This is an action game in which players assume the role of Jodie Holmes and her invisible companion "Aiden" through fifteen years of Jodie's life. From a third-person perspective, players control Jodie through fully interactive environments, choosing a variety of action-, dialogue-, and decision-paths based on on-screen prompts. Some choices can lead to depictions of violence: Jodie attacking assailants with punches, kicks, and various objects (e.g., tree branches and knives; impaling an enemy with a pipe). As the character Aiden, players solve puzzles, manipulate objects and attack (e.g., strangulation) Jodie's assailants. Players can also use Aiden to possess enemies and perform violent acts (e.g., shooting fellow SWAT members; crashing vehicles; performing self-inflicted gunshot wounds). Some of these sequences are accompanied by blood-splatter effects. In one cutscene, a bound character's eye is cut out during an interrogation—the act is obscured by a character's back. One prolonged bar sequence depicts three men attempting to rape a woman; players control Aiden and interact with objects to stop the assailants. Another sequence depicts a character propositioning a woman to perform fellatio. The game includes depictions of the central character drinking beer and smoking a marijuana in a party setting – screen distortion occurs during theses sequences. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” can be heard in the dialogue.
After finishing Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain [HEAVY RAIN 心の軋むとき], I got into their next title the following day and finished it within two sittings.
This game puts the gamer in Jodie's (voiced by Ellen Page) shoes through flashbacks as a young child, a teen and a young woman in the present. While the story isn't difficult to follow, the fact that her life isn't presented in order does make it a touch confusing at times. The story is very basically about Jodie's supernatural gift, her struggle with it and the C.I.A.'s interest in her gift. The plot also features some Terminator and weapons of mass destruction themes - America has what other countries cannot.
This game didn't receive the critical acclaim of Heavy Rain for some reasons that I don't agree with, Some claim that it isn't interactive enough and that it is Heavy Rain part 2... This isn't like FIFA 2001 to FIFA 2002. The difference is more than enough. Heavy Rain probably gives the player more choices at times, but it also doesn't feature something like Aiden who adds a lot to the game.
My main issues are that as mentioned the way the game plays out of sequence is a tad confusing, and while still emotive-I chose the revenge option whenever I could for people who did Jodie wrong-it isn't quite as compelling as the mystery in Heavy Rain. Some problems though have been addressed from Heavy Rain. The characters' movement isn't as awkward-although I'd still like the option to run at times-the prompts to make choices are more easily recognisable as well, there's also more to it to being a longer game offering a wider variety of environments to play in.
Gameplay 4/5
Graphics 5/5
Sound 5/5
Difficulty 5/5
Originality 4/5
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