HEAVY RAIN (Zero Punctuation)

Subscribe to Escapist Magazine! bit.ly/Sub2Esca...
This week, Zero Punctuation reviews Heavy Rain.
Fast-talking Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw reviews a new game each week in this animated series that combines informed critique with cutting humor. Watch the next episode of Zero Punctuation a week early, only on The Escapist.
Escapist Magazine!
The latest from Escapist Magazine: escapistmagazin...
Subscibe: bit.ly/Sub2Esca...
Like us on Facebook: / escapistmag
Follow us on Twitter: / theescapistmag
Find us Google+: bit.ly/Escapist...
Follow us on Pinterest: bit.ly/Escapist...
Check out our Merch: www.splitreason...

[@JustinAKABiff]

And now, another conversation with a David Cage fan. "That scene with Madison getting chased around her apartment wasn't just superfluous filler! It was to establish her insomnia and show that she suffers from nightmares!" "Does her insomnia ever play a prominent role in the plot or in her character arc?" ". . . David Cage is a fucking genius and you just don't understand him."

[@Daniel-Rosa.]

I'd respond "Wow, that takes her from average to commom!"

[@RarefoilB]

That also sounds like a conversation with a Hideo Kojima fan.

[@JustinAKABiff]

Nah, let's not mention Hideo. That's become too much of a crutch for David Cage fans. They always bring up Kojima whenever people criticize Cage as if to say "Well how can you be mad at my dog for mauling the neighborhood children when your dog shits on everyone's lawn." Yes, Kojima's plots are just as batshit insane and nonsensical as David Cage's - but Kojima gets a pass because he and his stories are just goofy enough to let us know we're not supposed to take it too seriously and just enjoy it. David Cage, meanwhile, demands you take his plot-hole riddled interactive DVD menu of a "game" 100% seriously and praise him for it afterwards.

[@fearingvirus4156]

I'm confused. As I understood it, her insomnia caused her to check into a hotel, where she hoped she would sleep better due to her panic dreams in her home. This directly causes her to come into contact with the main character of heavy rain, and become integrated into the plot. So, it's not superfluous filler, granted it's not absolutely integral to the plot either, but it's not just there to be there.

[@JustinAKABiff]

David Cage could have come up with any reason for her to be staying at the motel. Just say she's getting her apartment sprayed for roaches or something. No, better to squeeze in an "action" sequence (if you can call a series of 'Press X not to Die' segments "action") just to establish the fact that she has nightmares and insomnia which are never brought up again and never tie into the plot. Hell, even if the reason she's staying at the motel is because of a completely plot-irrelevant case of insomnia, you don't need an entire segment of the game dedicated to establishing that.

[@Rajyrr]

Press X to JASON! Behold. Emotions.

[@isaacargesmith8217]

Joseph MacKenzie I'd rather press X to Doge.

[@thrupert]

Joseph MacKenzie Jason? JASOOOOOOON?! JASON?! jASON? jaaaaaaayyyyyyyysooooooooooooooonnnn???!!! JAYYYYYYYYSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN?????????!!!!! Jasooooonn? Jason? JasoooooN?! JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN?!?!??!?!

[@elliottbyrum1570]

+Joseph MacKenzie Oh no! Jason's gone! Where could he be? Who took him? And more importantly, why should i give a shit?

[@Phoebe_Bea]

+JigglesVideos WHAT!

[@GameGuyandLuLuPink]

+JigglesVideos *Jason intensifies*

[@ECL28E]

"What's the point of replaying a mystery game if you already know the mystery?" I keep asking myself that while I'm replaying Phoenix Wright

[@jacybrooks8566]

What about la noire

[@ECL28E]

That too

[@dethbreth8]

+ECL28E Same with Persona 4

[@guardingdark2860]

+ECL28E It's not really related, but I was reading the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy during my break at me then-job, and one guy asked me why I was currently on my fifth time reading it. Of course, the key difference here is that I knew why I was rereading it. Because those books are fucking awesome.

[@MetalheadPedro]

+Bel-Shamharoth Damnit, you're fucking right. Those books kick ass. I haven't red them in awhile, guess I'll pick them up later.

