Heavy Rain: Review

So Quantic Dream showed a tech demo a few years back. They said they're making a game and it's going to look like that. We all said no way. In truth the game itself doesn't look like the tech demo. Somehow it's way better looking. Heavy Rain's main draw is that it is essentially a video game in cop drama movie clothing, or is it vice versa?

The game centers around four playable characters on the hunt for the serial killer known as the Origami Killer. Said killer has been killing little boys you see, and that's bad. In fact, said killer has been drowning them. Wanna know in what? Probably rain. The story itself is rock solid in its roller coaster, whodunit style that was the hallmark of really good cop flicks. It's a story that will keep you guessing until the end as the red herrings swim all around and the ending is never telegraphed (though I am really bad at mysteries).

The Dad of the newest missing son jumps through these crazy hoops to answer the games tagline question, "How far would you go to save someone you love?" All the while giving a believable performance as someone who has nothing else to lose and his (now) only son to re-gain.

The private investigator rough and tumbles his way around the city working all the leads and busting a few heads along the way. All the while keeping his asthma inhaler at the ready lest a flare up take the big man down.

The girl finds herself caught up in this whole mess and gets sucked further and further into the drama, losing more sleep than her insomnia already took.

And the doped up FBI agent with the aid of some sweet future glasses (the game takes place next year you know) and one of those Dirty Harry cops plies his Federal law trade up and down the block.

All these fine folks are some of the most human characters in video games to date and each has their own unique personality that is felt in every move they make and everything they say.

That's where the games troubles pop up however as the game does take place in an unnamed east coast, US city (with subways and a building that looks suspiciously like the Chrysler Building). Why does everyone in New York--I mean unnamed-ville--sound like Europeans with bad American accents? Because they are. It's a bit jarring to get into an involved scene and get sidetracked thinking about if that's how you say that word. It's not game breaking, but it is weird.

What is sort of game breaking is the control scheme. I get that we are trying something different, but there's a reason why nearly all games use the sticks for movement. Holding R2 to walk doesn't really work as well as it sounds like it should (which is already not at all). I suppose it could have been made better if the look sensitivity were more consistent though. I can't tell you how many times my incredibly humanesque character looked like an idiot spinning in circles trying to turn a corner.

The rest of the controls play off well, which is nice since the game is essentially all quick time events. The presentation of the button presses sometimes gets sort of muddled up in the scenery, but I'm of the impression that the alternative was worth forgoing. I'm glad the buttons don't just pop up in random spots on the screen. This also affords neat analogs to the on screen action which range from brushing your teeth to climbing out of sinking cars.

Heavy Rain isn't a game for everyone. I for one am inclined to say that Quantic Dream's last game, Indigo Prophesy was better. But for anyone who liked that game, likes a good mystery, believes games may not be just for kids. Go buy Heavy Rain.

PS3 Exclusive. Beat on the hardest difficulty.

Bioshock 2: Review

So many sequels, so little time. Bioshock 2 is (surprisingly enough) the follow-up to the materialist culture shock that was 2007's Bioshock, which in turn was a spiritual successor to a PC game that I had never heard of called System Shock 2. Got it?

Bioshock 2 returns us to Andrew Ryan's submarine utopia ten years after the events of the first game. This time though instead of a hapless jet-setter/plane crash victim, you are one of the Big Daddies you hunted in the first game. This introduces some new play mechanics as you get to now wield that kick-ass drill that the Big Daddies liked to push through you first time around and you get to find out why Rosie seemed to have such a blast nailing you with rivets. And it is fun.

Being of course a special Big Daddy comes with its perks like being able to use plasmids. Few things are more fun than filling a room with bees and setting splicers on fire when they try to run for it, I'm just saying.

The original story introduced us to the idea that perhaps Randian objectivism isn't the best option for setting life goals as the purely objectivist dream of (I suppose) billionaire Andrew Ryan, the underwater city of Rapture tore itself apart over things like working class rights, the desire (and some (including me) say need) for religion and simple greed. The story of the sequel continues this observation and introduces us to discussions of free will and what constitutes it, and what truly is the meaning of utopia? In some ways it seems simpler and less impactful than the former's story, but it is still thought provoking. The focus this time seems more on the characters themselves than on the city and this is displayed by there being actually quite a few non-splicers milling about nowadays. Most notable being neoantagonist Sofia Lamb who, for whatever reason had the notion to rebuild Rapture into her version of utopia. Chaos ensues, there is fire and bees everywhere, it's a good time. There aren't really any crazy twists in the story this time which is actually a pretty major relief after that whole Modern Warfare 2 fiasco, but the story does manage to stay interesting throughout the fifteen or so hours you'll spend stomping around in wet boots.

