Fight NIght Champion

Developed by EA Canada (3/1)
Multiplatform

EA Sports boxing franchise has once again changed their name and while it's not as significant a jump from Knockout Kings to Fight Night, it is now treading some new water.  For starters, Champion is the first major sports title to be given a Mature rating (major as in simulation unlike NFL Blitz) and it definitely shows the difference.  Also, the controls have been streamlined making it much more simpler to throw punches out and string combos together.  Is the changes justified or should should this retooling have been hung up like EA's NBA Elite franchise?

The controls are much more simpler this year and the developers even mapped punches to the face buttons again.  While this is great for newcomers and fans of button mashers, most will elect to use the right stick.  However, veterans of Fight Night may initially be turned off due to what some have deemed "over-simplication" due to the fact that most strikes are flicks instead of quarter-circles or 3/4 circles now.  While it took me a few fights to get used to, I quickly learned the new system and saw how much easier it was to cue up combos.  Also, blocking is now done automatically without the need to aim it using the right stick.  This may seem like unnecessary but since players don't have to hold down block and aim the right stick, this leaves the stick open for striking out of blocks.  By allowing this change, it ensures quicker striking and smarter boxing (in my opinion.)  While technically similar, EA changed enough to cause veterans to be turned off, but I commend EA for making these changes.  I do have some issues with combos being thrown due to some oversensitive controls, but overall it didn't really ruin my experience with the game.

Along with a change in control is the more mature feel of the title.  Immediately once you've booted up the disc you're thrown into a bare knuckle brawl in a ring located at a penitentiary.  This new story is called "Champion Mode" and stars fictional Middleweight Prospect Andre Bishop.  The story follows his fall from grace and the dirty corrupt business between boxing promotors.  The dialogue is much more adult then one would initially expect from a sports title but overall fit the story and was enjoyable.  While the story itself was pretty cliche, I enjoyed it and liked the way EA Canada handled certain story elements.  Whether fighting through a broken hand, engaging in a bare-knuckle brawl, or being wary of a left hook, EA incorporated them well into the story and it switched things up from the typical tournament fare of past Fight Nights.  I must admit though that some of these challenges were downright ridiculous with one fight in particular practically having me run for half the fight!  Overall, it was enjoyable and I look forward to improvements in future installments.

Aside from the main story, the in-ring action definitely wears it's Mature rating on it's sleeve.  The real-time damage caused by the fighters may not be apparent initially but once you see the blood gushing and the realistic bruising you'll quickly agree that the Mature rating was warranted.  Often times I was impressed at certain angles I was able to score the knockdowns with that I told my girlfriend to look and she immediately thought it looked too gross and realistic.  You'd think that after three installments, the super slow-mo KOs would lose their touch, but I still enjoy watching the fighters hit the canvas after a perfectly timed uppercut.  I have to admit that I wasn't in love with FNR4 but have grown to really enjoy FNC. 

Pathetic

Controls may be too simple for veterans of FNR4
Isaac Frost is RIDICULOUSLY CHEAP
Some story mode fights aren't fun at all
Combos sometimes thrown unintentionally due to sensitive controls
Locked promotional fighters? (Classic Foreman)

Very Nice!

Champion Mode is a lot of fun
Control changes are warranted and intuitive
Damage is painfully realistic
Fighter movement is much less robotic then FNR4
Controls are incredibly responsive
Bare-Knuckle Brawls were incredibly satisfying

FINAL GRADE: B

Champion Mode was enjoyable and the action seemed more quicker and fluid.  The controls took some getting used to but definitely add to the experience.  EA took a risk earning a Mature rating but it definitely paid off.  If you loved Round 3 but hated Round 4 (which was pretty good) Champion may rekindle your love for boxing games.

Bulletstorm

Developed by People Can Fly & Epic Games (2/22)
Multiplatform

I'm sure by now most of you have seen or heard of Bulletstorm and if not, you probably know it as that game that makes fun of other shooters.  Epic actually released a free game spoof titled Duty Calls: The Calm Before the Storm.  Aside from the clever marketing campaign, Bulletstorm also got some free publicity by the Media targeting it as "too violent a title marketed towards our youth."  I'm sure many have completely glanced over this game deeming it too immature, but should you really pass this title by?

