Clear skies for risk-taking Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain's approach to storytelling makes it one of the year's riskiest games. Releasing Tuesday for the Playstation 3, Sony's experimental endeavor turns the concept of what constitutes a video game on its head. How? By eschewing the frenetic, action-packed style that dominates headlines & sales charts in favor of what might best be described as an emo choose-your-own-adventure.
Created by developer Quantic Dream (whose quirky track record includes David Bowie pet project Omikron & cult hit Indigo Prediction), Heavy Rain has more in common with classic film noir than it does with Sony's own award-winning Uncharted 2. In a business ruled by play-it-safe sequels, that makes Heavy Rain five of the riskiest games of the year.

A serial killer is on the loose, & it is up to you to stop him. Or not. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, because you are playing Heavy Rain.Or perhaps it is playing you.

than guide a hero through a story, you take control of the story itself. Players experience the plot through the eyes of one different characters while tracking down the elusive Origami Killer, but the objective is not to stop the bad guy, save the day & win the game: it is all about connecting with the characters, feeling the impact of their emotional crises, & watching it all unfold based on your decisions.

Sound heady? That is sort of the point of Heavy Rain, & critics are soaking it up. Boasting a healthy 89 on metacritic.com, Sony's dark, dangerous tale might have a happy ending after all.