Why does it always rain on me?
Fear not dear readers, as someone who’s not a big fan of spoilers, I will not be releasing too much information about the plot here past the basic setup, as the story is that important to the experience. Over the course of Heavy Rain, you’ll be taking the role of four different characters, each with their own vested interested in unravelling the mystery of the Origami Killer. The serial killer in question has a long history of kidnapping young boys, drowning them in rain water, then leaving their corpses in an abandoned area with an Origami animal and an Orchid. His latest victim, Shaun Mars, will have a drastic effect on the lives of our four protagonists.

The story here is really the main focus of the entire game, and while studio boss David Cage might make comments of pretence about the game being more of a Hollywood project, the plot is far more TV Movie than Hollywood. Don’t get me wrong, as far as story-based games go it’s pretty ably written, and has a great impact; it’s the driving force that will make you want to play the game over and over to see what happens in different scenarios, but let’s be honest, there won’t be any Oscars heading in Quantic Dreams direction. This is made worse when you realise that certain choices you might make can very well create plot holes. I can’t really go into great detail without spoiling major parts of the plot, but these will become more apparent once you’ve have had a number of playthroughs, and these things mostly come into play in dialogue. Fahrenheit fans and detractors alike will be pleased to know that Heavy Rain avoids the sharp downward spiral of farcical plot devices that the former is famous for. The plot here is more believable, consistent and the experience is much better for it.

What the story does very well is pretty smart characterisation that successfully allows you to bond a little with the characters. This starts as soon as you pick up the pad. Opening as doting father and family man Ethan Mars, you are teased with the perfect life, a real slice of the American dream. In this early portion you are encouraged to get used to the controls by performing some mundane chores such as cleaning your teeth, getting dressed and working your way around the house. This may sound dull, but it’s these little moments of humanisation that helps create the empathetic bond with Ethan, and makes his future struggles seem much more important to you rather than leaving you as a distant puppeteer. Each of the main characters has their own inner demons and weaknesses that make them appear believable, and this is deeply important if you’re going to get any enjoyment out of the game. That’s not to say that the game hits the target of ‘emotional rollercoaster’ that Cage had been banking on, far from it, but the characters definitely have just about the right amount of padding to make you give a damn about their outcomes.

Heavy Rain, not Silent Hill.

Fahrenheit with waggle
One of the major things that has really annoyed me when I’ve read other reviews out there on the interwebs, is the designated writer referring to Heavy Rain as an ‘Experiment’ or that it’s ‘Unique’ as if born of habit rather than observation. If these terms were at all applicable to Heavy Rain, then it wouldn’t simply be the slight evolution on Fahrenheit that it is. If it really is an experiment, then it’s one that begun back in 2005.

Heavy Rain takes what Fahrenheit did well with its control scheme and incorporates it far more smoothly both visually and effectively into the gameplay. The biggest difference here is navigating the various ‘sets’ you’ll encounter. Holding R2 will start your character walking, and then you steer them with the left analogue stick. As mentioned before here and here, this will initially seem very clunky and counter-intuitive, but after a short while of walking around like the T-1000, it will click and soon seem a very natural control method. At any point while you are in ‘free’ control of the character in this fashion you can hold L2 and see what thoughts are buzzing around the characters head, pressing the corresponding button will see that thought read out in the characters inner-monologue, in much the same way as conversations are handled.

Like with Fahrenheit, the general actions throughout the game are handled through context sensitive analogue stick movements and quick time events; basic actions such as picking up a cup might require a simple quarter circle motion, jumping in a certain area will require a simple up motion. There is some evolution in this system, some actions might require a gentle and slow approach, and are signalled by the on-screen directions displaying a broken border, actions that require you to be quick are signalled by a timer appearing within the prompt. Motions that ask for a character’s strength or concentration are generally managed by constant button taps. There are also moments where you’ll need to hold more than one button at a time until one of the prompts has disappeared, and these moments are usually when someone needs a run-up or is climbing through something.

Yet again on a PS3 exclusive, I’m left pondering the use of the six-axis; I’m not entirely sure what I make of it. While still remaining context based, the waggle factor that plagues most Wii games seems completely out of place, even in a game that creates a great sense of pressure and panic throughout the storyline. With a game so story heavy, even one that puts you in moments where you have to think quickly on your feet, shaking the pad to strangle someone or struggle with a door consistently pulled me right out of any immersion the game had previously created.

