Heavy Rain (2010)

As a child goes missing, his father tirelessly works to rescue him, while a journalist, an FBI agent, and a private detective try to identify his kidnapper known only as the "Origami Killer".

Director:

David Cage

Writer:

David Cage

Stars:

Pascal Langdale, Jacqui Ainsley, Judi Beecher

6 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pascal Langdale	...	Ethan Mars (voice)
Jacqui Ainsley	...	Madison Paige (voice)
Judi Beecher	...	Madison Paige (voice)
Sam Douglas	...	Scott Shelby (voice)
Leon Ockenden	...	Norman Jayden (voice)
Mike Powers	...	Carter Blake (voice)
Aurélie Bancilhon	...	Lauren Winters (voice)
Max Renaudin Pratt	...	Shaun Mars / Scott Sheppard (voice) (as Max Renaudin)
Quentin de Gruttola	...	Shaun Mars / Jason Mars (voice)
Ginnie Watson	...	Grace Mars / Hospital Nurse / Passer-by Trendy Woman (voice)
Leslie Clack	...	Charles Kramer (voice)
Antony Hickling	...	Gordi Kramer / Ash / Passer-by Trendy Man (voice)
Taylor Gasman	...	Jason Mars / John Sheppard (voice)
Tommy Simeon	...	Jason Mars (voice)
Norman Stokle	...	Manfred (voice)

Storyline

Architect, and Father Ethan Mars joins a Private Detective, a Journalist, and an FBI agent in a race against time to save his son from a child murderer, known as the Origami Killer.

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Plot Keywords:

playstation 3 | playstation 4 | single player | interactive drama | fbi agent | 

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Taglines:

How far would you go to save someone you love?

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

France

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Heavy Rain

Box Office

Budget:

€16,700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quantic Dream

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS (PlayStation version)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Set in Philadelphia (and the surrounding area).

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Goofs

The game is supposed to be set in the United States, yet Ann Sheppard's hospital room has "Type-G" wall-sockets next to her bed. These sockets are meant for 220-240V/50Hz European voltage, and would never be found in an American hospital.

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Quotes

Ethan Mars: [reading a note from the origami killer] When the parents came home from church, all their children were gone. They searched and called for them, they cried and begged, but it was to no avail. The children were never seen again.

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Alternate Versions

The PS3 Demo has an alternate tutorial starring Scott Shelby as he works his way out of his car, has a brief asthma attack, and segues into the Sleazy Hotel scene. In the full version of the game, this scene does not exist, and the Prologue level starring Ethan Mars serves as the tutorial.

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Connections

Featured in ScrewAttack's Top 10s: Top 10 Sex Scenes in Video Games (2015)

User Reviews

Ambitious 'thriller' has to be admired for its vision

I use the word 'thriller' as normally one doesn't associate that word with a video game, rather a movie or TV show. But the lines between interactive and passive entertainment have been blurring for some considerable time now, and Heavy Rain is the latest evolution of this.

From the same director and software house who brought us the 'infamous' Fahrenheit, notorious for its 'Simon Says' style of interaction, Heavy Rain shares this same basic game mechanic of following on screen prompts to engage particular actions. If you're near a chair, pressing the instruction cue, such as the right stick up, will see the character interacting with the chair, possibly by sitting, maybe by leaning on it.

And this simple yet extremely effective way is the model for the whole game. There is no 'forward back left and right with jump punch' type of control, instead movement is facilitated by R2 acting as a pseudo 'accelerator' and the left stick guiding the player - it's clunky, and at times obstructive, but it just about does the job.

As for the actual plot, because let's face it, that's the point of the game, to be a story, Heavy Rain follows the pursuit, by 4 main characters, of a notorious serial killer called the Origami Killer who is kidnapping and drowning young children. Suffice to say our heroes become embroiled in his latest kidnap and it becomes a race against time and rain (that will become clear later).

The ultimate question we have to ask ourselves, as to whether we like this game or not, is what we expect of it.

Is it the evolution and revolution of gaming that it promised to be? Probably not - it is let down by some mechanical failures, plot holes wide enough to fit the Titanic through, and a fair number of event/dialogue contextual gaps which make little sense at the time.

But inasmuch as these irritate, Quantic Dreams have to be applauded for trying. And trying really hard. Yes, the story and plot would have benefited from being proof read by professionals, but anyone looking that deep for flaws is missing the point - the game tries to do something quite different, quite radical, and involving of the player in ways not seen before by other games.

Heavy Rain does not hit the mark in everything it does, but it comes close overall, and is a worthy attempt at doing something dramatic and different in a gaming market which is in danger of becoming sterile.