Bulletstorm is from the studio that brought you Gears of War and for fans of that franchise, it definitely shows.  Your hero Grayson Hunt is a loudmouth drunk who leads a former Black Ops squad on a mission for revenge.  You and your men were being used as mercenaries killing innocents under the lies of General Sarrano and now Hunt is seeking atonement.  The story is typical but the dialogue is oddly decent.  Penned by one of the writers for Marvels Punisher, we're treated to some of the most colorful language I've seen in a video game.  Sometimes the cursing is overly excessive but overall it's not too grating.  Don't have high expectations for the story though because it's really just a reason to kill enemies in the most brutal fashion you possibly can.

Early in the game you're given a device which is essentially a energized lasso.  Using the energy leash, you can grab enemies out of the air, snatch up explosives, or use it to clear a path for your group.  Hunt can pull enemies into an electrical field followed by wrapping another in an explosive and kicking him into a group before his untimely demise.  These are what the game calls Skillshots and players are awarded with more points to be used for upgrades for every skillshot they achieve.  Before I continue though lets get one thing straight: If you play Bulletstorm like typical shooters then you are completely missing the point.  Is it possible to go through the entire game using the original assault rifle and leash?  I don't doubt it at all but given the creativity of some of these guns along with their respective skillshots, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice to attempt such a boring feat. 

Aside from the various weapons you wield, you're given control of different turrets (one of which you control from a helicopter in what is one of my favorite scenes) and also given the reigns of a remote control *SPOILER REMOVED*.  While these are nice distractions, after awhile I grew tired of the braindead enemies.  The AI either directly runs at you or randomly fires near cover, but doesn't exhibit much logic.  Throw in the fact that there's only a handful of enemies and things sometimes get tedious.  I found myself eventually just kicking enemies into the environment instead of attempting various skillshots due to the fact that I've either gotten most of them, or that some of these are downright ridiculous (have a cannonball travel 100 meters without bouncing and killing an enemy).  Overall though I'd say the single-player is an enjoyable experience while it lasts.  Unfortunately, there isn't a proper co-op campaign and instead gamers are given a horde mode similar to GoW.  This isn't to say that it's not worth your $60, just to be wary of what you're purchasing.

Pathetic

AI leaves much to be desired
Not too much in the way of replay value
Lacks a true co-op campaign
Language may be a turnoff
Plot is forgetful
Partners are just plain bad

Very Nice!

Energy Leash feels fresh
Skillshots are clever and fun
Some really epic boss fights
The Sniper! (see Singularity)
Using the Environment to take out enemies

FINAL GRADE: B

While the story was enjoyable, I really didn't have the immediate desire to go through the campaign again.  The weapons are a lot of fun and the game has a lot of memorable moments.  The game is a nice change from the typical shooters that Epic is trying to spoof.  Revolutionary though?  Not really. 

You Don't Know Jack

Developed by Jellyvision Games (2/8/11)

You Don't Know Jack is not only my favorite quiz show game (currently) but is also my favorite party game at the moment.  While that statement may not seem like much, consider that this means it beats out the Kinect, Rock Band, and other quiz games like PS3s Buzz.  This isn't to say that those games aren't enjoyable because the previous three mentioned are some of my favorites at parties, it's just a testament as to how enjoyable YDKJ truly is.

Even though it's fairly common knowledge, for those in the dark YDKJ is actually a revival from a PC franchise that came out in the 90s.  Praised for it's wit and snarky humor, YDKJ became a hit nationwide.  As the rise of console gaming grew, Jellyvision didn't make the leap to consoles as smoothly as other franchises releasing only two games for the PS1 earning moderate success.  Aside from these two titles, there were over 15 YDKJ's released along with compilation packs from '95-'03.  For close to eight years the franchise seemed buried (aside from a beta and success in other countries) which makes the revival all the more impressive.  I owned volume 2 on the PC and while many times my brother and I didn't understand the content (rightfully so) we had a blast playing it.  In case I didn't make myself clear in the first paragraph, this game definitely does it's previous entries justice. 