[@roetheboat1]

I do feel the need to point out that Heavy Rain DOES have replayability value. It mostly comes from noticing the huge, gaping plot holes that only become apparent after you learn its limp plot twist. After playing the game you realize that in order to keep the "mystery" a secret, the game straight up lies to you multiple times. It's not like "Oh, it was actually because of a sneaky camera angle that you didn't notice that detail of that guy stabbing the other guy with a clock", but rather that the game just straight up lies to you. Then there's also the little detail of Ethan constantly blacking out and then waking up in another part of town with some origami in his hand. You remember that little detail that was completely dropped? Apparently there was supposed to be some sort of "psychic" link that formed between Ethan and the killer when Ethan crushed his son's spine while trying to prevent what would have otherwise been a nasty bruise. So whenever the killer goes out killing, Ethan would black out and...do stuff? Anyways, someone decided that was stupid and it was never put into the game. However, somehow the scenes of Ethan blacking out and wandering around STAYED, even though it was never explained.

[@hoodedman6579]

At the start of the game, the killer interrogates a woman who's son he killed, and he says "I didn't learn squat. Well, worth a try." It's so awful...

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

The Runaway Script Yeah. The murder of the clock repairman...I just couldn't even...

[@HenryWayat]

So far I have two possible answers for that whole blackout thing with Ethan - 1. According to one article it really was the intention to make a psychic connection with Ethan and serial killer. Some say that David Cage tried to make an homage to "Silence of the Lambs" (though I didn't watch the movie and when I asked a guy who watched it he said that it's bullshit and that there were no such thing). But it was either overly slightly implied or the continuation of that plot was cut, like that part with Page in her journalist office that would explain why she's having those weird dreams and strange waking up. 2. That was a huge red herring so the player could instantly suspect Ethan as the Origami Killer and wonder where this is going. Also the whole plot twist with the murder of the old man was wrong. I get it that David Cage tried to make his own "The Murder of Roger Acroyd" but fell short. I mean there was an attempt to explain it in culprit's certain thoughts like Agatha Christie did in the book but in the end it was too forced and sloppy.

[@loren5432]

You forgot the best one: How Madison can survive through a fucking EXPLOSION by hiding on a small fridge. You know, because trapping yourself in a small space that's inside a room full of smoke is the best thing you can do in that situation. Even if the explosion/lack of air didn't kill her (black magic?), how the hell did she get out with all the fire spreading even more after the explosion? Oh, and don't even ask how she got the FBI guy's number. Apparently Madison learned about him through some voodoo magic because Jayden acted confused (as he should be) when she called him through his phone number and gave him directions out of nowhere. Also, simple fact: Ethan was unconcious for 6 MONTHS. The Origami Killer's been for YEARS. No one was able to make that connection? You'd think a cop would dig into him, see that he was in a coma and say "Oh, this dude has an alibi", but nope. Not even Jayden with his 30 years advanced tech was able to figure that out.

[@Arsaja]

Not to mention that HORRID sex scene which came literally out of nowhere and had such insultingly bad timing (i.e. his son has mere hours to live, he's bruised, bleeding, tired and stressed and then decided to pork a woman he literally met like two days ago), it made me cringe my eyes out. Fanservice much, Heavy Rain???

[@EXRazeBurn]

"...A fat private investigator not interesting enough to dwell on..." ...sounds about right.

[@Intothevoid-NIB]

Yeah...

[@cristalido3640]

Still one of my favorite characters.

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

Cristálido He was. Until the plot twist.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Well obviously, it's not like he could be the murderer. We all know the murderer is the 16 ton weight (spoiler alert).

[@spikegilfer1997]

Yahtzee, you're wrong. Fahrenheit didn't get bad half way through. It was at 43%

[@UberGingah]

Parkouring over termites, the most mysterious jogo.

[@phoenixsplash135]

Gingerosity oh o, he made ze bad gaem

[@Entropy3ko]

It was 5%, the only good bit is the initiual scene.

[@jiimjaam]

"Baron Van Teapot's Fucking Ludicrous Adventure" Best nickname ever.

[@HammerspaceCreature]

I just searched for this video just so I could hear him say that line. The suddenness of it mid-sentence and amount of contempt in his voice makes me laugh every time.

[@sarnicholas4053]

I feel like watching a let's play of Heavy Rain is the same thing as playing it.

[@reaperoa]

I feel that's actually a better idea than playing it, because on the really boring parts I can flip tabs and actually manage to get some work done.

[@mtbukowski]

That's what I feel for almost every story-based game.

[@jotabeas22]

A better idea would be to tweedle your thumbs while staring at your room's wall. Trust me.

[@user-vu7me6ix1f]

That's how I ''played'' Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls..

