247 that the pricier version won't make the trip across the pond. We're so sorry to upset you with this news, but feel quite fine saving your wallet's soul: money. Sadly, SCEA wasn't willing to offer anything on a U.S. release date for the game proper, something we've all been waiting on since retailers pointed to potential Japanese and European release dates. Come on, guys! Throw us a bone we can actually chew on here!
Heavy Rain handed '15' rating, BBFC explains
In a rather surprising act of mature judgment, the British Board of Film Classification has assigned Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain a "15" rating. Given the so-called adult themes of the western interactive novel (a genre we're classifying right here), the expectation had been that the game would receive an "18" rating, which is even reflected on retail art mock-ups. The other European ratings board, PEGI, has yet to post its classification for the game. Speaking with IncGamers, a BBFC spokesperson explained, "These are obviously not real people, or real people acting, and it all depends on the level of blood and violence. We use the same classification for games as we do for films, and this game is suitable for a 15 audience." That's odd, we could have sworn many "real people" acted in Heavy Rain. Still, we're pleasantly surprised to see a ratings board bring equity into play by reviewing a game within the same guidelines used for movies. %Gallery-30067% [Via Eurogamer]
'Heavy Rain Chronicles' DLC, Collector's Edition announced
Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain just got heavier, both in content and in physical package size. Sony has detailed the first of the DLC releases that we confirmed earlier this week, called Heavy Rain Chronicles. The first DLC episode is an expanded version of the "bonus" taxidermist scene shown in 2008 and will be available "after the launch of Heavy Rain early next year" for an unannounced price. More downloadable episodes will be revealed later. Sony Europe has also announced a Collector's Edition of the game (for Europe), which will include access to the expanded Taxidermist episode day-and-date with the retail release. The limited-edition box will include the DLC episode, along with a downloadable soundtrack and XMB theme, plus a cool "rain-effect" slipcase (pictured above). Sony didn't note a date for the Collector's Edition, so we'll just stick to our best guess: February 26. [Update: official release dates.] While there's no announcement about a Collector's Edition for North America, according to PlayStation Blog, if you pre-order the standard edition, you will gain early access to the first "Chronicle" (or DLC episode). As in Europe, the DLC will be available for non-pre-orderers at an unspecified post-launch date, though the North American episodes have been priced at $4.99 each. %Gallery-80291% Source – Introducing Heavy Rain Chronicles + The Special Edition Box [PlayStation.Blog.Europe] Source – Pre-order Heavy Rain and Get The Heavy Rain Chronicles [PlayStation.Blog]
Video interview: Heavy Rain producer confirms DLC, talks game marketing
Last month we spoke with Heavy Rain executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumiere about Quantic Dream's upcoming PS3 adventure game. As a game far from the everyday, de Fondaumiere agreed that Heavy Rain has been a challenge to market. "It's a difficult game to market, because it's difficult for people to understand what it is unless they experience it," he admitted in our video interview above. "So we have to show it to them. We probably have to give them a playable demo for them to see and experience for themselves how different and unique this experience is." We argued that a playable demo would simply reveal how unconventional the controls could be, to which de Fondaumiere responded: "You simply cannot use conventional game mechanisms when you want to create a unique experience. But I think that -- and user tests we've conducted show that -- you get used to it very quickly. It's quite intuitive. I'm not too concerned about this. At all, actually." Finally, when asked if he had any final words to tell the Joystiq audience, de Fondaumiere advised fans not to sell the game back to GameStop after completing the story. "Buy the game, don't sell it. Keep it to yourself. You'll need it to continue and experience more episodes in the months following the launch of the game." So, DLC confirmed, right?
