Heavy Rain

Previously we covered the junkyard exploits of the first announced main character of Heavy Rain, Norman Jayden. At E3 we met the second of the four protagonists, Madison Paige, as she ventures into a shady club looking for information on the Origami Killer. At this point in the story, the impetuous reporter has somehow gotten mixed up in her own investigation of the serial killer.

The Blue Lagoon is crowded with dancers, flashy lighting, and thumping music. Madison edges through the crowd with surprisingly natural movements on her way toward the bar. She asks the bartender about a man named Paco, and he points to the back corner where a skuzzy, goateed man is lounging in a private area. Madison walks over to Paco, but his bodyguard tells her to buzz off.

As she schemes a new approach to the situation, Madison watches as Paco invites a sexy dancing blonde behind the velvet rope to hang with him. Using contextual button presses linked to Madison’s hands, hips, and legs, players can try to get Paco’s attention with some smooth moves, but it doesn’t have the desired effect.

Madison heads to the ladies’ room to see what she can do about her conservative appearance. Using more button prompts, players help her apply makeup, undo a couple blouse buttons, and tear off the lower edge of her skirt. Back outside, her dancing combined with her new appearance gets Paco’s attention and he invites her over. Madison suggests they go somewhere more private.

As they go up to Paco’s office, Madison checks on the gun in her purse to give her the confidence to face the potentially dangerous situation. As soon as she enters, Paco ushers her to the other end of the room, haphazardly tossing her purse onto a couch along the way. When he asks Madison to strip, several gameplay options float around her blurring in and out of focus. At first she tries to talk her way out of the room, but Paco pulls a gun and forces her to continue. Madison removes her blouse and skirt and casually moves toward an end table. As Paco is entranced, she grabs a lamp from the table and smashes him in the face.

When the scene fades back in, Paco is tied to a chair and a fully clothed Madison approaches him. Using the motion capabilities in the DualShock 3, the Quantic Dream developer giving the demo swings the controller a few times, translating to Madison slapping Paco across the face until he wakes up. When he comes to, Madison points a gun at him and asks about an apartment that he rents out that may be connected to the Origami killings.

Suddenly, one of Paco’s bodyguards knocks on the door and asks if everything’s OK. Players have only a few seconds to select what to do next. Madison ends up going the sexy moan route and the guy decides to give his boss some privacy. She then crushes Paco’s groin in a vise-like grip until he gives up the info. Madison then escapes shaken, but unharmed.

With Heavy Rain’s flexible branching paths, things could have turned out much differently. Madison could have died at several points in the encounter and there would have been no game over screen. The story, Quantic Dream says, just adapts and continues down a new path. We can’t wait to meet the remaining two protagonists in the upcoming months to see if they, too, can dodge a grisly end.

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