It has been a great run on Blogger, but I have made a move and some changes. This blog will no longer be updated, but never fear, you can still find my useless ramblings on these new blogs here:
Psymin's World- Essentially the predecessor to this website; a blog about video games, sports, or whatever the hell else I want to post about.
AND
The Movie Files by Psymin- My movie blog that is following my girlfriend and I's quest to watch at least 169 movies in one year. Contains mini-reviews on the movies we watch.
Thank you for visiting BJaMs World, and I hope you will join me on my new endeavor at the new site. These are just the stepping stones to what I hope will eventually be something much more.
It's been a...quick year and half.
Thanks for reading.
| BJaMs World | October, 2008 - February, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Demo Impressions - Heavy Rain
Thanks to Kotaku, I have been granted access (along with hundreds other- I am not special, unfortunately) to the pre-release Heavy Rain demo about 5 days earlier than the general public (who don't follow Kotaku on twitter)! It is a pretty big download coming in at about 1.3GB, and it took a long time to download, I am guessing that is thanks to sheer number of people downloading it. But, 2 games of NHL 10, and a couple FIFA 10 matches later, the Heavy Rain demo was ready...to install. Ugh, thank you PS3. Anyway, after a relatively quick install (compared to the DL), it was time to fire it up.
I guess I should preface this by saying how excited I was for the game coming in. It was being touted as a game much like Indigo Prophecy-Quantic Dream's first and only notable title- who's concept I absolutely loved. Indigo Prophecy was my type of game- a dark storyline, ENJOYABLE mini-games to rid the world of enemies, thought provoking, and intelligent; it was a blast. And now that Quantic Dream is ready to release Heavy Rain and step up to the current generation of gaming, I plan on being there on release date...at least that is what I THOUGHT. Has the remained the same? Let's see:
Short answer: Absolutely.
Long answer: When you boot up the demo, you are immediately greeted with a dark, rainy scene just like you would imagine from a game entitled "Heavy Rain". As I usually do, I went to the options to see what was going on. To my surprise, the games default difficulty level was set to "Hard". Me being the wuss I am, I decided to change it to "Medium" just so I didn't have to much trouble (I am sure I will be playing through the full game on medium anyway). After you start a new demo, you are put in control of the first playable character: a retired detective named Scott Shelby. Shelby starts out as a tutorial, showing you how to do basic things like open car doors, pull out your wallet, squeeze behind dumpsters, change the camera angle, etc. But what he also shows us is the combat in the Heavy Rain. Just like Indigo Prophecy, the combat in the game is done through mini-games- you have to push buttons as they pop onto the screen, or move the controller up and down, or move the analog stick a certain direction to defeat the other character who you're fighting against. To be honest, this is pretty stellar in my mind. I LOVE the mini-game fighting. To me, it is just as exciting, if not more so, than chasing after a guy with a gun and trying to shoot his head off. It had me tingling in all the right places (my hands and heart, don't be gross). At first, I thought it was a little bit of an overkill to have to control EVERY little thing your character does, but that toned down a bit once you got past the tutorial area. Shelby's scene in the demo was a blast!
After you complete Shelby's story, you play as the second (and final) playable character in the demo- FBI agent Norman Jayden. As Jayden you are tasked with searching the crime scene of the Origami Killer's latest victim. Jayden wears these glasses and glove that allow you to push the R1 button to easily find any evidence- important or not- around a radius of a given distance around you. It is really neat, to be honest. Again, you are shown the different types of mini-games that will be available, and the different types of investigating you will do (presumably) in the final release. Although this scenario was a lot less intense thanks to no fight, it was still a very unique and interesting experience. I can definitely see myself enjoying both of these characters at the end of the month.
Overall, the graphics blew me away. The game looked VERY good, and has a stronger atmosphere than most games I play nowadays. However, the demo did have some weaknesses. The first weak spot that some might find is that you have to push the R2 button in order for your character to walk, and the Left Stick to pick what direction they are going to move. At first, this annoyed me too, but after getting used to it, I didn't hate it. It kind of reminded me of the old Resident Evil games for some reason, only a lot less clunky. So this might be a problem for some, but I grew to get accustomed to it and it became second nature. Where my biggest flaw comes in is as soon as the characters start speaking- the voice acting is borderline terrible! This is a HUGE negative to me in a game like this where story is the main reason you play. Three of the four actors who talk in the demo sounded like they were trying to cover up an European accent, and it really took away from the game. I could have lived with the accent issue if the acting was good, but it wasn't. This is something that you really have to hear to understand what I mean, but I am pretty confident you would agree with me. But, other than that, I have no real complaints. Unfortunately, to me (an actor) that is going to most likely lower this games final score after I get the full game. Oh well...as long as I allow myself to be enveloped by the story, this might be passable in the end. We'll see.
| Heavy Rain Demo Recap |
Positives|
+Great Atmosphere
+Interesting Characters
+Excellent Story
+Beautiful Graphics
+Mini-games Kick Ass
Negatives|
-Some may dislike having a "Walk" button
-Borderline-Terrible Voice Acting
Final Verdict| Even with all the big name titles coming out around this same time, this should be on the top of your list if you are at all interested in this genre of game. BUY ON LAUNCH DAY- FEBRUARY 23, 2010!
