Heavy Rain (PS3)

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There's a kind of futuristic CSI vibe

At the start of Quantic’s E3 demo, Norman Jayden is investigating a dodgy character named Mad Jack, the owner of the aforementioned scrapyard. People with the word “mad” in their name tend to be a bit unhinged, and this guy’s no exception: you know that he’s had dealings with a car you’re looking for, but Jack’s a tattooed thug with a criminal history, so it’s unlikely he’ll be too happy to see you. Indeed, these concerns are one of many things running through Norman’s mind at the start of the scene. By holding L1, a selection of words will appear swirling around the detective’s head. Hit the relevant button, and you’ll hear what’s on his mind. These thoughts can give you a useful incite into the situation at hand, and at times they’ll even save your life – more on this later.

After leaving the safety of his car and having a bit of a think, Norman wanders over to a hefty JCB and calls out to Jack. The big man jumps down and growls some terse answers to Norman’s questions – it doesn’t seem that I have much choice over the dialogue here. After Jack slinks off, Norman enters the yard’s workshop. By following a simple command, I get our hero to equip his ARI – a futuristic piece of forensic equipment that gives our man a CSI-like view of hidden stains and fingerprints. Having donned a natty set of shades and an electronic glove, Norman is now able to scan his surroundings at regular intervals, with interesting discoveries highlighted for further inspection; taking a closer look at a clue will also summon boxes of information that “hang” in mid-air, in a style reminiscent of Minority Report (or perhaps Dead Space). A set of tire tracks catches my eye, but it turns out that they’re not from our missing vehicle. Then Norman reveals a set of bloody footprints… a macabre trail that leads right up to a dissolving skull in a nearby acid bath.

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A gun appears at the back of our hero’s head. Jack’s back – and boy is he pissed. He explains that the melty bonce belonged to another cop who came poking around, and now he plans to give you a similar Extreme Makeover. As he’s dragged away to his doom Norman tries to kick a metal tray under Jack’s feet – but I fluff the command and the villain merely mocks my attempts at escape. Things are looking serious until I suddenly manage to give Jack the slip by hitting him in the face with a hook hanging from a cable. A tense fight commences: Jack’s clearly the tougher man, whaling into Norman with an iron bar; meanwhile I’m desperately trying to keep our hero alive. I foul-up another command and Norman takes a heavy blow- a weighty attack that looks horribly painful. Then my reflexes wake up and I start to turn the tide. I dodge a swipe that sends Jack crashing into a car windscreen. There’s a desperate struggle for the gun, then Norman emerges in control.

At this point, we get to interrogate Jack. He refuses to co-operate, and I’m presented with several options to pursue. I try being forceful in my words; Jack tells me where to go – and not politely, either. I threaten to shoot one of the gasoline barrels near where the thug is slumped, and this time he relents. Things are going well until Norman’s nose starts bleeding. Unfortunately Jayden is addicted to a drug called Triptocaine: you can choose to take it during his scenes, but doing so also worsens his overall habit. Our junkie cop manages to drop his fix, and Jack clocks that he’s in trouble. I fail a quicktime challenge to grab the fumbled drugs, and the tables are turned once more. Norman collapses, and Jack knocks him out with a savage kick to the head.

When he comes to, Norman is handcuffed to the steering wheel of his car, which is in turn being carried towards an evil-looking crushing device. If I don’t do something quickly, Norman’s buggered – and unfortunately, I’m panicking. It turns out that I’m not the only one: the detective’s thoughts now appear as a-near unreadable swirl of randomly changing letters, making it tricky to lock-on to a sensible course of action. I try honking the horn – a grimly hilarious mistake that cuts to a long shot of the hooting car, moving ever closer to a crunchy death. I tug at the cuffs, haul myself about… but it’s no use. The vehicle drops into the grinder, and Norman Jayden is mulched into cat food.

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