What is totally different to Fahrenheit, is that you don’t have to manage your characters mental health or morale, nor does it matter if you get caught by the cops. If any of your characters die, the story will simply evolve and end logically without them, although it obviously won’t be a very happy ending.

Yes, she DOES get them out. *Fist pump!*

The game runs at a pretty slow pace all round, so fans of fast-paced action should probably look away, however that doesn’t mean that the game can’t create a sense of urgency. It is undeniably those pressure cooker situations when the game is at its absolute best, forcing you to quickly make decisions that are genuinely uncomfortable to make. It is both interesting and satisfying to see where these choices take you in the branched story structure; however none of it changes all that drastically as the various scenes transpire until right at the end of the game. You might get different information, other characters might appear or be missing in certain situations or certain scenes might play out slightly differently, but the outcome of each will inevitably be the same with just a few possibilities. While the impact of your decisions will definitely be felt, especially at the end, it does take away that sense of freewill that was promised when the hype machine was rolling into town.

Another thing that strips away the sense of freedom is that there are certain objectives that you absolutely must achieve before the game will allow you to end a scene, and its here you realise just how restricted you actually are within that contained environment. What is true though, is that there is enough flexibility over the entirety of the game, that once you’ve completed the story and seen what sequence of events happened in your ending, you’ll think back to certain points throughout and wonder what might have been had you taken a different option, which gives Heavy Rain its replay value. In the past week alone I’ve played it three times, and there are still things I want to go back and find out.

I’m sad to say that there are potential technical issues to be found, there have been reports by others about crashing scenes and music stoppages, however my experience thus far has been entirely flawless… when playing the game in a natural manner that is. In my second playthrough I discovered that on a few of the scenes I was able to effectively break the game on purpose. I stumbled upon these moments by accident, and won’t disclose how I achieved them, however it would lead to the main character flickering, getting stuck in an object or disappearing altogether for the remainder of the scene. Aside from that, I personally had no other issues, but just be aware that your initial experience might not be as flawless as mine.

This week on 24: Jack Bauer lets himself go...

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink
It is true, Heavy Rain will probably be one of the best looking games you will play this year, but then admittedly it’s doing a lot less than most other titles do at any one time. Character models are absolutely outstanding (in spite of some pretty disturbing teeth work in some cases), and exhibit pretty believable flaws and mannerisms. It’s also fair to say that when looking at a characters face it’s not often you are left in any doubt about what the character is feeling, much to the testament of Quantic Dreams character work here. What I did notice, having just watched the Hitman movie, is that I recognised a couple of the peripheral actors from somewhere. They were in Heavy Rain… That’s right, a lot of the characters are actually modelled on their voice-actor counterparts (thanks IMDB), and the likenesses must have been modelled masterfully for me to instantly recognise them when seeing them in another medium.

The environments and sets are also beautifully rendered featuring some amazingly atmospheric effects, however a lot of the objects in the world are at noticeably lower resolutions to everything else; not enough to do significant damage to the visual experience, but noticeable nonetheless.

Splish-splash I was taking a bath
Heavy Rain features what is easily one of my favourite original video game soundtracks since Bioshock hit two years ago. Dark, dramatic and powerful; it nails everything you’d want to accompany a thriller, even slowing to a mournful and thoughtful pace when required. It’s a score that instantly creates atmosphere, and with this type of experience that’s all you can ask.

As well as the general story is written, some of the dialogue really isn’t delivered in a manner that compliments the rest of the game’s presentation. One of the characters that typifies this is drug addled Federal Agent, Norman Jayden. Norman is voiced by British actor Leon Ockenden, and his poor American accent really stands out against some of the better deliveries in the game. I’m not against British actors taking on US roles, it can work; see the performances from the cast of the tremendous Band of Brothers series for proof of that. Hell, some of the other Brits in the game provide some brilliant voice work, but some of it is hit and miss. The dialogue is mostly enjoyable and conversations flow naturally enough, but none of the voice artists are helped by some standout moments of clichéd (and possibly lazy) scripting.

