A unique experience that will keep you glued to the screen begging for more.

I heard a lot about this game, and to be honest, it was one of the few games I found difficult to turn off. Quantic Dream raises the proverbial bar with its latest entry Heavy Rain. The best way to describe it is to think of an interactive suspense-filled movie. The story is one of the best ever for a video game (heck, it is better than many of the best-selling novels in the genre) Without giving too much away: eight young boys have been found murdered with an origami figure in their hand and a flower on their chest - this has led the media to dub the killer "The Origami Killer"

There are many characters throughout the game, but the story centers around four individuals - each with their own story and reason for pursuing this madman before he can kill again. The modeling of the four main characters are remarkable, but there is a graphical drop in quality for everything else. The voice acting suffers a bit, but is easily overlooked. The music does an excellent job setting the mood and developing the scene.

The game really shines when it comes to gameplay. The unique experience will immerse you unlike anything you've played before - you literally feel like you're one with the character you are controlling. The game uses quick time events (remember Dragon's Lair?) A button prompt appears on the screen, and if you press it in time, the game continues and you get another one. If you don't, you fail and usually get to try again, unless it is a critical sequence, then you'll progress to a different scene to progress the story - thus there are no right and wrong choices. Example: If you win a fight, the story will progress one way -- if you lose the fight, your character will be beaten and bruised in a different scene. In other words, no matter what you do, the game, its characters and the story move on.

So it really feels like your actions are influencing the game, rather than just progressing the story - it is the gameplay that truly separates Heavy Rain from every other game on the market. It may start out slow, but once the game gets going, you'll be glued to the screen wondering what will happen next -- and if you don't pay attention, the game will make you pay for it. This game gets pretty intense. I do have one complaint, however. There are times when the button prompts are hard to see, thus leaving you wondering what to do next, but this is minor, and doesn't distract from the overall experience.