Up to four players can get in on one of 74 episodes consisting of 11 questions each divided into 3 rounds.  Majority of questions are multiple choice and scores are determined on how quickly players buzz the right answers in.  Those with itchy fingers may want to hold off before answering though because if you get the wrong answer, you could lose just as many points (sometimes downwards of -$2000).  Every player is given one screw that can be used on an opponent to force them to answer a question but once again, it can backfire.  If a player is screwed and gets the answer right, the screwee (?) loses cash.  Peppered in every game is a dis-or-dat usually reserved for the losing players where they must determine if a statement belongs in column A or column B.  While some are difficult, majority of them are easy (tweets from Dalai Lama or Taylor Swift?)  The first two rounds follow the above order (round 1 worth $2000 a question while round 2 doubles that) but the final round is known simply as the Jack Attack.  There will be a clue given and slowly one word will be floating closer towards the screen.  During this time, other words will quickly float by and players must buzz in when the two words match and fit the clue.  Often times this is truly the game changer and left me with my friends anxiously waiting to see who actually pulled off the comeback win.

Certain omissions from previous installments are understandable due to the lack of a keyboard (like my favorite Gibberish Questions) but overall this is definitely a solid title.  Some people may gripe at the lack of visuals but the writing is hilarious and had us laughing the entire time.  You could easily lose a night quickly playing through the many episodes but don't fear because they're already releasing DLC episodes for purchase.  Throw in the fact that the game released with a $30 price tag and you have a solid title that is a great addition to your party nights. 

Pathetic

No more Snickerclish Testgum?  Umm..I mean Gibberish Questions.
Humor may not be for everyone
If you're a loner, don't bother
Online play doesn't replicate the joy of playing locally

 Very Nice!

Lots of fun and at a great price!
Wrong answers of the day are great as is the entire sponsor/commercials
Writing is once again strong and funny
Promise of future DLC means this game will stay in your system for a long time
Simple enough for anyone to get into
Some of the most fun you'll have playing with your friends on the same sofa

FINAL GRADE: A

Incredibly fun party game that anyone can play.  I highly recommend you pick it up or at least give it a rental for a free friday night.  The humor is more hit then miss and I found my friends and I really getting into the games.

Dead Space 2

Developed by Visceral Games (1/25/11)

While Dead Space garnered critical acclaim, this shouldn't prevent people from seeing that it was a pretty obvious sci-fi take of Capcom's Resident Evil 4.  The difference between Dead Space and most other games that steal ideas though (see Darksiders) is that it managed to surpass RE 4 in many ways.  Dead Space was a scary game with great action sequences, a pretty decent story, interesting characters, and the ability to move and shoot!  While that last point may not seem like a big deal, it took Capcom over 6 titles to finally implement some mechanic that allows their heroes to move and shoot (coming soon to the 3DS).  Capcom released RE5 and while not a bad title, it didn't live up to expectations and even more tragically, wasn't even scary.  Could Visceral Games succeed where Capcom failed?

*I'm going to try to keep the spoilers to a minimum and will indicate any upcoming with a SPOILER so don't worry.*

Dead Space 2 is truly a roller coaster ride and many reviews have stated that it reminds them of Uncharted 2.  To be honest, I'd have to agree with them because Dead Space has a lot more epic moments in it as opposed to the first title.  There'll be times when you're sitting there gripping your controller not realizing that you're in control of the events taking place and at any moment Isaac (main character) could be ripped to shreds.  Does it achieve the grand scale of Uncharted 2 though?  Not really but it doesn't have to.  Visceral had the groundwork of a solid title already in Dead Space so slight alterations were all that were needed for a great title. 

For starters, this game is still scary.  If you played the first game and didn't jump, chances are you weren't playing in the right atmosphere (lights off sound up) or you have Chuck Norris like nerves.  Granted, many of the frights come from jump scares, there were moments that actually had my adrenaline pumping.  The controls are near perfect this time around and refined ensuring that if Isaac dies, it usually can be blamed on the player and not the game itself.  One of my favorite additions is the reworking of Isaac's Kinesis.  The first game made it crucial to shoot off Necromorphs limbs but in this title, you could shoot off an enemies arm, kinesis it, and then fire it through another enemy impaling him on a wall 15 feet away! While it may seem like a gimmick, using this trick is integral to conserve ammo which is scarce on harder difficulties.  You're gonna need every bit of ammo too with new enemy types and reworked (and slightly harder) old necromorphs.  No worries though because Isaac is given a better arsenal this time around (although I stuck with the Plasma Cutter).