Time for us to dry off
Even when considered warts and all, most will find that Heavy Rain is a suitably compelling experience, but I can’t help but feel that over time it’ll prove to be something of an acquired taste. Fellow fans of Fahrenheit will probably be instantly right at home here and will derive much joy from unravelling an intriguing story, but I fear that a lot of those sucked in by the hype may feel a little short-changed or underwhelmed with what they find. That, however, shouldn’t stop people from giving this a try, but with its slower pace I can’t promise that it’ll be the type of thing everyone will enjoy.

How We Review Games

The demo takes you through a short tutorial and two gameplay scenes. The tutorial is essential as the controls seem somewhat alien; to me, anyway. The tutorial takes you through a dark and dank alleyway, and, unsurprisingly situations arise that mean you have to try out the techniques. For example, a dumpster blocks your path, and you are required to squeeze by. Press a button, watch an animation? No, no, not with these guys! You have to time button presses, or else your man (Scott Shelby) gives up. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, actually it is not. Give it a go, and you’ll see what I mean. The two full scenes that you get to sample are quite different; in the first you question a victim/witness and get into a fight. The second sees you (now a different (and hunkier (yes, I notice these things)) man named Norman Jayden) investigating a crime scene.

As I have hinted, the controls are quite strange, but not in a bad way. They take some getting used to, but I consider them to be innovative, rather than being different for the sake of being different. The fight scene is case in point. It would be easy for Quantic Dream (the developers) to require you to simply reapeatedly press button (X) to punch your adversary to the ground. Instead you take out the bad guy by, yes, timing button presses with the screen prompts. I don’t think I am doing this much justice, but it is harder and more immersive than it sounds. Unless I am mistaken, the sequence of buttons needed is random, and therefore throws you off a bit. Kind of like being in a fight… hold on. Do you think that’s why they did it? Well, it works.

The second odd-but-good controls section that I will mention is demonstrated in the second scene. You are investigating a crime scene; a body has been found, and you need to find clues. I won’t spoil this, but you will find yourself, at some point, traversing tricky terrain. This is when if you didn’t take my advice and skipped the tutorial you will really notice it. Timing, patience and skill are all required. Unfortunately I am not blessed with much of any of these, but I did triumph, and felt some acheivement. This isn’t traditional platforming in the sense that you hurl yourself from one ledge to the next, but the principle is the same. It feels so different, though. You have to think about what you are doing and I really enjoyed it.

That's a lot of water!

I think you can see from this screenshot (which admittedly wasn’t taken from the demo) that the graphics look superb. I can not imagine how hard water is to represent graphically, and as the game title suggests, there is a lot of water. Thankfully the developers did a great job, and the pouring rain, which adds to the dark atmosphere, is so realistic you don’t really notice it. Facial animations seem believable, too. The ‘out of the ordinary’ actions, in my view, best show off the skill and effort put in by the developers. Shelby clearly has an asthma problem, and as someone who has spent many of her former years drawing on an inhaler, I could empathise with his suffering. Similarly, when you are pounding the bad guy’s face in the first scene, you are treated to many animations and movements that make the brawl look and feel more realistic than other games I have played.

If you are anything like me, sequences like this will make you feel like you are controlling an actor, rather than a game avatar. The difference, however, between this game and more traditional ‘punch people until they die’ games is that you are playing through, I believe, set sequences rather than fighting in your own style. This is not a criticism, though, in fact this does not bother me at all, as it still works.

Add to the quality visuals some sublime sound effects and voice acting, and we have a very promising game. I mentioned that this feels quite movie-esque (a very dark, slow-paced movie), well, I think you can guess where this is going. The exceptional sound does nothing to lessen this vibe. You get to choose, to a certain extent, what you say to whom at certain times. Games that employ this methodology can suffer; they can sound quite disjointed, and lack flow. Heavy Rain seems to somehow avoid this. Rather than merely repeating the last line spoken by an NPC, or waiting patiently while you decide what to say or ask about next, the game mechanics recognise that you are dallying, and the NPC provides a legitimate prompt, or assumes you have finished talking.

All in all this game looks and feels great. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea though. It is slow moving and careful and feels feels very immersive, requiring you to think about your actions and consider your next move. While it does not look like it will raise adrenalin levels through bullet dodging, I do think it will succeed in its attempt at thrilling you. It plays out like an old style point-and-click adventure, but with updated mechanics and techniques. I think that if you like those types of games, you are going to love this… and then some.

