Heavy Rain DLC

When it rains DLC it pours

DLC for heavy rain would be cool, the game is already an exciting release for many PS3 owners, and DLC is mostly free on PSN so its a nice perk. Quantam Dream stresses the need for the game to sell well for DLC to be a possibility.

However, since DLC is more of a free perk on PSN, Quantam Dream should guarantee DLC in order to promote the shelf life and replayability of the game. It's also a no brainer that DLC will likely happen for Heavy Rain, they pushed the game back to 2010 to avoid competition. But the 1UP article stipulates that even the pushback is threatened due to all the other games being delayed to 2010. Well, DLC will certainly encourage people who look for value to look to Heavy Rain. Covering all bases is good for Quantam Dream to do.

DLC for heavy rain could cost money, but I imagine if given the space and the incentive it would we well worth every penny.

GC 09: Heavy Rain Trailer Impressions

Heavy Rain has recently released a new trailer at GC 2009, you guys can check it out below:

Video Games | Heavy Rain | GC 09: For Love Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Heavy Rain seems to be looking better and better every time I see it, and the last time we saw the game, at E3, it looked incredibly innovative. Is it just me, though, or do the graphics look even a little more crisp than they did then?

Either way, in the trailer, they reveal a new character that hasn't been shown before. Now, my first thought was that this was one of the four main characters the developer has talked about. However, after getting deeper into the trailer, I'm starting to think that maybe this guy is the killer? He's running from the police, saying how far he'll go for love, looking at the origami killer headlines on the newspaper in disgust... It all seems to make him look like the killer.

If that's so, and he IS the killer, I'm a little confused as to why they're showing his face this early, and then it hit me. What if one of the four main characters WAS the killer?! This would be ingenious! You could view the story from multiple character's perspectives, it would make a deep contrast between the characters, and possibly blur the line between right and wrong. Not only that, but it would definitely give the story even more depth than what people are already expecting.

Look for Heavy Rain when it's released for the PS3, Early 2010.

Red Steel 2 and Dark Void Pushed to 2010

HOLY CRAP is this list getting long. For anyone who hasn't been following here is a list of the 2009 games that have been delayed to 2010 SO FAR.

Delayed games:

1. Heavy Rain
2. Bioshock 2
3. MAG
4. Bayonetta
5. Splinter Cell: Conviction
6. Red Steel
7. Dark Void

There were about 20 or so games that I REALLY wanted this fall. The list above accounts for 7 games off of the list. There have been delays before (i.e. GTA IV) but I've never seen anything like this. I don't really have a problem with it I just think these companies should start following the Blizzard policy. Don't tell us dates and then don't hit them, wait until you know you can hit it. I know some games would be delayed still but we are at 7 so far and I have a strong feeling a few haven't been delayed just yet.

Now for Red Steel 2 and Dark Void

Ubisoft delayed Red Steel 2 because well I don't really know. here is their direct quote:

"We are disappointed that we have to postpone the release of several major games but we consider that this choice is the best one in the long-term interests of Ubisoft. Lastly, we are having to adjust our full-year targets to take into account the fall in business over the first half. The excellent response to our games at E3, as well as the high buzz generated for titles such as Assassin's Creed 2, Splinter Cell Conviction and Avatar, reinforce our belief that the company can achieve strong growth in the second half of the fiscal year."

Their delay doesn't really give a direct reason but as you can see they are rearranging a lot of their products.

Capcom delayed Dark Void for pretty good reasons. The main of which is to get the new IP out of the crowded fall lineup. Much like Heavy Rain the fall just isn't a good time for new IPs.

"Dark Void is moving into Capcom's fiscal Q4 in order to get the game out of the crowded fall game season and to allow the development team more time to polish and enhance the game experience."

Good to know with the extra time will come a few more months of polish. The game has been on my radar since E3 2008. So I've waited a long time for this one so I hope they use the extra time well.

Heavy Rain pushed back to 2010

“Purely from my perspective, most publishers today realise that it’s not ideal to release a new IP or a new genre just before Christmas,” he said.

I remember seeing footage from E3 2008 and boy has the hype died down, since people are upset from having to wait for the game. Then again there is some truth to Guillaume de Fondaumiere's words.

This christmas will be the year when single console owners like myself will likely buy a second console, with price cuts abound, even for the Wii. Since Heavy Rain is an exclusive, putting it in Christmas territory seems ideal for selling a lot of copies. But these days it may not be the case, since now those other consoles for PS3 owners are tempting to get with the price cuts. Of course you're going to need to buy games to enjoy it, being the bundles and included games don't really make the cut >_>

Also it's good that they wait a while, because the recent news of faulty Blu Ray movies in Netflix makes me worry about the Blu Ray disc games for PS3. I think Sony made a mistake in changing the way they made them lately, I do not know if its an issue now.

E3 2009: Heavy Rain Impressions

So, I've been in love with Heavy rain for a while now, everything about the game just screams perfection. The story, the presentation, the graphics, just everything. So, it's no surprise that when they showed the game at E3, I was going to be excited. What I didn't expect was for them to show a full scene from the game!

After watching this five part developer walkthrough of the game, I feel like they are making this game amazing. The whole thing seems a lot like Indigo Prophecy, Quantum Dream's last game on the original Xbox. However, they took some of the things in Indigo Prophecy that didn't work, and changed them or improved them for Heavy Rain.

In the walkthrough, they show one of your main characters. In the actual game you'll have 4 different main characters you can play as at different times in the story. Here you're playing as an FBI agent named Norman Jayden, and he's going to the junkyard to interrogate a man nicknamed Mad Jack. The demo starts out just walking around the junkyard. The interesting thing about these walking sections of the game is that instead of just using the left analog stick to move, you instead use the left analog stick to look around, and use the R2 button to move forwards. I personally think this is a very intuitive control scheme and helps give the character a much more lifelike and much more fluid animation.

So, Norman goes up, and talks to Mad Jack, and asks him a few questions. Jack says he doesn't know anything. So, then you begin searching around the warehouse using your special sunglasses that can scan things in the environment, and eventually, Norman stumbles upon a Skull in a pool of acid. At this point, Mad Jack comes back, with a gun, and puts it to the back of Norman's head. Now, we have a nice QTE sequence much like in Shenmue or God of War, But instead of losing if you miss one button press, you just go to a different string of events. Of course, if you miss too many button presses, then you'll die.

Norman ends up getting the upper hand on Mad Jack, getting the gun from him and pointing it at him. Mad Jack doesn't believe he'll actually use it, so you have a few different options now, to prove it to him. Of course, Norman starts having withdrawals from his drug addiction, making him fall over and pass out. Letting Mad Jack take his gun back.

After you wake up, you're handcuffed to the inside of your car, heading towards a giant trash compactor. There's a bunch of different actions you can take to try and escape. Also, the screen has now split in two, much like it does in 24. The bottom screen acts as a visual timer, while you control the gameplay in the top screen. It's this part that really sets the QTE system apart from other games, because in order to find the different actions you can take, you have to look around your environment. This looks like it'll create a much more frantic experience than your standard QTE system.

So, Norman ends up being able to escape from the car, at the last second, and now has to fight off Mad Jack, who isn't the happiest person in the world right now. This involves another short QTE sequence, in which Norman comes out on top. There's another possible way to do that part where you die, however, the developer has said the story would continue, even if all of the 4 main characters die, creating a ton of replay value with a very different, very varied branching storyline. I think this kind of emergent gameplay is exactly what the industry needs to keep moving forward, and this game is definitely a very good reason to get a PS3. Look for it when it's released early 2010.