When a game impresses you, it usually is from a series of properly executed gaming traits, all sewn together nicely to feed your desire to shoot things or throw an imaginary football around.

When a game takes you by surprise, it’s usually from a few elements that the game designers threw in as an experiment; “bullet time” in the first Max Payne, for example, was so well implemented that it defined an entire sub-genre of gaming cliches all in it’s own.

When a game blows your mind, you have a really difficult time putting it into words.

Hit the jump and I’ll give it a shot.

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If you’ve read reviews elsewhere, they probably dodged the incredibly lame way that Heavy Rain begins. When the game’s main protagonist is displaying his man-ass in the shower that you contextually shook the Sixaxis controller to turn on, there is a feeling of absolute dread for what is next. Maybe drawing lines on a piece of paper? Turning on coffee? Setting the table? Nothing too mundane is an exception in the prologue; you WILL be bored right from the get-go. What’s really sad is a lot of players will let the game go at this point.

The game controls in a style that is very hard to get adjusted to. And since the game takes a while to get moving, like any thriller, you have a decent time getting used to the several unique concepts that the designers throw at you. More than anything, the need to know what’s on the characters mind that you’re controlling.  By holding a shoulder button down you see several “thoughts” that the person is considering, and selecting one will activate your “intuition”. It serves as a driving point of that persons emotion, as well as a hint system to keep you moving in the right direction.

Once you manage to get into the 2nd act of the prologue, you’re struck by a moment of pure terror. It not only breaks the monotony of washing dishes or playing with kids, it makes you reconsider what you’re embarking on, with a sense of dread that no game in history has effected you with. Suddenly this game digs its claws into you and doesn’t let go very easily.

While the buildup of the convoluted story is very slow, it’s necessity becomes more and more apparent  as you continue. The context sensitive controls start getting trickier, and danger starts to rear its head for the several people you take control of. And what’s more, is that each person you briefly play as fleshes out their unique personalities; each person has real life issues to deal with, and after a short while you will feel their pain.

As the story progresses, there are subtle yet immense changes to the plot line that take place, and many players may not even realize it.  If a certain player gets hurt during a chapter, they’ll need to address the wound with proper treatment later on, or the effects can be catastrophic. It’s a dynamic that is so seamless, it can’t be compared to in any medium.

The action, which comes and goes, is another dynamic to Heavy Rain that draws the person it. The contextual buttons prompts that appear at almost any time become second nature, appearing 3 dimensionally within the cinematic. It creates such amazing tension that you’ll wish anything else you’d play would allow this type of interactivity.

Once the plot is in full throttle, you won’t want to stop to find out the resolution. And along the way, each character you play as brings a sense of excitement for each chapter, since you want to see what happens next for that person. The story progresses almost like a soap opera, with a small cliffhanger to each scene, and switching to the next. You’ll want to progress through one chapter just to get back to the previous one, and vise-versa.

Driving all of the emotion of the story is the lauded graphical prowess that you might have heard about. It still needs to be said that this is arguably the greatest looking game of all time; not because of 30 light sources and lens flares being thrown around, but because of the absolute authenticity of everything you see. Joggers in the background, a dance club with a hundred rendered characters ACTUALLY dancing to techno, tears rolling down a man’s cheek, stopping on his beard… It’s something to behold all of it’s own. It’s not just a statement of the technology that we are using, but a tool to drive you to think about life in general, and that’s an achievement that no game has ever done, period.

If there is anyone out there that can self-proclaim a bitter bias for Sony’s machine, it is I. Ever since the lame ad campaign of yesteryear claiming I both want, AND need a PS3, despite waiting 8 minutes of installation to play Metal Gear Solid 4,  I’ve simply looked elsewhere for a gaming fix. A few exclusive titles is not enough to fork over a few hundred dollars for a system that only rivals an existing one. The foolish fanboyism of the past is gone; if you don’t have access to a PS3 to play Heavy Rain, you need to set time aside in your busy week to do so. I promise you, it will be worth it.

There’s about 40,000 Mario music videos out there, I know. But really, this one is awesomerer than most. In particular when it speeds up (as the timer runs low), and the mosh pit ending.

This guy playing Team Fortress 2 makes Trev look like a saint. Kinda long, but gets pretty damn funny when his teammate goes Medic, and his exit is seriously epic.

Obvious language warning.

Ha.

These are clearly fake, but highly entertaining gamer seeking gamer craigslist ads. The Mario one in particular is quite hilarious. Enjoy.