Apple give iTampons to the masses!
Credit: Joystiq
So how do Apple follow on from the incredible iPhone? What do they do next? They create the iPad, that’s what! iPad was revealed to the World on Thursday and described as having a larger screen than an iPhone but a smaller screen than a laptop, placing it somewhere in the middle of both. What we have is something that looks like a cross between an enlarged photo frame and tablet from Star Trek (see pic below). Apple are calling the iPad revolutionary but the masses are crying out for iTampons! This would be far superior; you can even go skydiving, horseback riding and swimming!

To make things even more interesting, Apple also announced a deal with Electronic Arts to ship games from the world renowned publisher on its new iPad! I don’t know about you but I’m eagerly anticipating Medal of Honor: Menopause Warfare as a launch title (sorry!) Analysts are predicting that Apple’s first attempt at trying to muscle its way into the handheld gaming market that Nintendo seemed to have locked down could be a greater success that people are giving credit, however. iPhone gaming sales are certainly doing extraordinarily well and Apple did announce backwards compatibility of all of their games onto the iPad. Time will tell.

However, the system doesn’t come without limitations; aside from its use of bluetooth and ability to surf the web, the iPad is devoid of a USB point, SD slot, web-cam, and features no multi-tasking or flash memory support. In fact, from early indications, it sounds as if the system will be almost completely reliant on iTunes and it’s applications without word on if Snow Leopard will be compatible, either. What we do know, is that the iPad is being considered a firm contender to Amazon’s Kindle as it has been revealed the iPad can be used as an ebook reader. The product has already adopted a series of names both affectionate and derogatory. Period jokes aplenty have flooded the web, and familiar pictures used to promote the iPod have been defaced to represent a woman going through her monthly. We’re such a mature crowd us net geeks!

We gonna need a bigger boat pocket!

Whether you love it or you hate it, the base form of the Apple iPad ships in sixty days, where a more enhanced version with 3G connectivity ships in ninety days.

Capcom announce Worldwide release dates for both Super Street Fighter IV  and Lost Planet 2  complete with an Xbox exclusive!
Credit: Joystiq
After pulling both games from the rather-stacked Q1 lineup, Capcom have announced that both Super Street Fighter IV and Lost Planet 2 fans won’t have as long to wait as originally feared! The remake of last year’s reboot of Street Fighter will be out on April 27th in North America and April 30th in Europe. Super Street Fighter IV comes complete with new characters, new combos and the return of the fan favorite ‘Beat up a Car’ Special Stage for the original Streetfighter 2! No official word on pricing as yet.

As for the co-op based, third person shooter, Lost Planet 2, gamers will finally be able to get their hands on the much anticipated sequel on May 18th Worldwide! Not only that but Capcom have announced a deal with Epic to allow both Dom Santiago and Marcus Fenix to appear in Lost Planet 2 as playable characters as an Xbox 360 exclusive! While there is no official confirmation of any unique weapons the Gears of War protagonists may bring to the party, or even if they caught a plane from Jacinto or took the bus, we have been told that they will not appear as part of the story and most likely will remain as multiplayer characters.

It seems Q2 is getting as stacked as Q1 as we move deeper into 2010. The question on everyone’s lips is, will the moths ever find a home in our wallets again?!

Confirmed: Final Fantasy XIII to have Downloadable Content!
Credit: Xbox360Achievements
After asking ‘will they/won’t they’ over and again, Producer Yoshinori Kitase has gone on record to say that additional content will be coming to Final Fantasy XIII. Here’s the official story below…

“At first we had plans to release the game simultaneously worldwide,” Kitase revealed to Official PlayStation Magazine. “So we had the intention to deliver identical versions between the regions. When we noticed that we wouldn’t make it, we decided to release the game as fast as possible in the west after its release in Japan. We initially had doubts to add extra content to the western version but then it would have taken the international version more months of delay. We did prepare DLC but it will arrive a little later in the west.”

Arrive a little later in the West? Surely not! Either way, this is fantastic news and will be interesting to see whether the content will be as little as some costume changes or as much as a seperate area to explore.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Demo now on Xbox Live for Limited Time.
Credit: Xbox360Achievements
Until February 25th, an online only demo of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has been released, exclusively for Xbox Live Gold Members. This demo gives you a chance to experience the Port Valdez map and try out Squad Rush multiplayer mode which has you either defending or destroying crates! You have less than a month to grab it, don’t delay a second longer.

