LogFAQs > #941699912

LinkMarioSamus posted...

A deleted plot element involved Ethan developing a psychic link with the Origami Killer, who was present when Jason died, thus explaining Ethan's blackouts. This was removed because the developers thought it was too ridiculous, but it was too late in production to re-write the script in turn.

That definitely would have been a little absurd. I'm not sure it would've been totally out of place for me, alongside the over the top fight scenes.

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I picked up at one of the most well-regarded scenes in the game, which is Ethan's third trial. The challenge is this: he has five minutes to cut his own finger off in front of the camera. It's definitely an intense scene, and it does make good use of the medium for once by forcing the player to go through with it. It's kind of reminiscent of certain scenes in Telltale's Walking Dead or even MGS3 in that way. Now, I mentioned before that Ethan can find Shaun without passing every trial, and that invites players to try for a truly perfect ending where not only does everyone survive, but Ethan gets to keep all his fingers. Personally though I tried to reduce the meta-gaming and chopped off his pinky.

In the next scene you play as Madison. The police have found Ethan's car outside of the apartment where he chopped his finger off and are about to arrest him, and as Madison you can help him get away. I'm pretty sure this is an example of how David Cage fails to understand which of his characters have access to what information, because I don't remember it being established that Madison knew where Ethan was or that the police were about to arrest him. Maybe she could've found his origami figures - it is possible to inspect the box when you're playing as her earlier, but she doesn't unfold the figures or anything. In any case, you go through some QTEs to drag Ethan through a subway station and give the fuzz the slip, while he practically bleeds out from his freshly mutilated extremity. This scene in particular is repeated almost verbatim in Detroit!

Incidentally, I re-watched parts of the old Wifestream playthrough, which is notable because it gives you some insight into how a more inept playthrough of Heavy Rain proceeds. It's actually possible to fuck up this escape sequence and get Ethan arrested, in which case Norman, who doesn't think he's the Origami Killer, will bust him out. This is one of the more ridiculous things to happen in the game, both in terms of Norman's motivation for taking on such huge risks to his career to do it and in terms of how it actually plays out. Ethan basically puts on a police poncho and walks out of the crowded precinct without being noticed! Likewise, I don't think there's enough reason for Madison to aid a fugitive like this. Her nursing Ethan back to health I can buy as the act of a good samaritan, but this is a little bit much, especially since she still helps Ethan when he confesses to being the Origami Killer, since the case for that is supposedly so convincing that even Ethan himself believes it.

But in my version of the story, Ethan gets away and the police have the media announce that he's a serial killer at large, but Norman still doesn't believe it and wants to hunt down the real murderer. He finds some security camera footage of a car that matches the tires tracks he found at the last crime scene, and connects that car to a shady salesman named Mad Jack, who he goes to interrogate.

Scott goes to visit an old friend who runs an antique shop, and asks him about the font on the envelope Lauren received from the Origami Killer. The guy identifies it and goes to get a list of clients who have either purchased or paid for repairs to the model of typewriter it matches, but while Scott and Lauren wait for him the Origami Killer busts in and murders him. Scott doesn't want to waste time explaining things to the police when Shaun's time is ticking away, so he wipes down everything he's touched since he came in and books it. That is kind of a nice idea for a setpiece in a game like this, but the scene is also notoriously illogical when you know the Killer's identity. Scott could have avoided the need for this murder by just refraining from mentioning the type as a clue to Lauren, who wouldn't have known better, and the time frame of the scene makes no sense. There are a few seconds worth of shots of Lauren looking at a music box, and we're supposed to believe that in this time Scott could walk across the building, murder the antique dealer, call the cops, and then walk back. That's to say nothing of how off his thoughts are if you press L2 and listen to them.

I apparently wiped everything down, but if you do mess up there's a short scene of a policeman telling Scott not to leave town and then letting him go free.

Ethan's next trial involves killing a man. He's a dealer, and after Ethan pulls a pistol on him he knocks the gun away and then retaliates with a big ass shotgun. Very American scene. You can fail to get the clue by messing up the QTEs in the resultant fight scene, in which case the guy will just throw you out after missing several shotgun blasts, and you can also choose to spare him, which I ultimately did. Looks like I'll have to guess the position of a few letters in the endgame.

Madison pays a visit to the owner of the apartment where Ethan cut his finger off, as a possible connection to the real Origami Killer. I don't know how she learned who that was as a photographer with no connections, but I won't fault the game too much for that because it probably would be possible. The guy offers her a drink which he unsurprisingly drugs and then ties her up and tries to murder her with a power drill to the crotch. Starting to see where some of the sexualization complaints come from here. Keep in mind that he admits he doesn't know anything about the renter or what he's up to. This guy is just a random unrelated psychopath. Madison manages to struggle out of her bonds while the guy deals with a convenient religious door to door solicitor, and then overpowers him and terminates him with his own would be murder weapon, after which she robs his house for clues.

In a similar scene, Norman goes to talk to his car thief lead, finds out that the killer's car has been here and that Mad Jack has been murdering cops and dissolving their bodies in acid, and then has to fight him to the death after his withdrawals kick in very inconveniently during the middle of him arresting the guy. As much of a prick as Blake is, Norman probably should have brought him along for backup. This just might be the most over the top fight scene yet, with Norman busting his way out of a car as Mad Jack drops it into a mechanical grinder by forklift, followed by a wrestling match to try and knock each other over such that the loser gets crushed under the forklift's treads, which Norman ultimately wins, though it is possible for him to croak here if you mess up the button prompts.

Finally, Lauren took a list of customers from the antique shop and checks it against subscribers to an origami magazine, and the one match belongs to a John Sheppard, who died at ten (I could've sworn he lived to adulthood and saved humanity from the reapers, but I might have him confused with someone else.) They visit the kid's grave and learn from a caretaker that his brother watched him drown after an accident at play in a building site, a strong indication that he grew up to be the Origami Killer. As they leave, Scott notices the rich guy he played Golf with earlier leaving flowers at John's grave.

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I'm playing every game from GotD 2020! Games Completed: 4/129
Currently Playing: Heavy Rain