Wired takes a look into what the future evolution of gaming might hold with Heavy Rain. The result is a score of 8/10 being praised for an engrossing story, clever casual controls, and beautiful motion-captured faces, but finds faults with its artificial environments, clunky walking, and fractured ending.

If videogames are to attract an even wider audience, they need to evolve, making gameplay easier and more natural even as storylines become more engaging. Heavy Rain is a big, awkward lurch in the right direction.

An intense, serial-killer mystery in the style of movies like Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs, this PlayStation 3 game boldly merges hard-core production values with casual game design.

The Mature-rated Heavy Rain packs all the trimmings of a game designed for niche hobbyists, from hyper-realistic characters to occasionally gruesome violence. But the gameplay underneath proves as simple as the wrapping is extravagant, making the game an “interactive drama” of interleaved plot points and branching paths that’s simple enough for anyone to play and enjoy.

Lifelong gamers might recoil at the notion, but this gameplay evolution must happen. We’re well into the era of games-for-everyone, where if dinner isn’t on the table it’s because mom is too busy playing FarmVille. But what if she’s in the mood to trade in cartoon cows for adult drama? There’s practically nothing to serve this expanding audience. That’s why games like Heavy Rain are going to be a big part of gaming’s future.

Heavy Rain, which will be released Tuesday in North America, is not perfect. But it’s a successful experiment. And when it’s good, it’s good in ways that traditional games rarely touch.

(Spoiler alert: Minor Heavy Rain spoilers follow.)

ThreeTwoFiveSix via wired.com »