Mass Effect 2 is currently 3rd highest rated Xbox 360 game and 7th highest rated PC game of all time.
Credit: Metacritic
it’s still early days, but Mass Effect 2 has already exceeded expectation. At the time of writing this article, the game stands at ninety six out of a hundred on the objective game score aggregator, Metacritic.

This means it is now the third highest rated game on the Xbox 360 to date, just two points below #1 ranked Grand Theft Auto IV, which has ninety eight and a notch below Bioshock, which also has ninety six, though Bioshock’s score is averaged over a greater portion of reviews (eighty eight to be precise).  Of course, this can change very quickly as is always the case with Metacritic: a few low reviews can bring that mean score tumbling down, and a few perfect scores can send it shooting up, but right now, that’s some pretty astonishing work if you ask me. Hats off to Bioware!

More impressive still, Mass Effect 2 is currently scoring ninety five on PC based on twenty eight reviews, making it currently the seventh highest rated PC game EVER made, and knocking World of Warcraft out of the top twenty. Just… WOW! Game of the Year 2010 in January? Game of the Decade in the very first month?! Why the hell not…

Mass Effect 2 DLC released early / pulled.
Credit: IGN
In further Mass Effect 2 news, it seems DLC that was reserved for customers who pre-ordered the Space Opera were put up to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace on Monday night. This included DLC for new armor and weaponry within the game. As this was obviously a mistake, the DLC was taken down shortly after, but not before a few hawk-eyed and finger furious gamers managed to grab the goods in preparation for Bioware’s latest, whether they pre-ordered the game or not. It is safe to assume the DLC will be back up on Friday on the game’s official launch date but it’s still nice to be ahead of the crowd and get those extra bragging rights. Also, you get all the benefits of pre-ordering the game without the pre-order. You smug gits, you…

Below is a list of all the items released on the Marketplace before they were pulled…

• Collectors Weapon and Armor
• Terminus Weapon
• Armour Inferno
• Armour Sentry
• Interface Umbra Visor
• M-29 Incisor Sniper Rifle
• Blood Dragon Armour
• Recon Hood

On the Xbox Arcade This Week
Credit: Major Nelson
We’re spoiled by Microsoft, we really are. Xbox Live offers us a Deal of the Week and a new Arcade game each and every week. Sometimes you can quite happily pass them by without batting an eyelid, ignoring their very existence and then some weeks, you can’t buy points quick enough. This week is a combination of both.

The Deal of the Week is the absolutely amazing Portal: Still Alive by Valve. The game has been dropped from 1200 points to eight hundred points, a full thirty three percent slash off the price! If you’ve never played the Orange Box and you’ve never tried Portal, then you’re missing out on one of the best games in the last decade. I cannot emphasize enough how much you need to play this game! It’s a bargain at its normal price of twelve hundred points, so it’s criminal not to own it at eight hundred, it’s fantastic!

While the deal of the week is astonishing, the arcade game is somewhat of an unproven commodity. Major Nelson reported that XBLA gamers will be treated to KrissX. I’ll let him tell you in his own words what it’s all about…

“In KrissX players can play through an endless number of puzzles and unscramble over 3,500 jumbled words that will test your trivia knowledge and expand your own daily vocabulary.”

While it’s not the remake of Perfect Dark everyone is so eagerly anticipating, Plants v Zombies or the Avatar fuelled Joyride, this game does sound interesting if you like to give your brain a good taxing! KrissX will be available on Wednesday January 27th for eight hundred points!

Microsoft X Festival happening on February 12th – Fable 3 to make an appearance!
Credit: Joystiq
Good news for X Festival fans. Microsoft feels that this year it has enough to showcase at it’s own-funded and sponsored event. Over the last couple of years, Microsoft has been making the big news at E3 in June, stealing the show for the last two years, but we may not have as long to wait for announcements from the labor of Bill Gates love as the X Festival will be happening February 12th in San Francisco! Already confirmed to be at the event are Crackdown 2, Alan Wake, Splinter Cell Conviction, Halo Reach, the Xbox Game Room and first footage from Fable 3, as confirmed by Lionhead on their Twitter!

Of course, one would expect Microsoft to show off Project Natal at the event to give more and more people the chance for some hands-on impressions. One would also expect maybe a big announcement or two. Of course, we could be asking for too much, but it doesn’t hurt to ask, all the same, right?

