IMPRESSIONS

Quantic Dream’s imminent sorrowful interactive-game-cinematic-movie PS3 title, Heavy Rain is finally releasing this February. Heavy Rain promises to offer a deviant experience from traditional gameplay style. If successful, it offers to create its own genre in the gaming industry. It is the spiritual successor of the 2005 title Indigo Prophecy.

David Cage, director of heavy Rain, tells us, is an adventure game devoid of traditional "interactivity" — shooting, driving, fighting — with a story driven by a player's actions. Those choices, he said, would have a tangible impact on the outcome. David Cage seems to be pretty ambitious with his title, and aims to redefine several core conventions of gaming.

For one, the controls scheme uses a quaint combination of triggers, analog stick and Six Axis motion for character movement, yet offering a seamless fluid movement in 3D space. Going by its predecessor, the game seems to be QTE loaded, not something I’m fan of. One major aspect I found very appealing was the implementation of the QTE prompt. It’s subtle, aesthetic and yet bold enough that it is not missed. Other than that various unique gameplay presentations like dynamic splitscreen, smooth cinematic camera angles, etc.

Heavy Rain, like its predecessor, relies heavily on the story. Indigo Prophecy’s story had an amazing pace and tense feeling to it. At least, the first half did, until it the plot turned ridiculous and the QTE turned tedious. Heavy Rain is set in a psycho thriller background, and going by the trailers, it looks promising, with its stellar voice acting. Cage hinted that the game would have multiple endings, up to 50 or 60, adding immense replay value to it. Also, an aspect I’m interested is that if the main character dies, the story still moves ahead. A feature I’m sure is alien to the gaming world.

There are adult games and then there are games for adults. Quantic Dreams certainly took the much needed leap in gaming to portray sex in games aesthetically. Heavy Rain is more or less the awesome R rated Hollywood style game rather than the “sex sells, lets add titties” game, that is usually the trend.

Judging by the trailers the game involves full blown nudity, to undressing sequences of the protagonist, a morbid forced striptease cinematic sequence, but not any outright sex, at least not yet. This is a departure from other gameplay-based depictions of sex, where the object was either to reveal skin or engage in a mini-game that reduces sex to the stabbing motions of button mashing. The above mentioned scenario is a mature depiction of sex, as it makes the player uncomfortable rather than find it sexy.

Quantic Dream is certainly sitting on something unique with the game, with what appears to be a balanced blend of gameplay and cinematic storytelling. It promises a lot, and much is hyped about the game. Whether it will live up to its hype is yet to be seen. Heck, if the game is anything like the first half of Indigo Prophecy, then it warrants a purchase.

Heavy Rain is set to be released on 23 February, exclusively for the PS3. So everyone get ready to drown in sorrow and face withdrawal, because, hopefully, we may have a GOTY in the making.

The first time I played a video game, I was three years old. Being able to control another entity, albeit it was just a few oddly-shaped pixels, was extremely compelling. But it was really titles like Wolf3d and Contra that hooked me onto games. I mean, you get to KILL HITLER! How could you go wrong with that?! Though born around the Fourth Generation of videogames, I was lucky to experience everything from old school sprites, vectors and 8-bits to polygons, pixel shaders and full-scale glory of bloom overkill of the Current Gen.

Though I initially started gaming on a PC, I eventually moved onto various consoles. Still the PC has always been my primary gaming platform. I usually play a vast selection of genres from FPSs to RPG, JRPG, RTS, etc . I have sifted through literally hundreds of titles, and it’s difficult to name a favourite. But a few that I think came close to achieving perfection in their respective genres are Half Life series and GTA: Vice City.

First 10 sec of gameplay, you get in a car,Billy Jean is playing on the radio.That is how you start a game!

A lot of the games I’m into, old and new, offer up a lot on the art front: the scripted narrative, visual style, music, artwork or overall aesthetic, mood and tone. I’m interested in the ways in which this affects and interacts with gameplay and the player’s experience. My primary interest in games journalism is as a medium for communicating ideas through experience. I’m a slave to good game design, music and art.

Video Games have taught me a lot in Life. I am a fully functional combat operative, tactical and Spec Ops Unit. I am now qualified to be hired by any Special Task Force of the world, be it the British S.A.S, the US Marine Corps, NSA, or any secret government agencies. I am also a very potent thief, and an experienced ace combat fighter pilot. My experience ranges from being a veteran soldier in WWII, the Civil War, ’Nam, various epic battles throughout history to killing aliens as a Space Marine.

I have shown amazing versatility for survival in f-ed up towns with monsters, armed with only a wooden plank and a rusted nail wedged into it. I have saved the world from total destruction and apocalypse, multiple times before bedtime. In case of the inevitable apocalypse, I have shown great resilience in fighting hordes of zombies. I am adept in post-apocalypse survival due to my expertise in certain special sets of skills namely scavenging, camping, griefing and tking (only when required of course) I have learnt that if pumped with bullets, it is wise to take cover while I heal. I have discovered that killing hookers after finishing up can get back your money.

While I’m not doing any of the above I live my average life under the name Harsha Vardhana, as a student of Computer Engineering in a University. If you have any ideas, suggestions to improve the site, or would like to write a post for the site feel free to email me.

TL; DR I'm a gamer. This is my gaming Blog!