[@Highwaysonyfan87]

It's really not. Especially during any of that action sequences, it is very tense playing it yourself

[@dennisisamuffinguy]

"Heavy Rain is a touch slow at times in the same way that St. Pauls Cathedral is a touch indigestible." that one had me cracking up

[@jaggoff6949]

This video is only about a month off from being 11 years old and its kinda reassuring to see that yatzee's humor pretty much hasn't changed at all.

[@akiraigarashi2874]

Your comment is currently 11 months old. Wonder if youtube will still be around for it to be 11 years old lol

[@Komnen0s]

Upon reflection, the game would have benefitted from cutting that opening sequence with the happy homelife and Jason dying. Not only are they clunkily-written and also the most widely reviled and mocked parts of the game, but they were unnecessary. You could have opened the game on that grey, rainy day where Ethan's driving his son Shaun home from school. That sequence alone would have been more than enough to tell us about Ethan's character as well as the circumstances of his life. We see that Ethan is quiet and distant, clearly troubled from an unspecified past trauma, and that he has an awkward relationship with Shaun. Just have Jason's death be implied, an off-screen tragedy that is responsible for Ethan's predicament. Instead of having that terrible sequence with the balloon, just have Shaun say one line to the effect of "I was thinking about Jason again today" and have Ethan react with nervousness, as though he was also thinking about Jason's death because his failure to save him is always on his mind. You wouldn't even have to have much more dialogue than that or even specify what it is that happened to Jason immediately, just that he's no longer with us. Maybe later in the game there could be a brief flashback showing the aftermath of the accident, but with this approach I suggested the game would be much more expedient at advancing the plot. You'd already learn about what Ethan and Shaun's characters are like, as well as the cloud that hangs over Ethan (IE, the stuff he feels conflicted over that will drive the game's plot). It'd also establish the games tone in a much more efficient manner (IE, this is going to be a serious game about dealing with loss).

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Why the fuck are _you_ smart enough to think of this while David Cage isn't, yet _he's_ the one with his own game development studio?!

[@BenjaminRodriguezReyes]

"Shampoo drinkingly awful" is my new favorite way to describe things i don't like.

[@CowfaicdRealm]

So THIS is where Nerd³ got "Baron von Teapot's fucking ludicrous adventure" from.

[@anyyoingorange]

Woah how you type exponent?

[@CowfaicdRealm]

anyyoingorange Hold right alt and press 2 or 3, they are the special characters to 2 and 3 like the special character to 5 is €.

[@anyyoingorange]

Cowfaic'd Realm thanks

[@abcdefgmusics]

+Famix of Power The salt is real

[@choppychop6]

You do know Dan linked this video in the description of his one, don't you?

[@ChickenPika]

"I think we need a whole new kind of critic for Heavy Rain, critics of 'interactive storytelling experiences,' or 'wankers,' as they will come to be known." That has to be among the top ten best things you've ever said.

[@silverspirit5945]

Fancy seeing you here

[@ChickenPika]

I love Yahtzee.

[@silverspirit5945]

@@ChickenPika The best always do

[@Vashtanerada477]

"...in the same way that St. Paul's Cathedral is a touch indigestible." Easily one of my favorite Yahtzee lines, underrated gem.

[@anosmianAcrimony]

"Heavy rain" is an anagram of "hire a navy".

[@All4Randomness1]

I think we finally found the key to understanding the plot.

[@brad.d.shoemaker]

yvan eht nioj

[@intergalactichumanempire9759]

anosmianAcrimony I'd rather hire a samurai

[@ApocalypseMoose]

Ananymouse 30 How about *Sunrise Land*?

[@JBrodo]

I enjoyed Heavy Rain the first play through, but in retrospect...the plot is pretty out of control. Oh well, at least you can tell who a good new friend will be if you shout, "JAY-SON!" and they answer back, "SHAAAAAUN!" X)

[@ICantSplel]

+Julia Kropp Press X to Jason & Press F to pay respects are my favourite things ever.

[@Arto257]

"Hairy front bottom." I don't think much else needs to be said, there, other than 'well done.'

[@MahoganyVinceArchive]

The line "Baron von Teapot's fucking ludacris adventure." just absolutely kills me, it might be my top favorite Yahtzee line.

[@lexslate2476]

A pity that Wankenstein's Monster there didn't become a recurring character.

[@kraig800i]

Agree fully, amazing game the first play through THEN you realise how incredibly shallow it is when you try to take an alternative route. All variations from the main storyline feels alien and wrong. It's the main reason Beyond Two Souls lost all of my interest when I realised it to be the same developers. :/

[@oXDestroXo]

So developers cant make a bad game and a good one?

