Growing up, I used to watch a lot of crime drama – usually the British stuff that played on PBS most nights and especially Sunday. The gruff copper or detective (or detective-inspector?) tracking down the bad guys typically within two hours – Inspector Morse, Lindley, Rebus, Dr. Tony Hill, even Sherlock Holmes – would solve the most heinous of crimes. They were mini-movies, so the plots could be much more detailed than anything CSI or Miami Heat or whatever the kids watch these days. And there was rarely explosions or action sequences – being England, guns were rare. It was just nice, old fashioned evidence gathering and testimony hearing that solved the case.
So it should be no surprise that I enjoyed Heavy Rain. The best way I’ve heard it described is “interactive drama.” It’s really just like watching one of those detective movies, except this time I could take part in the process and help catch the villain. It’s also not violence-driven. There are few action sequences; what you get is lots of dialog that moves the plot forward in whichever way the player choses.(Read the rest of the review)