Assassins Creed 2: Battle of Forli DLC available Jan 28th but no Trophies or Achievements
Credit: Xbox360Achievements
The first eagerly anticipated piece of Downloadable Content for Assassin’s Creed 2, entitled ‘Battle of Forli’ will sneak onto Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network this Thursday, 28th January for three hundred and twenty points / $3.99 respectively. The mouth-watering price seems altogether difficult to resist, although that may not be the case for achievement and trophy whores as it has been confirmed that this DLC will come with neither, by UK Community Manager Korina Abbott. While this may stop some people from purchasing the DLC straight off, for the rest who just want to play, here is a brief synopsis of what to expect for your money.

More Assassin Creed? Ezio as pie.

The “Battle of Forli” has players defending the Forli base against the attacking Orsi brothers. Ezio enlists the aid of Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza in this task across the segment of six new playable memories.

Sounds pretty good to me! The second piece of DLC, ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’ will be released sometime in February for four hundred Points/ $4.99 respectively.

Trophies for Heavy Rain now available to view
Credit: PS3Trophies
For those that are eager for any news on Heavy Rain they can get and can’t wait for the downpour at launch on February 24th, then head over to the link above and check out what you’re going to be trying to add to your collection. While there’s not a lot to go on (most of the trophies are secret), and no plot elements unveiled (although be wary of the comments below), it looks as if you get yourself a bronze just for supporting interactive drama. Whether that means you unlock it when you first boot up the game or there’s a code affixed to every retail copy of the game, allowing one trophy per customer, remains to be seen.

The game has fifty seven trophies; fifty two Secret, two bronze, one silver, one gold and one platinum.

UK Playstation 3 sales have topped 3 million
Credit: Joystiq
It’s not been a comfortable journey for the third iteration of the Playstation console, but Sony are finally starting to see some success in the UK with their Blu-Ray empowered machine.. After the price cuts, the emotion engine was cut, and PS2 backwards compatibility was removed, multiple changes in hard drive size and a slimmed down body were produced, the PS3 has managed to sell three million in the UK. While it still leaves the console in third place of sales in the console race behind both Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, this is a great change in fortunes for the company who are due for an incredible year with both Heavy Rain and God of War 3 to look forward to in the next few months.

While PS3 will probably never break the records of its predecessor, this is some of most positive news to come out of Sony’s camp in a long while. Thumbs up team!

Bioshock 2 soundtrack to be released digitally
Credit: Joystiq
It seems a big 12″ vinyl in the special edition of Bioshock 2 is not the only way you’ll be able to listen to the soundtrack of Rapture outside of playing the game. Composed by Garry Schyman, it’s now been confirmed that the music will be released through both the iTunes music store and Amazon Digital Download! No other details released yet, but this is great news if you’ve wanted to stomp around your own home in a Big Daddy costume and make the experience as authentic as possible.

Now, would you kindly give us a price tag? Perhaps a release date? We did ask nicely!

Are you listening Travellers Tales?

Namco proclaims 23 million downloads on iPod / iPhone
Credit: Joystiq
Namco, known to many as the Pacman people, boast that their products have been downloaded twenty three million times for iPhone and iPod touch services. The company goes on to say that their products shift 36,450 downloads a day of its twenty four products already on the iTunes service. Namco have also announced that twenty more titles are scheduled to appear on the iTunes service this year. Pretty impressive statistics that really show how far the platform has come and how popular it has become for gaming. If Apple have their way, the iPad will take this trend even further in the months/years to come.

Monster Hunter Frontier announced for Xbox 360
Credit: Joystiq
Capcom continue their streak of news, unveiling Monster Hunter Frontier for Xbox 360. The game is a port of a PC MMO of the same name and is well recognised outside of the West. Capcom released a promotional trailer for the game and also detailed the proposed subscription plan for the title. Japanese players will be required to purchase Hunter Life Course Coupons for 1,400 yen ($15), which will give them access to the game for thirty days and a one month Xbox Live Gold subscription.

The game’s official site has also gone live and is due to be updated again next Monday (1st February). Check it out here. Unfortunately, there is no word on if this game will be coming to North America or Europe. More news as we get it…

The matter of sex. Sex in games. In-game sex. In-game nudity. Penises. Penii?! Well that is a perennial debate so I will shy away like so many chaste maidens from that particular issue.  More accurately, the portrayal of sex in games and why it’s so controversial when it is portrayed, despite the utter saturation of it in other mediums.

