Heavy Rain - The console equivalent to point-and-click

[StephenSharp]

The review I think nails it most, because it seems to be the only one that actually played it and challenged the game a bit:

http://www.edge-online.com/features/review-heavy-rain

"The confusion stems from Heavy Rain’s adaptable storytelling, an ambitious system that sets itself the impossible task of bringing together Cage’s jumble of scenarios. Our heroes can’t regurgitate the plot because they don’t dare try. Heavy Rain pulls off its branching narrative by donning blinkers and sprinting down the chosen routes. Countless permutations of each scene are allowed, safe in the knowledge that they will never be addressed again. Scars, bandages and bloodied stumps accrue, but in a game full of moral choices, we are owed more than a character reskin. How do you invest in decisions if they are so casually frittered away?

Death is a sticking point. Die in the story and the world moves on (see ‘Grave situation’). It’s an intriguingly tangible threat, and as such motivates your success in Quick Time Events – there are no game overs or restarts. Whether driving into oncoming traffic or fighting knife-wielding intruders, the chain of onscreen stick prods and controller tilts is feverishly adhered to. But it appears that the Grim Reaper is in a lenient mood. Deliberately tempt fate, refuse to follow the cues, and the QTEs often play out to non-fatal conclusions. The general skeleton of the story cannot truly be changed, cheapening every event in the process. Whether or not the Origami Killer is apprehended, his fiendishness is neutered from the outset – Cage is unwilling to force the consequences of failure on to the player. "

I think he nails it better than I was... It's not that the basic story is bad... Elements, like gaping plotholes, poor voice acting, and nonsense logic are bad parts of an otherwise good premise... it's that he execution is just very heavily flawed in a game that has nothing else to offer.

Also: game sales don't denote how good a story is.... Bad games sell just fine on hype, then the bad user reviews come in, and people start returning a game after dissapointment sets in, and then sales drop after others just buy it used. Hell, even Haze sold well for a bit...