Zero Punctuation: Heavy Rain

[Lord_Ascendant]

I think i'm the only person who fully expected Yahtzee to completely dissemble the game into bits and pieces, those being quick-time events and monotony mostly with a few bits of Kill Bill style fighting sequences....if anyone went into this game thinking it was solid gold, you obviously have had something terrible happen to your sense. Indigo Prophecy was OK if you can forgive the rongo-rongo-world bonanza near the end which made 0 sense. I half-expected one of the main characters to suddenly gain Goku powers....

 

[Brotherofwill]

Man I don't get Yatzhee sometimes. It's funny and he's a really great guy, but what's he exactly trying to get at?

He keeps on complaining about lazy sequels, cookie-cutter bland adventures and an overall lack of originality, but then he doesn't do anything about it. He keeps on reviewing shitty, mainstream titles instead of maybe branching out a bit to show us some better games. He said that 'noone likes it when I'm being nice', but that's just not true. His Psychonauts review owned, I bet thousands of people picked that up and tried it because of his recommendation. I did. He just doesn't do anything about it. He has a viewership of millions, he really could pitch some new concepts at us instead of whining and repeating the same tripe.

So the pacing is off? I strongly disagree. In order for these 'visceral' moments to work, the pacing has to be balanced with high to low moments. Like in great movies, starting slow is often extremely helpfull because it makes the more accelerated bits seem more extreme. It's supposed to be a murder mistery like 'Misery' or 'Don't Look Now', it's always good to set these up in the frameworks of common lifes to get the necessary shock value later on. U2 was great, but the shoot-bang-bang formula will only work so well, and no single moment is able to stand out. Excessive action is really a problem in modern entertainment.

I loved the beginning of this game. You really don't know what to expect. It starts incredibly slow. Ridiculously slow. I sure as hell made some jokes about it, while I was playing it (like shake contoller after the peeing animation), but it still worked because it was new and set the frame works. My mother was interested in the game from watching the first 10 minutes, that says it all (and she's very hard to get interested in games). The only thing she's been interested in in this medium is The Last Guardian, because it resembles the imaginative.

I don't mind that he doesn't like it. Hell there are loads of things that I didn't like about it. Voice acting was extremely unbalanced, it relied on a fair share of clichees and the timing that the game is on can be iritating at times. But it was a breath of fresh air in the current releases. Atleast he can highlight that it does some new things, instead of giving people the impression that this is a Sims game.

 

[Joa_Belgium]

I feel obligated to jump into this discussion and tell this so-called critic and his followers what Heavy Rain is really about. This video that does nothing more and nothing less than rants on an ingenious game is in my opinion a valuable waste of internet space and the biggest load of ass paint I have ever seen.

If you didn't get the point of the emotional immersion in the story and the bond you create with the characters, you have failed to understand the point of Heavy Rain. Do take notice of the fact that the majority of the reviewers are giving this game 90 at least. That says a lot about you and your "understanding" of the fact that these characters are supposed to be portrayed as real people with a life. But apparently, all you want are artificial characters with no realistic background that are always getting their heads blown off for no apparent reason.

So in conclusion: you have lost all credibility, Yahtzee, if you ever had any to begin with. The only thing missing is the spoiling of the Origami Killer's identity. That would have really been the finishing touch on this mountain of wannabe review crap.

Yes, this is my opinion and I'm not changing a single word. Feel free to ban me.

 

[Phoenixlight]

I can't tell if these are spoilers or not.
Guess I'll have to play it to find out!

Yeah the one where he talks about cutting your finger off is one :/

 

[maximara]

WAnk!
wank !
Wank!
Wank!

I'm glad that someone saw it was just a big quicktime event

Excuse me? At what point did Yahtzee actually describe the game as such?

I believe it's the part where he says the QTE's are the core, skin, seed and whole fucking apple tree of the game.

But that's because I payed attention.

I payed attention to that too. He never uses the words "a big quicktime event".

And sorry if I come off as rude but it seems that you're just using your own preconceived idea as an interpretation of Yahtzee's words. One could just as easily say that Yahtzee means that QTEs are a very essential part of the game. This would seem to be an especially valid interpretation in light of the fact that he also indicates that QTE's are not the only part of the game.