The Lost and Damned, whilst developed by an (aptly-named) studio who already have a good pedigree in controversy, managed to shock, delight, confuse many with its cock-sure depiction of a male member (of congress, no less). With The Ballad Of Gay Tony, the closing chapter of the GTA 4 saga dealing in part with another aspect of sexuality, Rockstar are certainly one of the few developers not afraid of raising a few issues about sex and sexuality, and it’s these I’m interested in.

For one, if we, as a community of gamers wish to be granted ever-more respect by the mainstream media, we must, as a rule, respond to issues of sex and nudity in a mature fashion. I don’t wish to imply that people are not, just that it is an important foundation to lay. We must be able to enter into a dialogue about sex in games in the same way as developers must be able to depict it in such a way as to facilitate mature discussion. Now, Japanese developers have a vivid history of sex games, but cultural differences abound; I’m talking about the way forward for a western audience and industry. What have we learnt from Hot Coffee, J. Thompson, blue aliens and japanese dating sims?

"Let's get it oooon..."

Mass Effect spawned an absolutely hilarious reaction in the media upon its release (if you somehow haven’t seen it before, it’s absolutely hilarious how ignorant some people were about it…)

Aside from being laughably under-researched (my favourite line is ‘the ability of players to engage in graphic sex’) the feature linked above highlights all that is wrong with the interaction between the mainstream and video games. Especially surrounding the issue of what is, ultimately, no matter how many different religious groups believe otherwise, a perfectly natural act. Again, fun as it would be, I’m not offering a diatribe against either Fox (Megan or the TV company), the media, religion, your mum, or Bioware (the twisted, predatory corrupting influence that they are). This video is timeless, but seems especially relevant once again as Bioware are set to release Dragon Age: Origins, a game that we’re told (or perhaps warned) has a good deal of on screen hanky panky.

Yeah, this looks like fun...

Let’s cut to the chase: I propose that the only way we are going to make progress in the matter, is for more games to have sex featured in them. The problem is how to present it. The power of suggestion is as powerful as ever, and to my mind the sex scene in Mass Effect is both tasteful and effective. ‘Sleeping’ with hookers in Grand Theft Auto is not tasteful but it’s certainly not offensive or gratuitous. So far so good. Let’s take a look at a few more examples.

Sex in Fallout 3 is possible but inconsequential, unrewarding, and ultimately pointless from a gameplay or narrative perspective. A non-committal depiction shall we say. Fable 2 takes another interesting approach by letting you only hear the act of coitus. If you’ve played Fable you’ll also know that having a child is amusing but again, ultimately a gimmick; I call this a morally neutral stance. Both are fine, but one is sincerely lacking in ambition to drive the matter forward, understandable after the fiasco that the ratings boards conjured over the naming of in-game drugs

Where is the sex that adds to the drama? Think about the potential of sex scenes in films and literature to really evoke emotions, to create powerful drama and motivations between characters. How games developers, backed into a corner by ratings boards and neurotic censorship endorsed by a morally perplexed billboard society continue to shy away from a responsible yet vivid depiction of all things sexual baffles me.

"That is one massive penis".

I’m hoping that Heavy Rain, the TIMJ hands-on preview of which you can read here, with its ostensibly ‘life-life’ portrayal of a believable scenario will feature a real, bar-setting sexual event or relationship. If games are ever going to cross over the threshold from entertainment to art-form, from wasted artistic potential to responsible medium of expression, we all need to get virtually laid a little more.

Usually we’d give you a list of what we’ve discussed, however we talked about that much it’s not going to be worth it. Just listen to it, and rest assured it’s probably one of the better podcasts we’ve done. It was certainly one of my favourite to record.

The episode should be appearing on iTunes shortly as soon as the RSS feeds refresh, or you can stream it or download it below. iTunes users, please drop us a review and help spread the word of the site. If you have any questions or talking points please feel free to email us on podcast@thisismyjoystick.com.