[@kraig800i]

Not when the main dynamic of the game play is like a signature to the director. Even with the interviews of Heavy Rain he praised his own style as a revolutionary step forward in game development. People like that don't change direction easily.

[@Montesama314]

He got some praise for the first game, then thought he was a god and sold us Beyond: Two Souls, a bunch of scenes he CLEARLY thought up individually, then scrambled up as a way to give them the appearance of high-brow art. Unsurprisingly, when you put them in actual order, they make a main character who is terribly inconsistent and shallow.

[@cherylmille4115]

"baron von teapots fucking ludicrous adventure " I was laughing for f*ucking ages

[@B3rz_]

self-censorship fail

[@cherylmille4115]

Wasn't intentional, I didn't even notice

[@B3rz_]

+Cheryl Mille Ah. Glad to see you are not one of those pretentious dipshits on here who tries to censor themselves for no reason. Carry on good sir/madame

[@cherylmille4115]

+BCUB3D I know I really dislike people that do that

[@B3rz_]

+Cheryl Mille Right?? Good to see someone sensible on here for once...

[@vicegirlsusa]

JASON? JASON? JASON? JASON?

[@isakvlarsson]

JASON!!!

[@krwawyrzeznik]

Chasun?K

[@titanicww2345]

SHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUN!

[@PIKATHUNDER7]

been watching these all day there so funny

[@hunterlord101]

SHAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!

[@POTUSJimmyCarter]

Now, I would totally play Baron von Teapot's Fucking Ludicrous Adventure.

[@zyad48]

"the tank styled movement controls are shampoo-drinkingly awful" from what I've been seeing of the game that seems to be the case XDDD

[@BenKellyMusic92]

Pressing R2+X and chopping off Ethan's fingers with a rusty saw was an unforgettable moment 🫨

[@MegaDoom89]

"a fat cop who's not even worth talking about." except (spoilers) he's the villain!

[@GlitchTheF0x]

MegaDoom89 That was the fucking joke m8

[@Bigbub66]

The finger cutting scene is the only thing it does well.

[@letsago7807]

Changing the murderer depending on your decisions is actually a good idea. The story is already quite vague when it comes to the murderer so it can shock people with its plot twist (taking away the childhood flashbacks would make it easier to change the killer). An interesting ending could've been that Ethan was the actual killer and that losing his son triggered some form of schizophrenia, but he doesn't remember killing the kids after he does it.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

In case you're wondering how a narrative-heavy mystery game could work if there could be different villains, it was already done in Infocom's 1986 interactive fiction game 'Moonmist' (interestingly the first ever video game to feature a homosexual character), where there were four versions of the game included on the disc (basically equivalent to difficulty settings) and which one you played was determined by how you answered the question at the start: "What is your favourite colour?" While the basic story was always the same, each version had a different criminal you had to catch, a different secret treasure to find, and different puzzles to solve. It's _embarrassing_ that games were able to do this shit more than thirty years ago now, back in the era when _graphics_ were a luxurious indulgence that most developers couldn't afford, when a 2010 big budget "AAA game" can't manage to tell more than a single stupid story in its entire overbloated length.

[@AwwlookatOlaf11]

As fun as it would be if you could actually decide the killer through your actions in Heavy Rain, it would make zero sense from a temporal perspective (you start the game after the serial killer has already killed a few people, so how could your actions possibly change the fact that a certain person is the serial killer?). At the same time, though, it's a great suggestion- I would love to play a version of this game in which you played as someone from the past whose actions determined which of the protagonists experienced a tragic event that made them the killer. Zero Punctuation, please make this game, and you'll definitely make billions.

[@Daliroo]

I actually love this game and he is right about the first part,

[@puffmax]

JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEE-SUN!

[@phoenixsplash135]

If Silent Hill downpour has shown me anything, its that having completely different endings depending on your actions isnt a good idea. It doesnt make any sense that because you did x instead of y, this person is now innocent and this one is the killer.

[@kraig800i]

Silent Hill's is not a murder mystery, Heavy Rain for all intent and purposes is a digital version of Clue though LA Noir failed in the exact same manner with it's cheesy wah waah waaah music every time you made the wrong choices.

[@kraig800i]

lol I probably did get the x vs y referance from TRSHE. . . down pour is an incredible waste of plastic I can't remember why I brought it up :/

[@phoenixsplash135]

***** No?

[@Fresca64_]

3:12 DID HE JUST PREDICT THE UNDERLYING CONFLICT OF ALTERNATE UNIVERSES IN BIOSHOCK INFINITE

[@asn8744]

Wow, good catch!

