A serial killer who preys on young boys in public spaces is still at large. The police have made no progress in their investigation and now another child has gone missing. Can anyone uncover the infamous Origami Killer and save the child from a watery grave?

Despite being released almost two years ago, Heavy Rain is still one of the definitive titles for the PS3. It has been re-released twice, first as a Director’s Cut and then as a PS3 Greatest Hits title. There is a great reason for its unique position in video game culture: it’s just that good.

Heavy Rain is an interactive noir-styled thriller with four different playable characters. You play as Ethan Mars (the father of the missing boy), Scott Shelby (a private detective investigating the Origami Killer), Norman Jader (a high tech FBI agent), and Madison Paige (a woman pulled into the case by chance). Each character is faced with a different set of circumstances that offer new challenges with each perspective shift.

The controls are what make Heavy Rain so strong. This is not the first reactive video game ever made. This “respond to onscreen commands” style has been used in other games. However, I cannot think of another game where–walking aside–that is the entirety of the control scheme. To do anything–even drink a glass of orange juice or open a door–you have to follow a series of command prompts on the screen.

The result is a game that feels wholly interactive. You become the characters and struggle as they struggle. Sure, spending two minutes of in game time to make scrambled eggs might seem absurd on paper, but you really do become obsessed with getting everything right. If you don’t, the more challenging tasks involving six or more buttons pressed in perfect sequence with motion controls might not go so well later on.

Heavy Rain’s story is the perfect venue for this control system. What better place to require precision than the high stakes search for a precision serial killer? Much like the Origami Killer cannot afford to slip up in his morbid game of drowning children in rain water, the four would-be investigators cannot afford to bumble their way through a wide investigation. What you do early in the game with these characters can have dire consequences for later stages.

Let’s look at Agent Norman Jader as an example. Jader is addicted to a drug called triptocaine. The first time he mentions needing the drug, it looks like he will pass out and die without it. He has the choice of stumbling into the bathroom to regain his composure or taking a tiny dose of it. In a cruel twist, you do not know this is an illicit substance when the game begins. How you handle this first encounter with triptocaine will impact Jader’s behavior and ability to function throughout the game. Do you give in just this once to take the edge off or stand strong and let him go into withdrawals in the hope of getting it out of his system?

Heavy Rain is filled with these seemingly minor decisions. What difference could it make if Ethan Mars doesn’t work at home on the day of his older son’s birthday? Who cares if Detective Shelby intervenes in a domestic dispute? How could calling a hospital to send help for a stranger alter the course of Madison Paige’s life? Some of these choices make minor differences in the gameplay, while others change the timeline of the game so you can’t possibly win.

Heavy Rain is not about winning or losing. It’s about the experience. Chances are you will not get four out of four ideal endings your first time through. There are just so many variables that can make or break the case that don’t seem all that important.

The draw of Heavy Rain is the style of gameplay. You can always do better. You can always choose another way to handle a conversation or another series of actions to take. Once you know the gist of the story, the variations become the draw. You can choose to speed through characters you don’t like in favor of fully exhausting the more engaging interactions. You can play around with purposely failing key objectives to see if you can still resolve the story or not. The replay value is high because of the level of depth in the gameplay. I doubt that you could play the game the same way twice even if you tried.

Heavy Rain is a must have title for the PS3. The violence and mature content are secondary to the engaging gameplay and taut thriller storyline. Once you get going on a run-through, it’s hard to pull yourself away. It’s simply an engaging experience that clicks as soon as the controller is in your hands.

Thoughts? Love to hear them.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land is the first time in a long time that a Kirby game feels like the classic Game Boy games. You jump, float, swallow, transform, and fight your way through detailed side-scrolling environments. The latest Kirby sequel wisely forgoes the control gimmicks that made Kirby’s Epic Yarn on the Nintendo Wii feel haphazard.

It’s very telling that the best platformers on the Nintendo Wii make minimal use of the motion controls that became the calling card of the system. Like New Super Mario Bros. and Metroid Other M, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land uses the Wiimote sideways. Essentially, it uses typical NES controls. There’s a reason why gamers were satisfied for so long with two buttons and a D-pad: it’s all you need for side-scrolling games.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land plays like Hal Laboratory wanted to introduce Kirby to a new audience. It’s very easy. Kirby gets a unique ability from most of the enemies on the screen, from a supercharged sword to a magical staff. The variety of weaponry almost makes up for how it’s just too easy to force your way past enemies. The only time strategy comes into play is deciding whether to jump over one enemy to get to another.

Thankfully, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land is not long enough to overstay its welcome. The replay value comes from the excellent multiplayer mode. Up to four players can play at the same time using a combination of Kirbys, King Dedede, Waddle Dee, and Metaknight to get through the levels. Only Kirby can swallow enemies, but each additional character has its own strengths and weaknesses. Metaknight is good for fighting and King Dedede is good for destroying large obstacles. The characters can also climb on top of each other to get through trickier platforming areas and they share a pool of extra lives.

The game tilts its hand too often to the advantage of the player. You are fed information as to what power-up you need most in each level. It will either appear as an option to swallow at the end of the previous level or appear as an easy to grab boxed power-up at the start of a level. The appropriate power-up is also the only option before a boss stage. If you have that, you can spam your attack and kill the boss in seconds. Otherwise, you’ll just have to go through one or two cycles of attacks with Kirby’s regular abilities.

You’ll get the most mileage out of the game by inviting friends over for the multiplayer mode. It will only take a few hours to beat the whole game with help and everyone will have a job to play. You can trade off characters, create your own rules of who can do what, and add some much needed challenge through your own limitations. The controls are tight and easy enough that anyone, regardless of experience, can hop in for a few stages.

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land is an enjoyable platformer, but is probably best enjoyed as a rental. There’s just not enough game here to keep going back on your own and there are other multiplayer games that can better hold your friends’ interest in the long run. Only the die-hard Kirby/old-school platformer fans should feel the need to invest in their own copy.

Thoughts? Love to hear them.