Yes, you walk to other interaction points. Walking is very good exercise my friend. :)

isn't every game all about button presses and fast reflexes? if heavy rain is anything like that, plus the walking and exploration and that thing that the detective uses then i think heavy rain does fall into the "adventure" genre or at least a genre that is more than an interactive drama. =]

It's going to have a 75 - 90 Metacritic score.

haha yeah. and ignoring other people and thinking outside the box. i think you can even compare heavy rain to resident evil 2 (where u controlled 2 different characters and some things change based on how you played the game, even if its just 2 different paths) minus the shooting/combat part/menus and adding more options to use the environment, and more ability to change the story based on your actions. obviously, i guess some people don't like their menus or guns taken out. ;-]

that's true. i am mostly really excited about how the 4 characters will be interacting with each other and mindblown on how much possibilities that they can do with the game. (1x2x3x4 permutation...lol) i think there's like 28 different endings already based on the characters alone. obviously i'm hoping that the death of a main character won't be the only game changer, and that means there's a LOT more possibilities which is really interesting on its own.

the game will be great if its anything like a better indigo prophecy. the game is certainly intriguing, and i think its one of those games that people need to open up their minds into and just let it sink in that it is different than most games/movies or whatever you want to classify it. am i sold on it? of course. but time will tell if i end up liking the game, or just be sorely dissapointed. the only problem is some people just hate on some games because its trying to be different and not the norm (it's like picking on a nerd in school.) =P

I just don't see how anything in it is all that different from any other adventure game other than the control scheme. Instead of "X" being punch, it's "R1" when you are in punching range, or whatever button it prompts you to do. I completely understand if people don't LIKE the control scheme, but that's really the only major difference as far as gameplay is concerned. If you classify this as an "interactive movie", then there have been many, many, many before it.

I haven't decided if I'm getting it yet or not...I'm intrigued by many things, but put off by others (the demo where you put on lipstick...that just seems dumb to me, but that's my opinion). We'll see how it all comes together. But I really dont' see how it could be called an interactive movie any more than countless other video games.

Err... aren't there are a ton of interactive objects? Especially in the father one, but so in both the agent and detective one (and sorta in the makeup one). I haven't seen any other videos for fear of spoilers though.

There is real work to do in the game. The only problem is that there's no objective source of a goal (no goal given to you by the game). But, if our goal is to get out of the house unseen, we interact with objects and think strategicly. If our goal is get killed we do what needs to be done. Etc. So if you want your character to surive, or some outcome to occur in the story you do have to think about it and do stuff (work).

No, Quantic Dream isn't the only developer making games in this style, focused so intenly on story and character. I've yet the time to play visual novels from other companies besides Type Moon, but VNs focused nearly all of their energy on story and character.

And I can give a shit less about the industry, what Cage says, and all the other shit you're saying, because they're completely IRRELEVANT.

Look, you're complicating the matter so much unnecessarily.

You've yet to answer my two fucking questions. Just two. You don't have to write an essay or whatever. STOP QUOTING CAGE and tell me what YOU think.

1) What are the CRUCIAL, FOUNDATIONAL properties of an adventure game.

2) Does Heavy Rain stand up to the definition of an adventure game.

Just make a short list (remember, these are the MUST HAVE stuff, so it should be a small list). Then highlight the ones that Heavy Rain doesn't have.

Here's Wikipedia to give you some inspiration:

Text adventure

Text adventures, also known as Interactive Fiction, convey the game's story through passages of text, revealed to the player in response to typed instructions. Early text adventures, such as Adventure and Scott Adams' games, used a simple verb-noun parser to interpret these instructions, allowing the player to interact with objects at a basic level, for example by typing "get key" or "open door". Later text adventures, and modern interactive fiction, can interpret far more complex sentences.

[edit] Graphic adventure

Graphic adventures are adventure games that use graphics to convey the environment to the player. Games under the graphic adventure banner may have a variety of input types, from text parsers to touch screen interfaces.

Point-and-click adventures are a common type of graphic adventure in which the player uses a pointer, typically a mouse, to interact with the environment and solve puzzles. This input method remains popular in the genre, and is well-suited to interaction with the environment, as opposed to direct control schemes which emphasize character control.

[edit] Puzzle adventure

Puzzle adventures are adventure games that put a strong emphasis on puzzle solving, at the expense of elements such as item gathering, item use, character interaction, or plot. Instead, they typically emphasize exploration and deciphering the proper use of complex mechanisms, often resembling Rube Goldberg machines.