[@ismaellovera4767]

*takes of sunglasses* mother of god

[@warpatato]

asn8744 Good catch... Booker?

[@melitacolling5341]

commentingaccount64 wait. IS YAHTZEE FROM THE FUTURE? it actually works really well because of all the things he predicts.

[@ER-sm2dn]

Yep, wait BEN YHATZEE CROWSHAW, BEN? TAKE SOME LETTERS OUT ADD SOME MORE AND IT SAYS BOOKER

[@serduncan8296]

I have to disagree with on point in this review; I HATE it when games with branching paths change something on different paths like "who the murderer is". That implies that you taking a shit could mean the difference between person A and person B being the murderer, and that's just not possible. While it does decrease the replay value, changing things that are set in stone (predominantly things that are unaffected by the main characters choices) makes the game nonsensical and reality bending. A good example of how to do branching paths right is 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors. Depending on your actions, you can get many different endings. But despite that, there are a few things that you cannot change because it is beyond your ability to, and thus these events will play out similarity despite the ending. On the contrary, the sequel featured a character in a suit of armor. Who was in that suit of armor could change depending on your choices, which was an impossibility.

[@ThePCguy17]

loved the 16 ton monty python reference.

[@DK6Marius]

Weird, I thought it was a spoiler -_-

[@lukehillyer3160]

DK6Marius *facepalms*

[@4grammaton]

There's the indigestible cathedral reference from Monty Python too

[@ThePCguy17]

it is? that's pretty obscure.

[@4grammaton]

ThePCguy17 I think it's from the "first man to jump the channel" sketch

[@1krani]

I remember an animation professor giving a lecture I attended where they extolled the virtues of Heavy Rain. I remember nothing about it because as soon as I saw the logo I zoned out and stopped paying attention.

[@TheTelenation]

You know what drives me nuts about heavy rain is that the FBI agent actually has potential to have a game all to himself. The 'don't use it too much' moment with the mini tanks was actually BRILLIANT. If they took that and the cop and made a game all to him it would be REALLY good!!

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

What happened in the don't use too much moment?

[@bengopalmi80]

SPOILERS: the point of playing through the game twice is to try and kill everyone else as Shelby

[@bengopalmi80]

I just spoiled who the Origami Killer is, so yea, learn your English dumbfuck

[@reissmassicotte7492]

Benjamin Palmiotto you spoiled it you bellend

[@bengopalmi80]

***** I meant you're going to have to look up the meaning of the word spoiler before you'll be able to throw BS left and right. Spoiling who the killer is in a game in which you're supposed to stop him is a huge spoiler

[@bengopalmi80]

***** Killing everyone else as Shelby implies that Shelby is the bad guy, the OK, you have very low intuition skills

[@bengopalmi80]

***** You don't seem to understand that in Heavy Rain every action comes with a consequence, and keep hitting your head so strong against the wall. The point of replaying the game is that you already know who the murderer is, and you play as him to kill every possible person, but I don't think your infant brain would understand it even if I'd roll gameplay clips to show you how the game works

[@Plunkcown]

"an attempt to make this particular brand of brown drippy lightning strike twice" - underrated yahtzee quote

[@a.dennis4835]

3:08 Are you implying time travel has drug-like effects? That is an interesting idea on how time travel work.

[@psychosis1767]

JASON!

[@JasonTheBestEver]

SHAUN!

[@LewisSmithquell]

***** Darude - Sandstorm

[@psychosis1767]

Lewis Smith shut up

[@psychosis1767]

Lewis Smith thats old joke

[@jacklee2207]

Henri Nieminen and shit

[@AnimeNPC.]

Shampoo drinkingly Awful. Lol , that's my new favorite saying.

[@timebomb45]

i have to say, your character that was blushing while cooking seemed pretty cute.

[@Prodigyxvoltage]

The only thing i agree with is the first claim. The begging was way to slow. but i did pick up and it was AMAZING after that. i loved it.

[@DILFDylF]

I'm not quite certain that Yahtzee understands how IVs work. Either that or he doesn't understand how catheters work. In the film critic scene the critic in question appears to be getting urine delivered intravenously.

[@04whim]

Or he was aware of that.

[@YourRulerSkeletos]

Looks like lemon lime nutrients. Flavor for your arteries!

[@Dice12K]

Zachary Comstock/Mr. Big Snake typing up some hilarious lines. xD

[@DILFDylF]

Dice12K Baby, better to type up lines than snort lines, am I right?

