Thursday, February 11th, Playstation 3 owners will have access to a demo of Heavy Rain via the Playstation Network. The demo contains two scenarios. The first, a brief encounter with Scott Shelby, a grizzled Private Detective straight out of Raymond Chandler. The second stars Norman Jayden, an FBI agent with a penchant for using drugs and futuristic investigative gadgetry. Having played through the demo I can safely say my interest in this game has definitely been piqued.

The game is, in a word, gorgeous. Environments are detailed and carry a weight of authenticity. There’s a layer of grime that permeates this world and makes it wholly believable. Likewise, the character models are incredibly lifelike. Great graphics are one thing but the story is what really drives the game forward. Despite the fact that the demo moves scenes out of context, the narrative is still there and, like a good book, I’m excited to curl up with this game, maybe on a rainy weekend, and just get completely absorbed by it. The demo does, however, bring about a few concerns.

As I played through the Scott Shelby scenario, questioning a prostitute regarding the death of her son, I became aware of a few of Heavy Rain’s quirks. First, the controls. While fans of Quantic Dream’s previous work, Indigo Prophecy (Farenheit in Europe) will be familiar with the QTE-like (Quick Time Event) contextual controls, my gripes came from moving the characters through the environment. Since many of the context-sensitive motions are done via the right analog stick, the developers have made the R2 button an all-purpose ‘move forward button’. The direction of the character is determined by the left analog stick. It feels clunky and while I understand the developer’s decision to do it, it’s something I know I’ll have get used to.

Another issue I had was in regards to the voice acting. Quantic Dream is based in France and the voice work proves it as many of the actors are clearly French people doing their best to sound American. In a game with such cinematic flair, it took me out of the experience to hear French voice actors doing their best to cover up an accent. It just doesn’t always sound like an authentic American voice. It’s certainly not a deal breaker. In fact, the game has options to play it entirely in French. I took the French audio for a spin, turned on the English subtitles, and played the demo as I imagine many people at Quantic Dream might. It was certainly enjoyable and worth a try for curiosity’s sake if not for anything else.

In the end, these issues are likely to be very minor ones. The game, as a whole, is attempting to movie the medium into a new direction. While I won’t know for sure until I sit down and play the whole thing, it’s safe to say this demo has made me eager to find out what happens next. Expect a full review when Heavy Rain releases exclusively for the Playstation 3 on February 23rd, 2010.

The full version of the game is due to be released later this fall, and can now be pre-ordered directly from the Machinariun Website.