See the rest right here. (Warning: 1 per page fail.)

Limbo. Like you hoped it wouldn't be.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Activision got their hands on a truly innovative title? If so, you clearly haven’t been paying attention to what they’ve done with the (originally) groundbreaking Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Guitar Hero games. Now, picture an alternate universe where Activision acquires the rights to Limbo. How would they improve it?

Click through to see our very own Trevelyan’s take on that nightmare scenario, on a flash that’s burning up NewGrounds. We’re all very proud of Trev’s work here at SHR!, and it’s great to see him get acclaim for his biting wit and better than average Flash skillz. Check it out!

Limbo 2: The Bar’s Been Lowered [NewGrounds]

Embedded above for your viewing pleasure, the first look at Multiplayer on Treyarch’s Modern Warfare 2 clone. While the apple doesn’t look to have fallen far from the tree, I see an exploding remote controlled car, an exploding crossbow (n00b bow?), and a pretty bitchin tac/ballistic knife. Looks like user edited replays a la Halo 3 are also making an appearance. So, now Trev will be able to finally show us just what that bullshit looks like.

Aside from the RC Car being a bit powerful for a 3-streak, what are your thoughts? These multiplayer vids doing anything for ya?

Photo may not match actual game.

The problem with reviewing Limbo is simply the fact that it’s hard to describe the game without giving away “giant” spoilers. I’ll do my best anyway, so read on to see Loco’s take on this little boy’s adventure.

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First off, a warning: Limbo is short. Depending on how many times you actually die, the game can be as short as 2-3 hours on your first playthrough. A second time around will be much quicker too, as it doesn’t change and you know what to expect. That said however, the first 2o minutes of Limbo is one of the most enthralling experiences you’ll ever play in any video game, and in of itself makes it worth the mildly high price tag.

It’s premise is simple, but vague. You’re a little boy searching for your little sister. That’s it. There’s no narrative or any other explanations. To some this will come as an annoyance, especially at the end of the journey. To others, (myself included) it made this game even better. You interpret your own conclusions to this wild and often horrific journey.

The atmosphere is just amazing.

The trip involves a lot of traps and puzzles, and also some gruesome deaths. Trust me when I say you’re going to die in this game, and it’ll be alot. However the game never gets frustrating due to it’s genius checkpoints. Puzzles range from obvious to genius, with a few frustrating ones thrown in. Not to mention the downright creepy one or two, which as mentioned earlier, can’t really be described without ruining the fun of the first playthrough.

And that pretty much sums up Limbo. It’s a short review because it’s a short simplistic game with a gorgeous atmosphere and moments you’ll be talking about 10 years from now.

Hi Rez: Pretty much said it all in the review.

Low Rez: Some will hate the lack of narrative, probably coulda been 800 points.

Verdict: A must have. Ranks up with Braid as easily one of the best XBLA titles out there.

9.5/10

No Dethklok game? Brutal.

In a move that would likely be described as “The Most Brutal Game Cancellation EVER” by Nathan Explosion, Joystiq is reporting that the Metalocalypse: Dethgame has been… well, killed. Over a year late, it’s not that surprising that the license got yanked away from the developer. Too bad. I would have loved beating a briefcase full of guts over someone’s head. It would have been brutal.

Metalocalypse: Dethgame bangs it’s head no more (Joystiq)

Ugh.

My response:

Yay.

That is all.

Is it ironic when a TV is watching a person? Just throwing that out there.

Well, due to my final push to max out pointlessly on Modern Warfare 2 after 3 “rage retirements“, I completely forgot that this add-on was being released. If you purchased Alan Wake you should have a token available for a free download of the Special Episode 1, which continues the story immediately after episode 6.

If you enjoyed the game, you’ll find plenty more to enjoy here. Full of dialog, cinematic events, and even another music track, the episode is just as lengthy and well-paced as any of the game’s original episodes. I was expecting a half-assed re-cropping of earlier levels, but instead got surprised around every corner, as terrified as ever of the fate of Alan Wake.  I won’t spoil any of the narrative, but it needs to be said: The ending is a gripping as ever, and now we have to wait to see the plot continue.You just have to make it through one incredibly bad Verizon pun at the beginning, and one more glaring shot of how amazing their phones are. Get this add-on, and enjoy! (For renters or tokenless folk, I believe the cost is 500 MS points or so, so there’s no excuse.)