The story is pretty interesting though some parts get kinda hokey.  If you're a fan of the Dead Space universe then you should enjoy many of the nods to the original and how the game messes with your sense of comfort.  There were times that I was sure I would be bombarded by enemies, only to see myself worked up for nothing.  At other times, I would be relaxed when out of nowhere *BLARGH* and I'm pinned against a wall!  Visceral found a decent balance of jump scares and genuinely creepy moments that fans new and old will enjoy.  Also, there are over 100 different text/audio logs to find, each giving the universe more life.  I enjoyed much of the main story although there were quite a few that disappointed like *minor SPOILER* the ending battle and lack of real boss fights. *END OF SPOILERS*

The newest edition to the Dead Space world is the addition of multiplayer.  Two teams of four controlling either the Necromorphs, or the humans.  From what I've heard, it's similar to Left 4 Dead but have yet to truly try it.  I will update my review later when I've spent some time with it to give my full views but as for now, it seems to be just icing on the cake of a great 3rd person shooter.

*Note, the 360 version comes with 2 discs while the PS3 version only comes with one.  While that may seem like an advantage for PS3 players, I have seen that you can access multiplayer from either Disc 1 or Disc 2 with the 360.  This means that two people can play multiplayer off one copy of the game!  EA sadly requires online pass codes but I can help you with that (just send me a message or e-mail).  Don't fret though PS3 players, because your copies (I think collectors only) come with a free copy of the Wii's Dead Space Extraction with Move support!

Pathetic

Game may be too short for some (my first playthrough took a little over 10 hours)
Disappointing Final Fight
Some deaths can be pretty cheap
Pregnants and Guardians are bullet wasters!

Very Nice!

Some truly epic moments
One of the best openings I've played through in awhile
Kinesis is a blast to use
Lots of great scares
Fun combat and more variety of enemies
Isaac Clarke is a much better character now that he has a voice

FINAL GRADE: A

I had a lot of fun playing Dead Space 2 and while not as great a leap like Uncharted 2 did from it's previous title, it's still a solid follow up and a great way to start off 2011.  Throw in the upcoming DLC and you're looking at a title that any fan of survival-horror/3rd person shooters should own.

Vanquish (Xbox 360/PS3)

Developed by Platinum Games (10/19)

Platinum Games released (arguably) one of the best action games of all time last year with Bayonetta and followed up with another crazy title in Vanquish.  In development since 2007, Vanquish was directed by Shinji Mikami and given Mikami's track record we were expecting an amazing experience (Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry) or another big letdown (God Hand, P.N. 03). 

Although Vanquish was developed by the same makers of Bayonetta, the gameplay is different trading crazy hand to hand action for third person bulletfests.  Try and imagine Gears of War, mixed with Lost Planet 2's bosses, and then shooting the whole thing with 10 kilos of adrenaline!  To say it's over the top would be an understatement because Vanquish is one of the most ridiculous experiences of the year.

 At the games core is a duck and cover system not unlike Gears of War.  Your character (Sam) has a choice of 8 different weapons and 2 grenade types which are all upgradeable.  Sam can dodge quickly and his suit utilizes an Augmented Reality (AR) mode which is essentially bullet-time.  Be wary of using AR mode too much because it overheats Sam's suit rendering him more vulnerable to enemy fire.  Fret not though unless you're playing on Hard mode or (Heaven Help You) God Hard mode where the enemies get ridiculously accurate.  I beat the game on Hard and you truly have to take advantage of every bit of cover because there are times where the game swarms you with danger.  There were many times where I yelled out because my suit overheated and I was on the verge of visiting the death screen again (which you'll most likely see often too on Hard and above).  Throughout the frustration though I never stopped having fun while my character fought towering bosses and robots in ever changing environments.  One section that sticks out for me was a fight along two monorails where one of them literally is suspended above yours and you're forced to change perspectives to continue firing upon the enemy. 

