Question: Which Videogames Are The Most Cinematic?
If you've been following coverage from last week's Electronics Entertainment Expo, you'll know that a bunch of impressive footage debuted there. One of the most anticipated games of recent memory is Heavy Rain, which is being developed for the Playstation 3 by Quantic Dream (screenshot above). Heavy Rain has been in development since 2006 and has been the subject of much hype by its developers, who at one point claimed that the game would successfully cross the uncanny valley.
On this past week's Totally Rad Show E3 wrap up (which I highly recommend for anyone with even a passing interest in videogames), Jeff Cannata and Dan Trachtenberg were quite complimentary about what they saw of the game, calling it the equivalent of "playing a cinematic experience":
Here's the 2009 E3 trailer for Heavy Rain:
Whether or not Heavy Rain ends up achieving its goal, it's certainly true that as technology advances, videogame developers will continue to try to replicate cinematic conventions. Heavy Rain is not the only game that tries to do this, although it is perhaps the most ambitious. Other notable favorites from the festival, which almost seem more movie than videogame, include Mass Effect 2, God of War 3, The Last Guardian, and my personal favorite, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves:
All that being said, here's a question for you guys: In your history of videogame playing, which videogames have you found the most cinematic? And perhaps more importantly, what are some of the broader effects of using moviemaking techniques in videogames? Does it enhance your gameplaying experience? Or do you think games should branch out and try to do their own thing, rather than adhere to conventions movie-like conventions including cutscenes, predictable character arcs, etc.?