Somewhere around 3:00am on Sunday morning, before the PS3 Fat Meltdown, I finished my initial play through of Heavy Rain.

It’s bloody brilliant.

Let’s start things off with a bit of clarification; Heavy Rain is not what I would call a “game”. It certainly has game elements, but I would definitely classify it more as interactive storytelling. If you’re looking to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, you’ll need to look towards a different game on the local retailer’s rack.

With that out of the way, let’s get to why I love Heavy Rain so much, and why I think that interactive storytelling should be a new staple in every gamer’s diet. Be warned, there’s a very minor spoiler after this jump, but nothing that is experience ruining.

I’ve been a lot of game characters over the years, from Mario, Link, and Sonic to Tommy Vercetti and Kratos. I’ve throughly enjoyed each of these game characters and the game worlds that they inhabit. One thing I’ve never done, however, is actually connected with one of them. I’ve never felt ownership of them and their emotions. When Bowser kidnaps Princess Toadstool I don’t really feel the emotional drive that an Italian plumber must feel to free her from his reptilian grip. When Zeus saps Kratos of his godly powers, I don’t feel motivated to seek revenge. I understand why those characters feel that motivation, but it doesn’t seep into my own emotional range.

Heavy Rain had me assume the role of a father (amongst other characters). I played with my kids in the back yard. I took one of them to the playground and tossed a boomerang around and played on the merry-go-round. I made the decision to do each of these things. The way the controls are constructed made me feel like I was actually taking part in these activities. I didn’t just tap x to throw the boomerang. I had to stop and think about it. Likewise when I showed my son how to do it.

When one of my son’s was kidnapped by a serial killer, I was heartbroken (though I knew it had to be coming). Heavy Rain had sucked me into being attached to him through the aforementioned activities. I was determined to do whatever it took to get him back. The fact that I felt that way is one of the driving forces of the game, and it set me up to have to make some tough choices going forward.

Is it because I myself am a father that I felt this deep connection with this particular character? Probably. Of the main playable characters, he’s the one I most identified with. However, I still made emotional connections with each of the others (except for one, which I, unfortunately, cannot explain any further).

By the time I’d completed Heavy Rain’s story, I felt like I’d taken part in the lives of each of these digital people. It was a deeper connection to a story than I’d ever felt. That’s not to say it’s the best story ever told (it has some serious flaws, which again, sorry to say, I can’t discuss), but it’s the best method for telling a story I’ve ever encountered.

There are apparently 7 different endings possible for Heavy Rain. I’ll be replaying the game to find ways to get each of them. My first play through resulted in the optimal conclusion, but I can see several choices I could have made along the way to substantially alter the narrative.

Back to the statement about Heavy Rain not being a game. It’s not. Several comments have accused it of being one long quick time event. While that’s not entirely accurate (you have freedom of movement for the character much of the time for one thing) it’s about the best comparison that can be made with the current gaming vernacular. However it’s the way these events are mapped to the controls that makes them meaningful. At several points in the game the characters are required to do some difficult tasks or maneuvering. At these points the game requires you to hold certain buttons in sequence, with no indication of what the next button you will need to press and hold is. This results in some serious finger twisting, and connects your frustration with trying to accomplish it with the character’s same difficulties.

Bottom line: If you love the art of storytelling, you need to experience Heavy Rain.