trivard676We’ll be the first to admit that Heavy Rain doesn’t exactly fit the horror bill. What it is however, is a game unlike any others in recent memory (save maybe Quantic Dream’s previous effort) that is sure to tug at your nerves whether you’re a parent or not. The thought of losing someone close to us at the hands of a deranged killer is one that not too many of us like to think about, let alone have to endure for a few hours. But Quantic Dream drew us in with Heavy Rain and gave us an experience with this psychological thriller that’s going to be tough to beat.
Even then, we’ll concede that there were a few glaring plot holes in the final release of the game. Why did Ethan suffer from blackouts and wake up with an Origami figure in his hand? Why did Madison react the way she did in the hospital room? Quantic Dream has no doubt heard of the complaints players have had regarding these plot holes and have finally come up with an answer–they were in the deleted scenes. Take a look at the video containing several deleted scenes from Heavy Rain. The video is available on PSN if you’d like to take a look at it in high-def…or on a larger screen.
By the way, this article and the video suffer from a massive case of SPOILERS.
Now some of these scenes don’t need much explanation. You didn’t exactly need to see that clip to know that Scott killed his mother – how else would he have gotten the picture that she had? Unless it was a duplicate (doubtful). He looks back at her as he leaves, and she’s not moving, just sitting there, after having previously complained that he never came to visit.
Part of us wishes that Ethan’s blackout scenes had been left in the game. It appears that they’re surreal and have almost a sort of Alan Wake feel to them with things floating around…but it’s in water, a central theme of the game, right? The whole psychic friends connection didn’t jive well with us though – finding that out at the end of the game really would have been a major blow to what credibility the story had at all. Maybe if Ethan had subconsciously overheard someone speaking of Origami and locked it deep in his subconscious? That would have made a touch more sense. Still, we really would have liked to have seen the water flooding his rental unit. And the park. Like in The Shining, except…clear.
The huge chunk taken away from Madison really took away from her backstory, and that’s a shame. It’s clear (at least in North American markets, anyway) that Madison was a huge sell factor for the game. From the cover art alone it would appear that she was the main protagonist the whole time. Regardless, Madison is one of the more interesting characters, and she didn’t have much of a back story. Having PTSD, she might have been able to relate better with Ethan. Alas it’s just something that was left on the cutting room floor. The whole ‘office’ thing might have explained why she reacted so strangely at the end of the hospital scene. But like a lot of good friends, we’d pass when it came time to re-arranging her apartment.
So what do you think? Would you rather have played the game with these scenes left in tact, or is the game better off without them?
–jeeves86