[@DILFDylF]

Brandon Marcel What are you talking about? I've snorted loads of Ibuprofen.

[@Xyele]

Nerdcubed is love...

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

Made me realize why the Finger-chopping scene still holds up to this day; it's because yes, in comparison to say some things we'd see on Saw on another Tuesday it's something rather weak and not too gory, but the tension is played so well that if we don't feel as piss-scared as the guy who's forced to do it, we can at least have a rough idea of how tense he feels. It's a simple solution of making something small feel really big instead of throwing too much at once.

[@Jaalco2003]

The colony in which i inhabit is briefly but indirectly mentioned within this series of moving pictures.

[@cxmatxse5621]

Nerdcubed anyone?

[@grandassassin24]

Of course

[@boopleshnoot8313]

Always

[@evanlewis9758]

Yahtzee is going to get f*cking pissed

[@boopleshnoot8313]

meh

[@jacobluteyn228]

Reviews Heavy Rain Never Talks Once About "Press X To Jason" I Am Dissipointed >:(

[@gaminhard6923]

Actually, it does have one real good reason for replay. Once you know the identity of the killer. You can replay the game and change things to ensure the killer will get away scott free. Make certain characters die who could potentially piece together the killer's identity, destroy evidence etc. The perfect crime ending it's called.

[@haliow3942]

This episode is home to two of my favorite quotes. Have a guess.

[@johntitor5461]

No one cares.

[@lonlonm1lk]

You cheeky lil' Scandinavian, youuuu

[@perfeksin]

Wouldn't it be Butterfly Effect and not Back to the Future ?

[@SoulNoodle]

I've played a few "Interactive Storytelling Experiences." They usually have fairly interesting stories, and I can see the appeal behind being able to affect the outcome by making different choices, but I always feel like I might as well be watching a movie, and sometimes the choices that you make don't even seem to affect the outcome at all. Really I would rather watch someone else on KZbin play one of those kinds of "games" than actually purchase it and play it myself, because it doesn't seem worth it to me. I especially don't see the point of playing a "game" that involves doing mundane everyday tasks, because I'm not playing a video game just so that I could do the same shit that I would do in my normal life like watching TV or using the toilet or washing the goddamn dishes, because that's fucking boring. I'm playing a video game because it's usually about doing things that I wouldn't and couldn't do in real life, like casting spells, wielding guns or swords against hordes of robots or psychopaths or the like, or shooting rival gangsters while riding in a pink pickup truck or on a magic flying broomstick while wearing nothing but a g-string and nipple tassels.

[@Greg_Ulmer]

"Heavy Rain is the spiritual sequel to Farenheit, AKA Indigo Prophecy, AKA Baron Von Teapot's Fucking Ludicrous Adventure" In case you missed it.

[@Hakudohshi]

St.Paul's Cathedral, as well as being indigestible, was also a touch slow. Took 35 years to build.

[@havoren]

If I wanted to play "Heavy Rain", I'd just watch a dark action thriller movie while pressing buttons of my handheld console turned off.

[@seroonkel5877]

havoren Nice one.

[@xbrian1992x]

Bought it used played it once get the best ending and returned it and got my money back.

[@R3p3rth3l3n]

*throws confetti* YAY that's the 10th Doctor who reference Ive seen. keep em commin buddy.

[@Paramical]

Because. He represents that part of us that we hide deeply within our sub-conscious... He says what we WANT to know! And he is bloody good at it!

[@samdiego1965]

I wonder what he's gonna say about Detroit when it comes out

[@talflick]

and now you know

[@Blahsheep]

I fucked up so bad when I played this, I killed 3/4 of the main characters. I remember one I was stuck in a car on one of those things going to be dismantled or whatever, aka you dying a horrible death and I had to hold one, button while holding another and another and another, and I was like holy crap, I'm like crap, messed up, have to restart from the start, bam mess up, gotta restart from the- DEATH. Crap. It's going to be coming out on the PS4 so I'll play it again. I'm definitely a lot better at games so maybe I'll do well.

[@Robot666House]

I like that he referred to the trials as torture traps, because my band is totally called Torture Trap.

[@RealismFTW]

This is one of my favorite games...I remember almost not being able to play through the shit slow beginning of the game but I came to play it with my older brothers and we were stuck in front of the TV for the next two days screaming at each other once someone fucked up. Maybe I like the memory more than the game itself.

[@Phantron]

No matter what you say, I love Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain for what they are.