If the game sounds too crazy and downright silly, that's because it doesn't take itself seriously.  There are tons of in-jokes and the developers poke fun at many staples of the space shooter.  Gruff sounding main character that smokes? Check.  Grizzled veteran who believes in no nonsense toughness?  Check.  Hottie behind the scenes that buzzes in your ear?  Check.  Enemies that are either Nazi's, Russians, Robots, or Aliens?  Check and check!  The plot sees San Francisco being taken out by the Russians in a terrorist takeover.  They then threaten to take out New York next unless Madam President of the US unconditionally surrenders.  Is there a plot twist that involves some stupid government conspiracy?  What do you think?  Aside from the developers having fun with the ridiculous premise and characters, the enemies are just as fun sometimes changing from an axe wielding megabot into a cheetah like scorpion. 

Bosses are fun, the characters are hilarious, the shootouts are intense, and the premise is so bad it's good but I bet you're wondering what's the downside?  Sadly, many feel that the game is too short and while I wanted to disagree, the truth is that for the asking price ($60) you're not given enough meat.  I played on Hard and beat the game in a little over 6 hours and that included constantly dying and taking my time on certain segments.  There are 5 acts each consisting of roughly 6-9 chapters but they're over quickly and the game actually encourages beating them as fast as you can.  I'm replaying under Casual and have already beaten a chapter and a half in about an hour!  True there are some extra challenges nad collectibles to find, but does that justify paying 10$ per hour of gameplay? 

Pathetic

Story takes roughly 4-6 hours to complete
Premise and characters may be too hokey for some
Some enemies are ridiculously cheap

Very Nice!

The game is a blast to play
The cover system is done very well and the game looks gorgeous during AR mode
The story doesn't take itself too seriously providing laughs for the right audience
You won't find anything else in 2010 that comes close to being the adrenaline shot this title is

FINAL GRADE: B-

While I wanted to give this game a higher grade I honestly believe it deserves nothing greater then a B-.  Some can argue it deserves lower given the asking price but just because a game is short, doesn't mean it has to be bad.  I enjoyed my brief time with Vanquish and definitely recommend you pick it up as a rental or purchase it when the price drops. 

2010's Best PS3 Title

Heavy Rain
Quantic Dream (Released 2/23)

Before we get into the debate on whether or not Heavy Rain is truly a video game as opposed to a interactive movie, let's get one thing straight: Heavy Rain is one of the most memorable video game experiences I've had this year.  Whether you've played it or not, I'm sure that at one point, you were intrigued as to what all the fuss is about.  Gameplay consisting almost entirely of quick-time events and context sensitive segments are the bulk of what players are tasked to do.  The story unfolds through four protagonists eyes as you try to uncover the identity of the origami killer.  I've already covered Heavy Rain in a previous review so instead I'm going to explain why it won my PS3 Game of the Year.  For starters, most gamers that I know who own both the PS3 and 360 generally favor the 360.  Don't get us wrong, the PS3 is a great system but most people I know tend to use it more as a blu ray player and less as a console.  Apparently, less then half of all PS3 owners use the system for gaming.  I've played a few exclusives for the PS3 (God of War and 3D Dot Game Heroes to name a few) but Heavy Rain was the only title that actually made me wanna continue playing.  Never before (or since) has my hands sweated so much playing a game and I literally could not stop playing.  Since Heavy Rain though, no other title has compelled me to wanna use my PS3 over my 360.  While I have a lot of love for Sony, I'm primarily an Xbox 360 guy so for a title to not only pull me away from the 360, but keep me off it (at least temporarily) is definitely reason enough to award it my PS3 game of the year.

God of War 3 Review (PS3)

I love the God of War trilogy.  I've been a fan since the epic first game debuted and God of War 3 was one of the main reasons that I wanted a PS3.  The previous two games were arguably two of the best action platformers of all time and oozed with style that many games today still try to emulate.  Its an understatement to say that the third game in the trilogy had some hype to live up to.  The question now is, did it?

