Heavy Rain

I didn't think much of Heavy Rain until the demo showed up on the Playstation Network. After playing through it four times I was convinced that Interactive Drama's were the future of gaming. After playing through the real game not so much. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but I'll bet after a few sequels and the many imitations that follow this genre will be history.

The problem I have with this game is the lack of control you have. There's times when you have to wait for something to happen in order to keep things going which gets annoying for a controlling person like myself. Sure I found out more things about the environment while I wait, but all I wanted to do was keep things moving to find out who the Origami Killer was. Speaking of control, the games control scheme gets in the way at times. During the demo they were simple and intuitive, but during the story the problems start to show. For starters the camera would change frequently as I walked around a room causing me to turn around when I intended to keep walking straight. You can change the camera angle, but sometimes it makes your movement worse.

This game isn't for everybody. It takes a while to get interesting, and requires you to slow down from the normal pacing I'm accustomed to in video games. Once the game gets there it doesn't let go. It's an emotional experience thanks to the time you spend with each character in the game. You get to know all four and realize that they are all crazy as hell. Heavy Rain's main attraction is it's story which is disturbing, odd, and fun to watch. There are some things about it that make me scratch my head, but I wont hold it against it. I'm probably going to play through it again before I send it back to GameFly. I'm doing it more for the trophies than to see how the story changes. I was a little disappointed to find out the identity of the Origami Killer, but I wont spoil it for you.

I would recommend renting this game over buying it. It took me maybe 7 hours to finish this game, which is way too short if you compare it to other exclusive titles from 2010 on both the 360 and the Wii. Even if I beat it again that's only 14 hours. It took me 29 hours to finish Mass Effect 2, and I've put 12 hours into No More Heroes 2 and I'm only at rank 6. Overall I did have a good time with it, as it's always nice to get a breath of fresh air as a gamer.

The Ballad of Gay Tony

The Ballad of Gay Tony is a nice way to conclude the Episodes from Liberty City. Being one of my favorite places, I find myself in Liberty City pretty often. If I were stranded on a desert island, all I would need is something that gave me the ability to explore Liberty City. It could be a PSP Go or a 360 for all I care. My responsibility would be to look for stunt jumps, while the captain makes sure everything else is taken care of. That would include my happiness. There I go dreaming again...

Uncharted 2

 

Things started looking up for the PlayStation 3 in 2009. It lost weight, became affordable, and put out quality games such as Uncharted 2. The first Uncharted was criticized for having an identity crisis. It combined elements from games such as Tomb Raider and Gears of War to make Drake's first adventure a fun experience. Uncharted 2 takes Nathan Drake and makes him an important factor in the future success of the PlayStation. I see the influence of other PlayStation games in the Uncharted series. Drake climbs like Kratos, runs like Sackboy, hides like Snake, and shoots like Ratchet. All that said Drake is in his own lane, and his adventure with the Cintamani stone is one that should not be missed. 

The game is beautiful making it a no brainer to play if you're with a person who enjoys watching you play. The gameplay is out of control. I love the many different ways you can approach gun fight.. You can climb a structure and have the height advantage. You can stay on the ground level and shoot it out face to face. You can get close enough to use the shotgun. You cant get in Solid Snake mode and stealth kill your way to the next hiding spot. It's really up to you. The third time around I found myself trying to replay every moment as Solid Snake. If you ask me stealth kills are harder to do than head shots.