This blog is about Heavy Rain, but it's spoiler free!
There are all kinds of different ways to control a game. With all the triggers, buttons, analog sticks, motion controllers, and d-pads, we've gotten used to the various ways developers give us control over their worlds. Heavy Rain creators Quantic Dream chose to use the familiar QTE timed button press framework for its new adventure title. While some may think that it doesn't deliver enough action, I disagree.
Heavy Rain's uses timed button presses and contextual commands as the crux of its control scheme. This utilizes the PS3 controller to the maximum, from Sixaxis motion controls to the analog face buttons, covering all sorts of actions, whether that's opening the fridge or punching somebody in the face. In a video game world filled with complex control schemes and multi-combo, high-octane thrill kill sequences, Heavy Rain's control scheme and QTEs in particular may seem quaint. But in my short time with the game, I've already felt like my PS3 controller was a key part of how to experience the title. And as far as control schemes go, you can't ask for more than that.
In an early fight in Heavy Rain, I was battling with some thug, dodging fists and flying chairs, struggling to break strangleholds, and striking when he was vulnerable. Afterwords, I was personally relieved. It was a tough fight, and the tension of the situation was thoroughly conveyed to me as a player. Had I played that battle with a conventional control scheme, it probably wouldn't have been as intense – I likely would have easily mashed some buttons and come out victorious. In that case, who's to argue that one kind of button or trigger or bumper press is more "representative" of action than another? Hell, when you break it down, it's all just inputs on a plastic controller regardless, no matter how real you think it is.
I understand that fights are not just about physically pressing buttons, that traditional action games let you choose the timing and sequence of your actions. That kind of freedom is certainly something you don't get from Heavy Rain's QTE system where you only push buttons when prompted. But it's not like the combat in your average game isn't without its breaks in realism, freedom, and responsiveness. Given how even triple-A titles like Assassin's Creed II can make a hash of its own combat mechanics – no matter how many buttons or systems it gives you – I think that there's no one control scheme that's necessarily better in conveying action than another.
Of course, I'm not advocating that everyone put QTEs into their games or get by with whatever just because it's all just pushing plastic buttons, but there are certainly many ways to engage with the player. And Heavy Rain certainly does that.