I had another subject in mind to write about, but I just finished Heavy Rain on the PS3, which is just about the most original video game I have ever played. I know I'm coming very late to the party here, but I had to get this down here.
This game is, in essence, an updated, WAY more hardcore/mature kind of Choose Your Own Adventure book, in which decisions are often made on the fly and ultimately affect the outcome of the game. Your mission? Find the Origami Killer, who kidnaps boys and imprisons them beneath the raining sky, where they are doomed to drown as the water rises, unless someone can rescue them. You play as four characters: Norman Jayden, an FBI agent with an addiction problem; Ethan Mars, a shut-in whose son's life is on the line; Madison Paige, an insomniac journalist who aids Mars in his frantic search; and Scott Shelby, a P.I. investigating the Origami Killer on behalf of the victims' families.
As you guide the actions of these characters, almost every choice makes a difference. You can interact with their environment through button prompts that appear on the screen. Timing and smart decisions are usually the difference between life and death - each of these characters have multiple brushes with death which require you to have not only good reflexes, but also good instincts.