The plot of these games can be obscure, and may be conveyed only through interaction with the puzzles. Many puzzle adventures are played from a first person perspective with the player "moving" between still pre-rendered 3D images, sometimes combined with short animations or video. Examples of the genre include Schizm, Atlantis: The Lost Tales, Riddle of the Sphinx, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, and Myst, which pioneered this game style.

One kind of puzzle adventure is the Escape the room sub-genre, consisting of short games where the sole object is to find a way to escape from a room. These games are typically implemented in a graphic point-and-click style, which (owing to their popularity on the Internet) are often delivered in Adobe Flash format. Examples of the sub-genre include Submachine-series, Mystery of time and space and Crimson room.

[edit] Visual novel

An image of a visual novel: Visual novels are commonly characterized with dialog boxes and sprites denoting the speaker.

A visual novel (ビジュアルノベル, bijuaru noberu^?) is an adventure game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art. As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels or tableau vivant stage plays. Visual novels are especially prevalent in Japan, where they make up nearly 70% of PC games released.^[39] They are rarely produced for video game consoles, but the more popular games are sometimes ported to systems such as the Dreamcast or the PlayStation 2. The market for visual novels outside of Japan, however, is limited.

Visual novels overlap with Japanese adventure games in many ways, including a menu-based interface for all navigation and interaction, reminiscent of ICOM games. Japanese adventure games very seldom feature on-screen avatars or inventory based puzzles in general, and visual novels have an even further diminished emphasis on puzzles, or indeed gameplay. Instead these titles are driven by narrative, focusing almost exclusively on character interaction, in a structure similar to a Choose Your Own Adventure story.

Visual novels frequently feature romantic storylines in which the main character may end up with one of several possible mates. This premise is similar to dating sims, but they are distinct from them in that they lack stats-based sim elements in which the player builds up his character, instead relying on simple choices of dialog, actions, or navigation.

Visual novels have been a staple of PC software sales in Japan and other East Asian countries for over a decade, so much so that popular titles are open ported to consoles, and some even have manga and anime based upon them; such titles include Kanon (1999), Air (2000), Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (2001), Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2002), Clannad (2004) and Fate/stay night (2004).

Visual novels are sometimes called "dating sims" in the West, because many visual novels track statistics that the player must build in order to advance the plot. This is also because many visual novels permit a variety of endings, allowing more dynamic reactions to the player's actions than a typical linear adventure plot. The cultural differences between Western and Japanese adventure games are closely related to those in role-playing games, such as the storyline being more linear and tightly-scripted in the latter.

Well finally you get to the heart of the matter. Only few times have I ever given my true feelings on the title. Subjective feelings and not what I am gathering from videos and reading from interviews. Here is how i feel in points.

- I am intrigued by the mystery which surrounds this title. I have an investigative personality and I must know who the Origami Killer is. Despite the fact that it isn't really that engaging, I really like stories. Think of it as a fascination with mystery novels.

- I have come to the conclusion that since this title is not worth 60 dollars ( I'd probably buy it at 40 or 30 dollars)which is why I am renting it. For two weeks, I will see all there is to see about it and gather my trophies. :)

- I like the fact that it is a dark drama, but takes the time unlike most games and more like movies to focus on the stories of the protagonists and where it all intertwines. 

- This game is the filler of the gap between the film industry and the gaming industry plain and simple. 

- I do not feel that this is an adventure game, because you're just pretty much watch a characters life with interaction buttons, but your decisions depending on which button you press could spell out the truth or the end for you.

I'm starting to wonder if you talk crap about Heavy Rain at every possibility because you don't like the idea that Heavy Rain may look like a non game but really it has taken the cornerstones of modern wRPGs (one of your favorite genres): an ability to change the story through your actions and a dialogue system and turns it into a full game.

When you look at them, some the defining characteristics that makes something a wRPG are weirdly familiar to what people will be doing in Heavy Rain.

If you like an awesome realistical story, if QTE doesn't bother you and if you like very good graphics i don't see a problem. Maybe the gameplay isn't that great, but who cares, fights are filled with QTE and other important things have nothing to to with the gameplay which you need to move your character. And even i don't think the gameplay will be awful, maybe 7/10 but not above. I'm waiting for that game!