autaku

One of the main factors in my decision to buy a PS3 earlier this year was the impending release of exclusive title Heavy Rain, so it was with great excitement that I received my copy of the collector’s edition today. The game – when it’s being called a video game, at least – has generated a fair bit of interest due to developer Qauntic Dream’s focus on creating realistic “digital actors” and the somewhat unconventional approach to gameplay. Perhaps more appropriately called an interactive movie, Heavy Rain tells the story of four people investigating a criminal known as the Origami Killer. The collector’s edition – available in Europe, the UK and Australia – includes a code for the game’s first downloadable episode (which will be available as paid content at a later date), a dynamic XMB theme and an “official” soundtrack (would any other kind come with the game itself?). Like the recently released collector’s edition for Mass Effect 2, this package is relatively light on features but strong on presentation and appropriately priced. Read on for a closer look at the content.

The collector’s edition comes in a cardboard slipcase featuring the same cover art as the regular PAL version of the game (the US and Japanese covers are different, though Sony has essentially recognised the PAL cover’s superiority over those by offering it as a download). Aside from not being a regular PS3 game case, there’s another difference to the collector’s edition packaging that you’ve no doubt noticed above: it has this 3D rain effect all over the front, and it actually looks pretty good. It definitely looks better from certain angles and under certain lighting, but in general it has a fairly natural look and is a nice touch.

Inside the slipcase is a cardboard fold-out that features artwork of Heavy Rain‘s protagonist with a strong origami motif, as well as housing the game disc, manual, download code flyer and a piece of paper with blood and scrawled writing printed on it. Even if you’re not a seasoned origami folder (is that the correct phrase for such a person?) it’s probably fairly obvious what that last item is for thanks to the origami theme running throughout both the game and this packaging. It may seem like a strange inclusion, but its purpose and the placement of the instructions are quite ingenious – I’ll get to that in a bit.

Another unusual feature of this package is the form factor of the manual: it’s a fold-out pamphlet rather than the standard booklet. It does cover all the usual information – the basics of gameplay, controls, and all that legal and support stuff – but is fairly spartan due to the nature of Heavy Rain‘s gameplay. Like most game manuals these days it’s fairly inconsequential – it doesn’t seem like there’s much in there you won’t pick up from a few minutes with the game – but it’s well-presented and fits very well with the aesthetic of the collector’s edition as a whole.

The foldout even has a wet sort of texture, as though it was in someone’s pocket as they were caught in the rain and then dried out. I think I’m realising more and more as I write these collector’s edition reviews how much I appreciate little touches like this. For a lot of people, the packaging a game comes in is just that: something inconsequential that’s holding the real prize. I do agree with that mentality to a large extent, but when I shell out a bit extra for a collector’s edition it is nice to get more thoughtful packaging as well as some extra content. I’m not sure if the standard editions include the foldout or a booklet, though I suspect all versions will have the foldout. If not, that’s quite a commitment to differentiating the collector’s edition, however trivial a difference it may be.

Upon loading up Heavy Rain for the first time, you’ll be greeted by an install screen with a difference. It’s time to grab that seemingly useless square of paper, because during the game’s install you’ll be given instructions on how to fold it into what you see on the game’s cover. Thankfully, progression from one instruction to the next is entirely manual so you can work at your own pace, and I found that I finished up with the origami almost exactly as the game finished installing. I do have some experience with origami, but this particular piece is quite simple and the instructions are very clear so I can’t imagine anyone having too much trouble with it. Make sure you position that striped square correctly (as seen in the bottom right corner above) to get all the printing in the right spots in the end.

It’s not exactly a prime display piece, but that’s not really its purpose. As a means of distracting you from the install process, it’s a welcome and very well-implemented inclusion that keeps you engaged with the game while a white bar slowly fills. I’m not saying all games should start including arts and crafts to mask install times, but in this case it’s entirely relevant and other developers could certainly follow the basic principle behind it, if not the methodology.

The included extra game content is called Heavy Rain Chronicles 1: The Taxidermist. It’ll be available as a paid download at some point, but the code included in this collector’s edition will give you free and instant access to download it (it’s a little over 1GB). It takes place prior to the events of the main story, so I decided to play it before starting the game proper and it was certainly an effective introduction. I don’t really want to make judgements on Heavy Rain as a whole based on this episode, but it has me very excited to get into the main story. A single play-through of The Taxidermist takes about half an hour from start to finish – less if you rush – but it’s well worth replaying to see all the possible outcomes; I spent around two hours with it and still had one ending unchecked on the completion menu. I highly recommend playing through The Taxidermist – whether you get a code with your copy of the game or not – and look forward to the rest of the Chronicles.

If there’s one downside to this collector’s edition, it’s that the soundtrack listed on the back of the packaging is nowhere to be found. A quick Google search has led me to believe that it was planned to be a download via the Playstation Network but has yet to be added to the store. That would make sense, as both the extra game content and the XMB theme were accessed using the same code.  A 16-track soundtrack for Heavy Rain (including a digital booklet) is currently available on iTunes, so here’s hoping that collector’s edition owners are given something similar (at the very least, I’ll need to be able to get it off the PS3 and onto something more conducive to proper listening). It seems like very poor form for that content to not be available on day one, but provided it’s rectified in a timely fashion it’s not a huge issue in the long run.

Missing soundtrack aside, this is a fairly pleasing collector’s edition: it’s very nicely packaged and the extra game content is highly recommended. If the soundtrack situation is rectified with something on par with what’s available on iTunes, I won’t have any issues with the value on offer given my excitement for the game itself. Given that The Taxidermist – the main attraction - will be available as a paid download this collector’s edition is hardly essential, but it’s a nice enough package to not be redundant either. If you’ve been hanging out for Heavy Rain with as much anticipation as I have, it’s a worthwhile consideration.