#3 Heavy Rain (PS3)
Publisher: Sony – Developer: Quantric Dream
Heavy Rain is daring. It’s inventive. It takes the ideals gamers have grown accustomed to for years and spins them to the game’s advantage. It is an experimental form of storytelling, and it all works so very well. Heavy Rain may have its faults, but it’s easier to overlook them when the results are so often pushing gaming’s boundaries. In an era when the industry is as sequel-riddled as with film, with titles generally fitting nicely into a short list of genres, Heavy Rain is refreshingly and hauntingly something unique.
–Bill
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Biggest Disappointment
Sonic 4, Episode 1
Maybe it’s not Sega’s fault. The lack of “blast processing” capabilities in this current gen’s systems leaves them at a disadvantage. Actually, nothing can atone for the horror that is Sonic 4, Episode 1. Much like another famous Episode 1, the hype built around Sonic 4 wasn’t even close to living up to the reality gamers were confronted with – our beloved hedgehog grew up. Instead of break-neck speeds and the thrill of throwing caution to the wind, we got a game where Sonic trudged and struggled through what seemed like pudding covered levels. Adding insult to injury, within the same week, an anonymous fan released a remixed version of Sonic 2 that trumped, in only two levels, everything Sega had worked on, and gave a glimpse of the glorious game that could have been. Avoid this as if it were a runaway Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.
–Matt
