Quantic Dream

Wait... Why Did He... That Doesn't Make Any... Uggghhhhhh...

HIGH The Saw-esque anticipation of something horrifying.

LOW The weak, head-scratching reveal of the murderer's identity.

WTF The install screen that made me bitterly regret never learning how to properly fold a paper airplane.

Finally, I had originally intended on writing a fairly lengthy post about Heavy Rain, but I've decided against it for a couple of reasons. However, the official review will be done by Richard Naik, so it's definitely in good hands. However, there are two bits I'd like to mention.

So, Heavy Rain. Pretty much everyone has at least heard of this game by now whether they play or not. It's been all over Twitter and the Internet, it's been featured in dozens of magazines, both game-related and otherwise, and the vast majority of people I know have either just finished it, are playing it right now, or are about to start it. Regardless of anything else, no one can deny that Heavy Rain has got some serious presence.

Lots of cool looking horror/thriller stuff coming out of this year's E3.

Heavy Rain, a PlayStation 3 exclusive from developers Quantic Dream, looks like something of a spiritual successor to their earlier hit, Indigo Prophecy. Details about the game have been fairly scarce, but we do know that the title will be a dark noir thriller without any supernatural overtones. The game is said to revolve around four main characters (and someone known as "The Origami Killer") and apparently focuses on the blurred line between what is good and what is evil.

Expect to learn more about Heavy Rain as E3 rages on. In the meantime, take a look at the trailer.

Those of us that were looking for some real closure to Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit)—the ending didn't live up to expectations—will have to put our hope to rest. While publishers have approached David Cage, co-founder of Quantic Dream, about publishing a sequel—something I find really hard to believe—Cage himself has no interest in going back to that well.

Maybe it's for the best. That leaves him all the time in the world to focus on Heavy Rain. All accounts point to Heavy Rain as a worthy, spiritual successor.

Brad said that while playing Indigo Prophecy he felt he was seeing a new genre being born, and I couldn't agree more. This game is the opening salvo of the "suspense" genre, making it all the more surprising that, for the most part, its aim is true.

On page two of the instruction manual, director David Cage states that his dissatisfaction with videogames' emphasis on action and neglect of emotion led him to create Indigo Prophecy. He clearly states that the game's goal is to sacrifice neither the interactivity nor the narrative in an attempt to create an experience that is richer and deeper than "killing monsters in corridors and shooting crates to find ammunition."