[@JSAVACADO]

Frankly, Heavy Rain is the only good interactive movie video game, but, compared to just about any other good RPG with a choice or moral based system, Heavy Rain is a giant turd. Edit: Point retracted. I have recently played Life is Strange and it is really, really good. Play that instead. Or buy D4 so as to encourage the production of more episodes, because that is a game that needs to be finished! The soundtrack alone is worth your money, let alone the amazing game. Write your local SWERY65 and demand more!!!

[@edwardkenway4975]

albinomonkey27 here to point out that, when looking for shaun, you're given the option to have ethan sleep with madison. There's very little character development. It was a good idea, it was just terribly executed.

[@Lookin4aBoxToLive]

***** You're the one who didn't get what he said. I'll break it down for you: What he meant by "not justified" is that the women's near rape and beating scenarios happened for reasons completely irrelevant to the story or even their characters, which were never explored, while the men died or where mangled because of something at least slightly relevant to the story. The fact that you turned this into a "well men get abused to" issue when it had nothing to do with that tells me you have serious comprehension issues.

[@Lookin4aBoxToLive]

***** Nice segway paragraph. Care to back it up with an actual argument? Or at least make it even the slightest bit related to what I said? Also, why the hell are you trying so hard to tuen this into a battle of genders? No one cares that they were women in disgrace, just that there was literally no reason for that to be part of their characters, aside from making you feel bad for them, of course.

[@Lookin4aBoxToLive]

***** Hardly a dodge, but ok.

[@EldritchAugur]

albinomonkey27 I thought heavy Rain was an amazing game, in moments, but on the whole was just terrible. It's the George Lucas Problem, Cage knows how to write interesting scenes, but he doesn't know how to connect them with an interesting story or good gameplay.

[@shidousama]

It only brings up more questions for me: Why does Madison even have insomnia in the first place? Why is it all her hallucinatons/dreams contain men trying to kill her? Why does sleeping in a motel fix it? And why did the developers decide to cut out the part where she's a war journalist which really would explain everything?

[@pln9fos]

There is one ending very loosely tying the two games together, though. If you get the ending where Ethan and Madison hook up and Shaun is saved, they get an apartment (which is a bare version of the apartment from Fahrenheit). Ethan says that he got the place from 'a friend of a friend,' who is heavily implied to be Lucas Kane.

[@rustyspoonzzz]

the game was amazing.

[@nsr4interpol]

Bad story. Bad voice acting. Bad writing. Bad character development. Bad gameplay. Bad GAME!

[@bobdonald1411]

nsr4interpol no,no,no,no,no and... no.

[@ShamblesTCG]

Bob Donald actually it's more like no, no, no, no, yes, depends on what you expected...

[@TheDude90100]

+nsr4interpol you could have saved some time by just saying "david cage"

[@neoshenlong]

+nsr4interpol Really good story, mostly good acting, mostly good writing (some sloppy things here and there, but it happens), good character development, weak gameplay, i'll give you that, things just don't work sometimes. Overall, if you go hoping to get a new call of duty or devil may cry, then yes, it is bad. If you're looking for interactive storytelling, then it is a great game.

[@nsr4interpol]

Neoshenlong I liked Walking Dead. That was interactive storytelling. This was a mess.

[@SuperMrDoctorwho]

0:27 - 0:33 play at speed 0.5 it actually sounds like how he looks (drunk)

[@rjd-kh8et]

I suppose this was before Yahtzee realized that "pants" has a different meaning to American viewers.

[@weegee_hates_the_blind]

SO... MANY... METAPHORS...

[@bensummer6217]

Enter the domain of the NerdCubed!

[@explodingtomahawks7589]

I was playing this and at the beginning when Ethan is "worried" about Jason, I started hearing a weird noise in another room to the point I eventually had to stop and investigate only to find my beloved mother leaning against the wall sobbing hysterically chanting "JAAAASON" like she were summoning an Elder God. All these years later she'll at completely random times yell at the top of her lungs "JAAAAAAAASON".

[@Sirus7009]

I know it's late, but did anyone else notice that after the electrical socket joke, the sun looks like an electrical socket as well?

[@masondeleeuw6144]

I've never herd of half the gamed you revew i just think your funny

[@CreamCrushed]

indigo prophecy and beyond two souls are trash especially beyond but heavy rain is my least favorite because it's so close to being kinda good but misses it.

[@calummacdonald6115]

I quite liked Fahrenheit, partly for childhood nostalgia and partly because the plot was so ludicrous it was quite entertaining, like watching some trashy B movie

[@gulorful8488]

With a bad game you can at least expect it's going to be bad. With a game that's close to being good and fails at that it comes off as disappointing. Hence why being disappointed is worse than being mad.