Preview: Heavy Rain's first full chapter
While Heavy Rain attempts to welcome both serious and more casual players, it's clear that many will find the unique controls and the story's slow burn a bit too jarring, unconventional, and even boring. Sony has already released so much (arguably too much) footage of Quantic Dream's adventure, and chances are that you've already passed judgment on the title. Perhaps more than any other game before it, Heavy Rain hopes that you want to like the experience. Why? It is -- at its core -- a role-playing game. When people find out I've been playing Heavy Rain, the first question that generally pops up is, "Is it anything but a series of Quick-Time Events?" The problem with that question is that it inherently assumes that a QTE necessitates a lack of player control. While it's true that the majority of player input is done via on-screen indicators, to simply call them quick-time events is a bit derogatory, ignoring the innovations that developer Quantic Dream has made. Not all actions require players to press buttons as quickly as they see them. In fact, most of the commands involve a very deliberate pace: you may need to move the analog stick slowly, or hold down two buttons while transitioning to a third. Some inputs use the PS3's built-in motion controls, while others will use a combination of various inputs. There are many ways of interfacing with the controller, with each QTE trying to simulate its corresponding, real-world action. However, variety is not Heavy Rain's greatest innovation. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the game to explain is its integration of inaction. You are often given the opportunity to do nothing -- and counter to your intuition, that can be the most satisfying option to pursue.%Gallery-80291%
Euro retailers point to Feb. 26 release for Heavy Rain
European retailers have updated their pages for Heavy Rain, predicting the game will fall on European store shelves on February 26. For those of you keeping score at home, Famitsu said the game is releasing to Japan in February as well, lending some credibility to the proposed February 26 release in Europe. We contacted SCEE -- who gave us the cold shoulder -- but we also sent word to SCEA, who said: "We haven't announced a release date for North America ... but stay tuned as we will have a release date soon." Source - GAME Source - Gamestation Source - Play.com
Japan due for some Heavy Rain in February
Famitsu has apparently given Heavy Rain a Japanese release date of February 8, 2010, reports IGN. Japan is receiving a specific localized version of the title, so it's unclear whether this means the game will be released earlier or later in other territories; however, it's unusual for a Western-developed title to land on Japanese shelves first. We contacted SCEA and were told the company has not "made any announcements on Heavy Rain's [release] date in North America." Yes, right, we know, that's why we're emailing ... %Gallery-30067%
Cage explains why PS3 is 'the best platform' for Heavy Rain
With Quantic Dream's previous (and very weird) Indigo Prophecy available on multiple platforms, many gamers have been curious as to why Heavy Rain is a PS3 exclusive. PushSquare reports that Quantic Dream's David Cage -- once again -- explained the reasoning behind the game's exclusivity at the Eurogamer Expo. He first noted that any answer he gave would be "suspicious," but further explained that the PS3 hardware is "extremely powerful," adding, "If you make a real PS3 engine, then you can have really fantastic performances." He elaborated that porting to the Playstation 3 from other platforms "becomes difficult" (something we've heard before). Beyond technical reasons, Cage said that the team at Quantic Dream loves the console. "I play PSOne, PS2, it's really a part of my culture," said Cage. Cage also added that realistic graphics aren't necessary to create emotional characters, but noted that the goal of Heavy Rain was to create truly believable characters. "With this approach," said Cage, "PS3 was by far the best platform." Given what we've seen of Heavy Rain thus far, we'd be hard-pressed to argue. [Via VG247]
Ten spoiler-ific minutes of Heavy Rain
It's not often we tell you not to click after the break. But this time around, you're going to have to make a choice: will you watch the ten minutes of unedited gameplay footage of Heavy Rain from G4TV, or will you restrain yourself? Let's not forget that David Cage believes multiple playthroughs of the game "kill the magic of it." This scene, which takes place in the Blue Lagoon nightclub, has some revealing moments you may want to enjoy during your own playthrough. Should you refrain from taking a look, we'll reassure you that the game looks absolutely gorgeous. Heck, even the load screen is beautiful!
Off-putting off-screen Heavy Rain footage
Remember the scene in Heavy Rain that we told you about at E3? The emotional roller coaster in which private investigator Scott Shelby does his best to thwart a convenience store hold-up? Remember how we noted the plentitude of ways that players can tackle this single scene, using a variety of context sensitive inputs and quick time events? Try to remember that as you watch off-screen footage of the same scene after the break, which has the players rather amused at making Shelby repeatedly run into walls and, ultimately, getting him shot. It's a bit silly, but it does prove one thing: It's fun to watch Heavy Rain even if you're only trying to see how bad the situation can get.
Taking care of a child: Four minutes of Heavy Rain footage
It's not every day that Quantic Dream's Guillaume de Fondaumiere decides to show off four minutes of gameplay from the developer's upcoming PS3 adventure Heavy Rain. This video, shot for Japanese audiences, goes into great detail about Ethan -- the character of focus in the last trailer for the game. [Spoiler Alert!] After a car accident kills one of his sons, you'll take control of Ethan as he deals with his grief and takes care of his other child. "I obviously need to take care of my son. There is nothing that I have to do. This is really a free choice scene. If I want, I can just sit down or do nothing, or not take care of my son," Fondaumiere explains. Whether or not you choose to be a deadbeat dad, you'll have to deal with the repercussions. "Actions in Heavy Rain always have consequences. You can see consequences of your actions in two, three scenes after they occur. Some other consequences can be dramatic and completely change the story."
