We are big fans of the Headcase Games blog, especially their often updated retro games reviews. Instead of blatantly ripping off that idea, we thought we'd start blogging about the games we play, so you get an insight into what we enjoy in games ourselves, and what we do with our time when we're not developing our own stuff. Despite having a rather strict, casual-based theoretical direction with our own games, our own tastes are quite eclectic, I think you'll find.

Heavy Rain (PS3)

Paul: I've spent a few nights immersed in a world of child abduction, private dicks and drug addicted FBI agents. The game seems to start slow, and I assumed this was to show you the basic gameplay mechanics, but after a while of blindly following instructions I found the world to be filled with details relating not only to the story and it made me realize that I am not just playing a game where all I have to do is get to the end. It is so much more.

This game really shines when you explore each character's lives, carefully consider all the possibilities, and have to make tough decisions that you would never EVER want to have to make in real life. You are free to go back and replay chapters as you progress but I highly recommend you don't do this on your first run through. Invest in your decisions instead of backtracking whenever you think you made a wrong choice. Don't let your pride as a gamer stop you from lowering the difficulty level. I also recommend going back and seeing some of the other endings, although some of the hardest and most tense moments for me were letting bad things happen to the characters so I could explore other story paths.

James: I have to admit, it took me a while to convince myself I liked this game. The demo and the opening hours of the full game still found me dubious, but before I realised I was sucked in until I finished it. It certainly had some tense moments, even deeply sad ones, that left me a little depressed. And though I am still unconvinced of the plot itself, especially the payoff, and I did feel a little ridiculous sometimes controlling the characters, it is undeniably an amazing game with awesome production values, an astounding achievement that everyone really should try out! Visually it was stunning and this is the closest we've ever seen to that "interactive movie" Holy Grail. If you're not going to play it yourself, then at least try to watch someone else play it; you owe it to yourself to see this game!

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