[@CreamCrushed]

+Gluff Exactly

[@seroonkel5877]

Calum Macdonald I agree.

[@shrimpboom8]

The only reason I ever knew about this game was a video of one of the bits near the end breaking such that throughout the scene the player was able to Press X To Shaun.

[@LIETUVIS10STUDIO1]

these videos are somehow magical,becose i cna normally watch them on 480p even with internet of 1KB per second

[@DanceFloorJunkie]

My god, what a fucking bore of a game. I'm willing to go along with a game that's all about the story, but when the writing, plot, characters, dialogue and voice-acting are so egregiously awful I start to wonder why I should even carry on "playing" it. I got through about 8 hours of this tiresome experience only by laughing at it. I didn't even complete it. Whatever revelation was at the end simply wasn't worth the tedious drudgery.

[@Vashtanerada477]

I found the twist actually rather interesting- only part of the game I actually enjoyed. Spoiler alert one of the playable characters was actually the Origami Killer.

[@Bryndleson]

Gaming community be like : "Interactive movie, instant 0/10." How about you appreciate the extremely well written story?

[@maxayson9386]

Story of a book, visuals of a film or tv, Price of a game. That is why people get pissed with it, if it was a book, tv or film, you could have got it new for about 10 quid or free of the TV if it was a show, now its pushing 40 when new and you get very little "game" for your money. Fuck Heavy Rain

[@Lupus_Dei_]

Where and when is the story well written?!

[@danieldonaldson9236]

To be fair it does have a few plot holes and silly moments.

[@TXFDA]

As someone said.. it's a game. That's the problem. It's a game, it's being sold as a game, it's described as a game, it's a game. So as a game, it's not very good. As a story, maybe, sure, fine. But as a game, the thing it's being sold as, not so much. Like.. I could understand if it was sold specifically as an Interactive movie, and sold for slightly more than movie-price, but it's not. It's was sold(when it came out) for $60, under the assumption that it was a proper game. I would have been disappointed and annoyed as hell if I bought an interactive movie, thinking it was a game, for $60. If I want to watch a movie, I can just watch a movie for a lot cheaper than it would be to buy the game.

[@danieldonaldson9236]

txfnero the story has a few problems anyway.

[@Soraking007]

wait the bit with the fbi agent and the way yahtzee described it makes me think yahtzee knew about bioshock infinite before it happened meaning yahtzee is a time traveller.

[@linuslillen01]

3:38 there IS a diffrence depending on how long it takes until it gets better, if it's 3, 10, 20 or 50 hours.

[@tarrker]

Conveyance has always existed even in books. Or I guess I must have been imagining the tears I got from playing Final Fantasy 6 on Super Nintendo back in 1996.

[@Y00bi]

That's what adds the distinctive taste.

[@willmaxwell8061]

If you change the speed to 0.5 it sounds like he's talking through an oscillating fan while drunk.

[@TheSaxyGinger]

acctuly if u get the right ending madisons dream has a point in the plot. she can end with having a physic deasiese where she sees the bandits everywhere.

[@zombieowen]

I was trying to think what game is the most Quantum Leap -like and unfortunately I landed on Assassin's Creed.

[@77winkster]

@judaihyuga Actually that part does play a part. It shows the problems that she is going through are affecting her mental state. if you look at her bio on the website she had tramatising experience in Irag which explains why she was having dreams.

[@shidousama]

Even worse, there was originally a segment that explains why Ethan sees drowning children in his hallucinations. The developers thought it was too much of sidetrack so they removed it.

[@AsksPrincessMolestia]

ahhh, the good ol' days when the escapist (channel) wasn't overshadowed by The Escapists (video game), and the channel was still easy to find.... good times, good times, it's like a stroll down memory avenue.

[@IAmDeadNow46]

To be fair the story drops the ball pretty hard by the end anyway so I doesn't even really have that going for it either

[@KristianKumpula]

He likes a lot of games. Those which come to my mind straight away are Portal, Half life 1 & 2, Bioshock, Call of duty 4, all Saint's rows, Final fantasy 7, Deus ex, Deus ex: Human revolution, Spec ops: The line, XCOM: Enemy unknown and Far cry 3.

[@claycarmine7466]

Anyone notice he says you quantum leap between four characters, then goes on to list five characters?

[@AwesomeFaceOver9000]

I'm surprised he didn't mention the the ball squeezing scene.