Heavy Rain is an interactive masterpiece

Followers of this column know my affinity for the Xbox 360, most especially for Mass Effect, which I have boasted to be the most immersive, cinematic game I've ever played.

That title has now been dethroned by the PlayStation 3 exclusive Heavy Rain. This game is more an interactive mystery than it is a video game, steeped in rich characters and dripping with emotional conflict. It pushes interactive storytelling to a new level and because of this, Heavy Rain is not for everyone.

You'll know within the first 10 minutes whether or not this game is for you. You begin playing the role of family man Ethan Mars, waking up in an empty house, your wife and sons out for the morning. You'll use the controller and a variety of combinations of buttons, controller movement and analogue stick motions to get Ethan showered, shaved and dressed before your family comes home. These delicate elements make Ethan and the world around him come alive and help create an immediate bond with him. And when Ethan’s son Shaun is kidnapped by the mysterious Origami Killer, Heavy Rain’s emotional hold on you is cemented as you know you have only a few days to rescue Shaun before it is too late.

There are three other personas you will don as the mystery of the Origami Killer unfolds. These characters include a rough, doughy private detective, a drug-addicted FBI agent and an insomniac photojournalist. Each of these characters tests your morality, your conviction and your investigative skills in a variety of ways, pulling you deeper into the story as the plot of the Origami Killer thickens.

The action doesn't move as quickly as most gamers are used to, but it's not supposed to. This is not a placate-your-need-for-action game. It’s a deep, emotional, interactive drama unlike anything seen before in gaming. Your decisions affect how the overall narrative unfolds and what role certain characters will play. There is no win or lose – your success is the result of your personal experiences within the game.

What makes the game such a personal journey are the moments of emotional impact. I became more attached with what was happening to the characters, more in control in how the story unfolded and more involved with the emotions of the characters than ever before in a video game. When Ethan hurt, I hurt. When he smiled, I found myself smiling too. From beginning to end, Ethan and I were a part of each other. Adding to the emotional quality, the musical score is perfectly matched with the mood, often reacting to your decisions.

From a technical side, the few times the visuals, control schemes and character movements seem stiff (why can’t we get characters to blink?) is far outweighed by the number of times you are simply awed by the details in your surroundings, the rich emotions captured in character faces, the subtlety of body language and the immersive quality of the controls. This is not a game I would recommend to all gamers. I wouldn’t want the experience to be ruined for you.

The Xbox 360, and Mass Effect in particular, will always hold a place in my gaming heart. But Heavy Rain dug deeper, uncovering emotions I never thought would be tapped by a video game. Mass Effect has you explore the outer universe. Heavy Rain pulls you into exploring the universe within.

When he’s not teaching junior high, St. Albert Catholic High alumnus Derek Mitchell spends his free time connected to a video game console.