The idea of exactly how to tell a story is something video games can do far better than film, in theory anyway. As an active medium demanding participation to move forward, if an already engaging subject matter - say a murder mystery, for example - then gets dissected into four peoples' perspectives, acting out and interacting with what's happening from so many different points of view can bring everything to life like nothing else. Say what you will about Heavy Rain's voice acting - sadly the French-born developers Quantic Dream weren't as spot on with the American accents as they could've been - but the story itself is a spectacular tale that twins a devious method of murder with a series of protagonists, ranging from one of the victim's fathers to a journalist, an FBI agent and a private detective. Creative Director David Cage is known for getting a little too crazy with his plots as they unravel - you need only get past the halfway mark in Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy or play any of Beyond: Two Souls to realise that - but for Heavy Rain the whole thing was kept as realistic as possible, and it's all the better for it. Cage himself said he'd prefer people only play the game once, as whichever of the many multiple endings you get, he wants to be your ending for the choices you made and the people you thought were involved. It's a really unique take on game design, and for the small allowances you might have to make to get absorbed in one of gaming's finest overall, it's absolutely worth it.