If you've played the second game and beat it, then chances are that you were pissed at the ending.  I know that I was and I couldn't wait for the third game to release.  Little did I know that it would be close to 3 years of waiting.  (By the way, if you haven't played the first two, pick up the GoW collection for PS3 for 29.99)  Once you pop the disc in your PS3, the first thing you'll notice is how ridiculously detailed Kratos is (games protagonist).  You're then dropped straight into the action picking up where the last game left off and (minor spoilers ahead) seriously if you haven't played the first two, please do yourself a favor and play them.  At the end of the 2nd game, The Goddess Athena is dead and you're on your way to Mount Olympus on the back of the Titan Gaia to confront your father Zeus.  You're after your revenge and won't let anything get in your way be it Gods or Titans.  (end of minor spoilers).  I'm not exaggerating about how incredible the rendering is in this game.  Kratos scars and equipment are much more visible from the last game and his facial animations show every feeling his character has.  The levels are packed with dozens of enemies on screen at once and the levels themselves are so detailed that at times you may get lost just looking and admiring the scenery.  Of course you could easily die to the scenery seeing as how sometimes you're literally fighting the terrain you're standing on. 

The gameplay is just as fluid and if you've ever played any good action game before, you'll feel right at home.  Each brutal kill is shown in excellent detail and showcases the developers hard work.  Give them credit considering that over the span of three games, they've had three different directors.  You probably wouldn't have even noticed considering how seamless the games tie into eachother and God of War 3 is a nice cap to the end of the "trilogy".  But you may notice that while there was a jump in quality from the 1st game to the 2nd (in terms of graphics and gameplay) the 3rd one seems to be slightly more superficial.  That's not to say that the gameplay is bad or that more of God of War 2's excellent combat is a bad thing, its just that as a fan, I kinda expected a little more, gameplay wise.  Once again I'm nitpicking, but with a great game like this, sometimes you need to be honest about ways the game can be improved.  Also, the game can easily be beaten in under 10 hours and while there's extra costumes, special arena modes, and harder difficulties, there doesn't seem to be too much here to continue playing.  Of course like the first two games, you can play through the fun story mode, but is that enough to warrant a 60$ purchase? 

If there's one thing that the God of War Trilogy (excluding the PSP adventure Chains of Olympus and the mobile game Betrayal) is known for, its the epic boss battles.  Who could forget the openings of God of War 1 where you fight the three headed hydra or the second games colossus fight?  God of War 3 doesn't disappoint at all with bosses putting you against some of the largest and most epic bosses you'll ever encounter.   One fight literally has you scaling the boss as he throws enemies at you, swats at you with his building sized hands, and makes the Shadow of colossus bosses look like midgets.  The gameplay remains largely unchanged though consisting of slashing the enemy, dodge, slashing the enemy, QTE, brutal kill.  I could go on and on about each boss but of course, it'd be a lot more better if you tried the game for yourself.

SUMMARY

Pathetic:

Gameplay doesn't introduce anything new

Short Quest

Some fights become tiresome

Very Nice!:

Some of the best graphics ever

Epic boss fights

Decent end to the trilogy

Solid fun overall

FINAL GRADE: A

The game doesn't really introduce anything new, but it doesn't really have to.  Great game and a lot of fun for fans and newcomers.  Another solid title for the PS3 library for 2010.

Heavy Rain Review (PS3)

Let me start by getting one thing out of the way: Heavy Rain is more of an interactive movie then it is a video game, at least what we typically describe as a game.

Now with that out of the way, let me also state that I truly liked this game.  Imagine taking the arcade game Dragon's Lair and fusing it with one of those old "Choose Your Own Adventure Books";  throw in a pretty engrossing story and you've pretty much got the basics of Heavy Rain. 

For those not old enough to know about Dragon's Lair and its gameplay, it pretty much consists of quick flashes on screen that the player much react to in order to advance the story.  In Heavy Rain, there will be these Quick-Time Events (QTE's) in which you must move the right stick in a specific motion, or tap one of the face buttons or shoulder triggers in order to have your character respond accordingly.  Besides these QTEs, the rest of the gameplay has you moving your character around the environments, reacting to certain objects and making choices based on either the situation you're in, or what character you're responding to.  Now when I heard about the gameplay consisting solely on QTEs, I was a little skeptical.  I don't really enjoy having to react to an on-screen prompt during the flow of action so I didn't know whether or not Heavy Rain would be for me.  However, I feel that given the situations you're put in, this game excels at giving you a reason to get into these QTEs.  When you're in an apartment and getting attacked by knife wielding lunatics, the screen may flash triangle to have you dodge a slash, and if you mess up, you may end up getting stabbed.  That's okay James, I'll just reload my data and continue from my last save right?  That's where you'd be wrong my friend.  In this game, there are no continues.  You have no lives; no do-overs.  Every choice that you make, affects what happens to your characters.  You may well make a mistake and possibly kill off a main character.  The way the story unfolds is up to how you play it.