Multifaros / CC BY 3.0

The first Scenario I played was as Scott Shelby, a private-eye hired (but also motivated for personal reasons it seems) to investigate the murders of the ‘Origami killer’. In this sequence he enters a store owned by Hassan, the father of one of the murderer’s recent victims, to ask for some more information. This is the first sample of how the game will play when it comes to dialogue. Hassan is reluctant to give you any information stating that he had already told the police all he knew. When the time comes for Shelby’s responses you are offered different types of approaches, represented by the required responses mapped to the face buttons floating around Shelby’s head.

Taking a different approach to what I’d usually try (meaning generally being a bit of an abrasive tit), I tried to reason with the store owner, which after a couple of attempts turned into a totally thankless task. Control is then taken from me as Shelby asks whether the store sells inhalers, so that his trip wasn’t totally a waste of time. Here I was able to control Shelby freely, sort of; it’s initially a clunky system. To walk around the store you hold the right trigger and the direction you want. When you reach the required section, you are offered a context sensitive prompt to perform an action. In this situation it was to press down. If you have played Fahrenheit previously, much of this will seem very familiar to you. When retrieving his medicinal aid, a young man comes in and attempts to holds up the store. I was given control again. I walked down an aisle in an attempt to sneak up on our young criminal, only to discover that he has spotted me in his peripheral vision. Pointing his gun he told me to put my hands in the air, which I did using L1 and R1.

Time for more talk, and this time I opted for a more aggressive approach. This was deeply unsuccessful and led to a scuffle, played out through what can only be described as quick-time events. I missed a few of my cues, and took a graze to the arm as shots were fired, and the attacker made a run for it. Thankful for my intervention, Hassan decides to give up a box containing an origami model, and some possible leads. Shelby takes the box and exits the store.

What I noticed during this very short segment was that there was very little in terms of actual gameplay, however there are some things worth noting. I could have tried a variety of different tactics to get through this, including different temperaments and different actions. Even walking down a different aisle to reach the robber could have had a different effect on how this scenario panned out. Also what I enjoyed immensely were the visuals. Quantic dream have clearly put a lot of effort into making their characters more humanistic, and it shows. Everything from facial expressions to the general animation is of such an unprecedented quality that I have to admit I found it hard to find fault.

Scott Selby. Private Dick.

The second scenario follows FBI agent Norman Jayden, who is looking for clues at a scrap yard. After exiting his car (again after using context based analogue stick movements) and snooping around a scrap yard, he is confronted by a muscle-bound employee. After an ‘up-close and personal’ discussion where I chose the path of questioning, I was free to investigate a garage. I was given an option immediately floating next to Jayden’s head. By moving the analogue stick from right to up in a quarter circle motion, he put on some sunglasses. These are no ordinary sunglasses, when pressing R1, a wave of the hand scans a circle around him and highlights any evidence, such as fingerprints or tyre tracks; think futuristic CSI. To take a closer look at these clues, again the player is required to perform context sensitive motions. After investigating all that I could, when trying to leave I was confronted again by a clearly agitated and self-admittedly guilty employee at gun point and led into the back. Here I shamefully missed every QTE event to get out of the situation and was eventually executed gangland stylee, and thus ended my demo. Again, watching other folk on their play had entirely different scenario’s so the replay value will come from seeing what you could have done.

So, is it the big game Sony wants it to be? I’m not convinced. The use of quick-time events gets a hefty slating unless used uniquely in every other game, and I’m not sure how the growing number of folks against that as a gameplay mechanic will handle a title packed full of it. The game also goes at an incredibly slow pace and plays a little clumsily. In all honesty it handles like a point and click game or an interactive movie, just like Fahrenheit before it. Myself? I’m still intrigued; the story seems amazing, visually even at this stage the game looks stunning, and the characterisation looks as if it could be like nothing else we’ve seen before. That said, my anticipation for this game has now been downgraded from pant-wetting excitement to cautious optimism.

We covered:

• An intro with a special guest.
• Why we’ve been missing.
• A special message from our friends at Sarcastic Gamer.
• What we’ve been playing.
• My new addition to the family: A PS3.
• What we’re looking forward to this year.
• Extra Life. Sponsor us please.
• The introduction of ‘Head to Heads’
• Our special guest joins us again.
• I try to wrap it up, but Si has other plans.
• The Tester TV show, and the French getting Halo ODST early.
• We finally wrap it up!

Please leave us an iTunes review, and you can email ideas, talking points and other things podcast related to Podcast@thisismyjoystick.com.