I am definitely interested in others view of the game. Feel free to post some feedback on your thoughts!
Thanks for reading.
I guess I should preface this by saying how excited I was for the game coming in. It was being touted as a game much like Indigo Prophecy-Quantic Dream's first and only notable title- who's concept I absolutely loved. Indigo Prophecy was my type of game- a dark storyline, ENJOYABLE mini-games to rid the world of enemies, thought provoking, and intelligent; it was a blast. And now that Quantic Dream is ready to release Heavy Rain and step up to the current generation of gaming, I plan on being there on release date...at least that is what I THOUGHT. Has the remained the same? Let's see:
Short answer: Absolutely.
Long answer: When you boot up the demo, you are immediately greeted with a dark, rainy scene just like you would imagine from a game entitled "Heavy Rain". As I usually do, I went to the options to see what was going on. To my surprise, the games default difficulty level was set to "Hard". Me being the wuss I am, I decided to change it to "Medium" just so I didn't have to much trouble (I am sure I will be playing through the full game on medium anyway). After you start a new demo, you are put in control of the first playable character: a retired detective named Scott Shelby. Shelby starts out as a tutorial, showing you how to do basic things like open car doors, pull out your wallet, squeeze behind dumpsters, change the camera angle, etc. But what he also shows us is the combat in the Heavy Rain. Just like Indigo Prophecy, the combat in the game is done through mini-games- you have to push buttons as they pop onto the screen, or move the controller up and down, or move the analog stick a certain direction to defeat the other character who you're fighting against. To be honest, this is pretty stellar in my mind. I LOVE the mini-game fighting. To me, it is just as exciting, if not more so, than chasing after a guy with a gun and trying to shoot his head off. It had me tingling in all the right places (my hands and heart, don't be gross). At first, I thought it was a little bit of an overkill to have to control EVERY little thing your character does, but that toned down a bit once you got past the tutorial area. Shelby's scene in the demo was a blast!
After you complete Shelby's story, you play as the second (and final) playable character in the demo- FBI agent Norman Jayden. As Jayden you are tasked with searching the crime scene of the Origami Killer's latest victim. Jayden wears these glasses and glove that allow you to push the R1 button to easily find any evidence- important or not- around a radius of a given distance around you. It is really neat, to be honest. Again, you are shown the different types of mini-games that will be available, and the different types of investigating you will do (presumably) in the final release. Although this scenario was a lot less intense thanks to no fight, it was still a very unique and interesting experience. I can definitely see myself enjoying both of these characters at the end of the month.
Overall, the graphics blew me away. The game looked VERY good, and has a stronger atmosphere than most games I play nowadays. However, the demo did have some weaknesses. The first weak spot that some might find is that you have to push the R2 button in order for your character to walk, and the Left Stick to pick what direction they are going to move. At first, this annoyed me too, but after getting used to it, I didn't hate it. It kind of reminded me of the old Resident Evil games for some reason, only a lot less clunky. So this might be a problem for some, but I grew to get accustomed to it and it became second nature. Where my biggest flaw comes in is as soon as the characters start speaking- the voice acting is borderline terrible! This is a HUGE negative to me in a game like this where story is the main reason you play. Three of the four actors who talk in the demo sounded like they were trying to cover up an European accent, and it really took away from the game. I could have lived with the accent issue if the acting was good, but it wasn't. This is something that you really have to hear to understand what I mean, but I am pretty confident you would agree with me. But, other than that, I have no real complaints. Unfortunately, to me (an actor) that is going to most likely lower this games final score after I get the full game. Oh well...as long as I allow myself to be enveloped by the story, this might be passable in the end. We'll see.
| Heavy Rain Demo Recap |
Positives|
+Great Atmosphere
+Interesting Characters
+Excellent Story
+Beautiful Graphics
+Mini-games Kick Ass
Negatives|
-Some may dislike having a "Walk" button
-Borderline-Terrible Voice Acting
Final Verdict| Even with all the big name titles coming out around this same time, this should be on the top of your list if you are at all interested in this genre of game. BUY ON LAUNCH DAY- FEBRUARY 23, 2010!
I am definitely interested in others view of the game. Feel free to post some feedback on your thoughts!
Thanks for reading.
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