Heavy Rain - First Impressions

I'm around three hours in I guess.  Is it a game?  Is it just a series of interactive cut scenes with a few moments of genuine choice thrown into the mix?

Well yes to all of the above so far.  But it still seems to be working.  The story, which has been quite heavily criticised is still holding up and there are some sudden, clever changes of pace that see you moving from a relaxed, leisurely position on your sofa to that edge of your seat position with your eyes fixed, intently, to the screen.

It makes the controller feel different and for once there is genuinely well placed use of the SixAxis (Sony's ill fated attempt to put motion control in the Dual Shock).  So different how?  Well you're combining button presses in new ways, completing an easy action, say picking up a box, is easy, but climbing a slippery hillside or escaping a burning car (while upside down) sees you contorting your fingers around the controller.  It is without doubt clever stuff that does a good job of sucking you into each scene.  

There are moments where you do feel like you lack control and some will be put of by a largely fixed camera (although you can switch between two points of view in most) but so far, for the most part, I've been thoroughly engaged with the game and any frustration with the camera have been muted by the stunning visuals.  

It was always going to be an interesting title but a game changer?  No, probably not.  New and intriguing direction?  Very much so.

I'll write a full review in the week once I've completed it.  Tomorrow night, @maverick99sbacks first movie post will be up.  This place is really starting to become a collaborative effort.    

I will have a full review up in the week for Heavy Rain once I've completed it.