Ashley young:Heavy Rain was a great experience. One that I've never had delivered by a videogame before. It presented a cinematic style of gameplay that was both intensely hardcore, yet accessible for non-gamers. It was one of the first games where my girlfriend was actually interested in the plotline. And it was the only game that she actually thought she could play by herself on the easiest setting and be able to make it all the way through. Heavy Rain is special for a lot of reasons, but to me, that rises above the rest.

And the acting is the best I've seen in videogames (sorry Mass Effect) thanks to the technology that was used to convey the actors' wide range of emotions. There are still plenty of moments where the drama falls flat, but by and large what you see on-screen is very believable and, perhaps more importantly, very primal. Every emotion feels relatable, even if the situation is far from it. And while I do hear what some are saying about the lack of imagination in the gameplay, it's presented so well I forgot all about it.

Gareth magee: I haven't finished Heavy Rain yet, but I got about three-fifths of the way through before giving up the copy I was using to one of our guides freelancers. In that time, I came to a pretty straight-forward conclusion about the game: Heavy Rain is phenomenal. And I've reached that conclusion without seeing any of the game's myriad endings, which are supposed to turn the story on its head and strike gamers at their very cores.

Heavy Rain is so well-put-together and finely produced that it's guaranteed to suck in even the most skeptical PS3 owners right off the bat. It's an adventure game at heart -- there's no doubt about that -- but don't let that turn you off. While the adventure genre has been effectively dead on consoles for a very, very long time, Heavy Rain puts a new spin on things. This is no point-and-click, read-read-read bore-fest. Heavy Rain exemplifies what adventure gaming should be in 2010.

It's hard to talk too much about the game without giving any plot points away, so I'll keep things brief and to the point. Atmosphere and ambience make all the difference in Heavy Rain. Quicktime events are artfully done and, at times, are authentically difficult (especially if you're playing through on the hardest difficulty like I am). The story is so artfully told that no matter what happens in the game, no matter what you do, what you succeed in or fail at, the story keeps on trucking. You'll fall for Heavy Rain's characters, the trauma in the game, the sadness that envelops everything. Heavy Rain is a gamer's game, through and through.

All I know is that I can't wait to get back to Heavy Rain (and granted, having an early copy of Mega Man 10 has made that nearly impossible for me.) And for those of you who haven't tried it yet, do what I did. Try playing the game lying down. Then, see how quickly you're jostled to your feet by what's happening in the game, the suddenness of a key quicktime event or the sadness invoked by a terrible plot twist. Heavy Rain does what few games can do, and that's why it's a must-play for anyone with a PlayStation 3. It sucks you in and won't let you go. And chances are, you've never played a game like it before.