Heavy Rain was a completely unique experience to me this weekend. I haven't played Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy) so i was completely new to the Quantic Dream gaming experience. And what an experience it turned out to be.

The demo i played consisted of 2 levels, "Hassan's Shop" and "Mad Jack". To keep this short(ish) and easy to read, i will only preview the Hassan's Shop level. Although if there is demand for it, i will also do the "Mad Jack" level sometime this week.

The level starts with Detective Scott Shelby entering the shop. The graphics are really impressive. When i first gained control of Scott i wasn't fully aware that the previous small cutscene had infact finished. You need to walk up to the counter to start a conversation with Hassan.

Heavy Rain's control scheme is just as unique as the rest of the game seems to be. To walk forward you hold R2. Depending on how much force you use, your character will walk slow or fast. To direct yourself you move the left stick in whatever direction you wish to go. It was pretty weird at first to play, but it was simple enough and i got used to it rather quickly. The camera angle also seemed a little weird, but i hear you can change through several angles at the press of a button (which i never knew at the time i played it).

The scene that follows is simply Scott asking Hassan a few questions about the Origami Killer, and Hassan's murdered son, Resa. You get to choose what you say to Hassan with multiple choices all floating around the screen, each choice is distinguished with one of the buttons on the PlayStation pad. Eventually he asks you to leave if you aren't buying anything, but you need a new inhaler, so you head to the back of the shop to grab one.

Things go from bad to worse here when the shop starts to get robbed. You can decide to help Hassan out, or just leave him to his fate, which is yet another possible game changing choice you have to make. Needless to say, i'm a hero, so i decided to go help Hassan. I started sneaking down one of the aisle's behind the criminal only to meet what i thought would be my downfall. Crisps. I missed the sudden Quick Time Event and Scott let his foot drop down with a pretty loud crunch, i was caught. The unknown robber now had me at gunpoint...

What followed was another playable dialogue scene. This time i was being held up at gunpoint. I had to hold L1 and R1 to keep my hands in the air, or risk being shot. At the same time as this there are several speaking options floating around the screen, not calm and clear like when talking to Hassan, this time they were shaking around the screen and were pretty blurry too. It's a pretty nice touch to be honest with you, it gives you a sense of urgency about the situation and actually made me panic a little and really think about what option would get me the best outcome. Remember, the next move could prove to be Scott's last in the game.

I wont ruin what happens next here, but if you really want to know what happens... You can watch our playthrough of this level in the video below.

Visuals? Heavy Rain is without doubt a beautiful looking game. The textures and the detail on the characters and scenery is enough to match any other game i've played, and that includes the previously released Uncharted 2: Among Theives. The voice acting is also superb, i heard only a small part of the 2000+ page script, and i have no complaints at all. Everything just feels so real, which i believe is what Quantic Dream want for one particular reason. They want you to feel attached to the game and characters and actually feel joy or remorse for whatever decision you make. With how real the characters sound and look, it is pretty easy to forget you are playing a videogame and to imagine that these people are just as real as you or I.

Heavy Rain really is shaping up to be something special. Possibly the most character and story driven game ever released. Filled with emotion. Love, hate, fear, anxiety, hope. It really is like playing a movie that you yourself are a part of. While Heavy Rain wasn't my favourite game of the show, it was certainly the most intriguing and has shot right up my most wanted list.

Check out the offscreen gameplay video from my playtest below:

Check out my God of War III impressions here