The little sisters also return and the bulk of the games choices once again surround whether you'll harvest them for tons of Adam all at once (a process that kills them (you monster)) or rescue them, netting you less Adam (initially), but turning them back into little girls. The dynamic surrounding them is different this time though. Whereas before you found them, killed the Big Daddy, than made the call; this time you can adopt her and take her to find you an Adam filled corpse. Since Adam is the substance that essentially caused the fall of Rapture, as soon as you set the Little Sister to her task, every splicer in town makes a play. These moments definitely add to the difficulty and tension, but I suppose it serves to illustrate the question, how far will you go for Adam?

So if you're the Big Daddy now, who do you have to look out for? Big Sister, that's who. The Big Sisters are Sofia Lamb's answer to you and every so often they make that known by showing up and making you waste all the ammo you've been hording up until then. The fights with them are some of the most intense in the game as they flip around and generally beat the crap out of you and have an incredible tolerance for bullets (and bees). The trouble is that after about the second time you fight one, you know when she's coming so you are totally prepared. It takes a lot of the mystery out of it, but the effect is only somewhat diminished. She's still tough.

A few issues from the last game have been addressed in this new outing, but somehow they don't feel like real improvements so me. There have been lots of complaints about the loss of the ability to backtrack in the game, but personally, I never wanted to backtrack anyway. One change that was welcome was the ability to turn off the Vita-Chambers which instantly respawn you if you die. I never actually turned them off because this game is a pretty good challenge with them on, but I like the option.

There is also technically a lot more water in this game, which is good for a game about a failed underwater city. I say technically because the parts in which you are walking around in the water feel really tacked on and unnecessary. It seems almost like they didn't get around to making those parts until it was nearly too late and they didn't really get to do the idea justice. Perhaps the underwater splicers illustrated in the Special Edition art book is evidence of this. Whatever the case, it was a good idea that didn't go where it should have.

Overall, I must again say that if you didn't like the first game, you probably won't like this one either. It really doesn't feel revolutionary. Having said that, it does feel like a natural extension of what Bioshock brought us in 2007. It's an outrageously fun game. If you like philosophy, art deco, bees, go get this game. It's not an ultra fast paced war game and for the ones looking for a straight up shooter, you may want to look elsewhere, but for those who want more proof that games are in fact art, Bioshock 2 is it.

Played on Xbox 360 on Hard.

Mass Effect 2: Review

Remember how random nerds and some fat guy on TV used to talk over the finer points of Star Wars (and no, in fact Greedo shot first)? We can now rightly consider the throne two-thirds usurped.

Mass Effect 2 is the epic sequel to Bioware's epic 2007 sci-fi odyssey Mass Effect (if you can believe it). What sets it apart from other sequels is that it picks up two years after you left off. To clarify, everything you did in Mass Effect, from seemingly banal choices, to main character deaths, to the look of your Commander Shepard are all transferred to Mass Effect 2. Genius.

That being said, I would find it a hard sell for one who skipped the first game to get into this one. For all the subtleties that crop up from time to time in ME2, probably 70% or so would be lost on those with no context. Good thing the first game is only $20 now huh? I'm not sure if people from the last game still send you messages about how you saved them (I tend to save lots of people), but if they did, that would only make it more confusing.

The menus have been greatly simplified, much to the joy of people who hate the micromanagement that is a signature of JRPGs (Japanese Role Playing Games). Gone are the hours spent finding out who can use what and if they'll need it for this mission, and am I bringing him anyway, and so on... for hours. While the simplified menu is appreciated, at times it seems a little overly simple, almost to the point of seeming trivial. I think I may have changed weapons four times in my entire 30+ hour stint in the ME2 universe. Something so simple could probably have been mapped to buttons or something.

The battle system however has seen only improvements as ME2 takes queues from third person shooters with the requisite cover system to boot. That battles are pretty fast and furious all the while feeling less like Final Fantasy and Star Wars and more like a damned gun battle in space should entice some non-sci-fi fans into space.

The game really shines with the return of the moral system that Bioware is now quite famous for. Whether male or female, Commander Shepard comes off exactly as you'd want someone you're making decisions for to. The voice acting is definitely top notch and the character animations really work to sell the emotions.

There's really little else to say about Mass Effect 2 except that if you haven't played it yet, you're slacking. Get to it. And if you'd like to engage in Star Wars quality nerd talk about the budding Mass Effect universe, come see me.

Played on Xbox 360 on hard.