We've seen many games use these quick button presses during sequences (Resident Evil 4, Shenmue, God of War), but they've mainly been short distractions during scenes where we could not truly control the action on screen.  While these can be fun, if done right, the scene better be pretty compelling to have me wanna deal with these.  Heavy Rain's story is definitely compelling enough.  The easiest way to sum up the plot is that there's a murderer known as the Origami Killer and you control four individuals having intertwining stories revolving around finding him.  During these four characters stories, you're thrown into problems that must be resolved on the fly.  Do you decide to risk your life in order to gain new information about the killer? Or do you play it safe and wait for a new opportunity to show up, giving the killer precious time to escape?  Mix in a soundtrack that perfectly sets the mood for the situations and you're guaranteed to be wiping sweat off your controllers when you put them down.  I'm not exaggerating, this game is one of the few games to truly make me that tense.  Don't get me wrong though, there are some very genuinely sweet moments in this game.  For example, you may need to gently tuck your child in to bed, or rock a baby as she's slowly falling asleep in your arms.  These scenes help you to relate to the characters and shows you that a game can tug at your hearts strings in more ways then one.  Throw in an unpredictable ending (at least mine was based on my actions) and you're definitely given one of the best stories I've played through in years.

The graphics are run in 720p and are some of the best graphics I've seen on any console to date.  The character models are eerily realistic and pretty much mirror the people they're based on.  Have a look:

The Heavy Rain directors also chose to have some of these people voice their in-game characters.  While I enjoyed most of the sounds and characters, some of the voicework was a little sketchy.  Some characters sound truly realistic, while others sound very detached and scripted.  For example, the children often sound like robots, whereas Scott Shelby helps convey what his character is feeling at key moments in the game.  Oftentimes its not too bad, but sometimes when the characters interact its hard not to get thrown off at some of the bad voiceovers.  The same can be said with the graphics.  Sometimes the graphics are so fluid and beautifully rendered, that its hard not to feel like you're watching a movie and at other times the characters move so unrealistically that its almost humorous.  But of course, I'm nitpicking and I'm not the only one who notices these flaws.  They don't really take that much away from the game and during my first playthrough I didn't really even notice.  The games camera angles, the ridiculously detailed facial animations, and the (sometimes) great voicework do their job in making you feel like you're part of their grim world.

I played through this game in practically one sitting, over 10 hours in the span of a day.  I was so compelled to continue the game, that no matter how late it had gotten I was still wide awake, wanting to see what would happen next.  This is definitely the perfect game to play in front of others in that the story is entertaining and surprising.  My girlfriend was watching and actually sometimes yelled out at me to choose path A or move quicker.  While I didn't entirely enjoy having her help make a tense situation, even more tense, I did enjoy the fact that she felt involved.  Sometimes the scenes ended with both of us just staring, jaws dropped at what we witnessed.  Other times, we both were racking our heads trying to make a choice on how to handle what was thrown at us.  However you play the game, I doubt that you'll come out of it feeling as if you didn't get a great experience.  And that's the best way to sum up Heavy Rain: It's a gaming experience. 

SUMMARY

Pathetic:

Some voicework sucks

minor control issues

quick-time events not for everyone

Very Nice:

Great and compelling story

Beautiful Graphics

Worth multiple playthroughs to see different outcomes

Perfect for backseat gamers

FINAL GRADE: A

ONE OF THE BEST GAMING EXPERIENCES IN YEARS.  NOT FOR ALL GAMERS, BUT DEFINITELY WORTH A LOOK.  IT GAVE ME A REASON TO PLAY MY PS3 AGAIN RIGHT?  SO ITS GOTTA BE GOOD.