Based on how Yahtzee started the review I would say the 2:00 to 2:08 part *does* give the impression the game is a long series of QTE in the tradition of an interactive movie with not much in the interactivity department. Hence the comment about the movie reviewer wondering why the "movie" is 10 hours long.

 

[rhintintin]

for some unknown reason I cant watch this weeks review

 

[GrinningManiac]

TOp notch analogies out there tonight, Mr. Crowshaw

Your inventiveness as a novelist is a credit to all writers everywhere

 

[Kanima423]

Wow ... so basically this game is the QTE 500!? Freaking sweet!

 

[mike1921]

do take notice of the fact that the majority of the reviewers are giving this game 90 at least. That says a lot about you and your "understanding" of the fact that these characters are supposed to be portrayed as real people with a life.

"Everyone else liked this game" means shit.

But apparently, all you want are artificial characters with no realistic background that are always getting their heads blown off for no apparent reason.

Is this the only review of his you've ever seen?

 

[traineesword]

Being British and getting European games, i remember Fahrenheit... i remember loving it too, it was my first game with Quick-time events and because they were essentially how you fought and did about 80% of the game (the rest being walking around, trying to cover up/find clues, attempting to find key storyline impliments... oh, or more QTE's ;p), so i found it quite enjoyable... i found it thrilling during the cutscenes, i got fully immersed in the parts where i was walking around, pulling back sheets i'd covered up only half an hour ago etc.
plus, i found the story quite good... then again, i only got up to the bit where the main character has flashbacks of his childhood at some Army-place... apparently it all goes to pot only 5 minutes later.

And from what i've interpreted from Yahtzee, is that "Heavy Rain" is "Fahrenheit 2" with a little life-simulation to start off... so i think i'll get it

whats that, PS3 exclusive... craaap

 

[Cheery Lunatic]

Yahtzee didn't attack the QTE half as much as I thought he would, haha.

Overall, I thought Heavy Rain was pretty good, but the writing was a bit bizarre to say the least.

 

[GoOutside]

Great review. Loved it. Kind of afraid for FFXIII and GOWIII. Both seem to be rehash of previous titles. I wonder if he'll actually review them or skip them for something else.

 

[DreamingMerc]

The thing you have to give Heavy Rain is at least it's an experiment with the establishment as video games as a story driven medium. Not to contest any other titles in their ability to tell a good story, which they can very much do and in some cases better then any other medium, but after the parade of stoic shooters and selflessly heroic rpg's it's good to break apart the formula to see what else you can do.

 

[Russian_Assassin]

I can't tell if these are spoilers or not.

Not unless the killer was a 16 ton weight.

Seems a nice game to play when you have absolutely nothing to do and you have played every other game there is out there at the moment. If I had a ps3 I'd check it out at least.

 

[theultimateend]

do take notice of the fact that the majority of the reviewers are giving this game 90 at least. That says a lot about you and your "understanding" of the fact that these characters are supposed to be portrayed as real people with a life.

"Everyone else liked this game" means shit.

But apparently, all you want are artificial characters with no realistic background that are always getting their heads blown off for no apparent reason.

Is this the only review of his you've ever seen?

Intelligent posters need not appply.

They obvious don't get it so you might as well let them dwell in their own shiny little world.

 

[viking97]

i figured this would be somewhat how he felt about the game.

 

[sibrenfetter]

Wauw, I have watched all the Zero Punctuation episodes multiple times by now, but this one is by far the best. He's not even completely hating it, yet at the same time gets to the core and destroys it. Fantastic!

 

[WJeff]

First game Yahtzee liked more than me.

I thought it was terrible in every aspect. glad I only rented it.

 

[CopperBoom]

I actually quite liked it.
By the by, "Heavy Complain"?
That is a stretch.

Thought I loved it I can fully understand while others would not. The start is slow, but I think it needed to be. This is obviously a work of love,
based on the way he lost his own son [http://blogs.ign.com/SCE_HeavyRain]. This is his grieving process and I think quite an amazing one.

Of course, I loved Shenmue as well, so I also just enjoy a mood deepening leisurely pace.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I don't own a PS3 myself,but I will just give me my 2 cents.I played Fahrenheit and I enjoyed it even though 90% of the game was QTE.Heavy Rain on the other hand I have watched gameplay movies and I can say that I can agree with Yahtzee with his statements.

On the other hand,I would consider buying it if I'd own a PS3,just putting it out there

PS: Another funny review,good job!