Heavy Rain Message Board older than one year ago

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.!]

Making use of his special ARI glasses, FBI Agent Jayden continues to search for clues as he examines the murdered body.

FBI Agent Norman Jayden arrives on the scene of a grisly murder. Could it be the origami killer?

Detective Shelby shows how to take a punch or three as this action packed quicktime footage shows!

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!

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!

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 was even reflected on cover 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. [Via Eurogamer]

Cutting through the gloss to bring you the hard word.

DLC will add additional story elements.

Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain just got heavier, both in content and in physical package size. Sony revealed the nature of the DLC we just heard about: downloadable episodes for the anticipated non-Dragon's Lair adventure. The first episode is an expanded version of the "bonus" taxidermist scene shown in 2008, will be available "after the launch of Heavy Rain early next year." More downloadable episodes will be revealed later. Sony also announced a special edition of the game for Europe, which will give you a chance to get the Taxidermist episode day-and-date with the game. The limited-edition box will include the Episode, along with a downloadable soundtrack and XMB theme, and a cool "rain-effect" slipcase (see it in full after the break) . This way, you'll have a very nice package to decorate your shelf with after you've played through the game once. Sony didn't mention a date, so we'll just stick to our best guess of February 26.

Quantic Dream chats about TGS, reviews the progress of Heavy Rain, and watches Inglorious Basterds.

Take it slow, remain calm, and the punk with the gun will never know what hit him.

So much for the stealth approach, maybe can you reason with the guy pointing a gun at you?

The tough guy approach, some people don't take the aggressive approach very well.

How guilty would you feel not trying to help someone in need, knowing that you could have?

The longer it takes you to make a decision, the more danger you'll put yourself in.

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?

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 oftengiven the opportunity to do nothing -- and counter to your intuition, that can be the most satisfying option to pursue.

We've played through the first few hours. Has Quantic Dream pulled it off?

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

Quantic Dream discusses how things are coming together in a crucial stage of game development.

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 ...

Quantic Dream's adventure title hits Sony's homeland in February.

Quantic Dream discusses the technology of Heavy Rain and some recent feedback.

Quantic Dream heads to the historic recording studio to create the soundtrack to the upcoming thriller.

Quantic Dream chats about previewing Heavy Rain at various conventions around the world.

Quantic Dreams' founder speaks out on the PS3 exclusive.

The most potent emotions captured on film make their way into video games.

Dig into the deep story and characters of this PS3 exclusive.

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]