A movie adaptation of the popular Sony Computer Entertainment video game, Heavy Rain, has been on the way for a little while, and now the project has hired a writer to begin work on the script.

David Milch, the man behind TV shows like NYPD Blue and HBO’s Deadwood, has been brought in to adapt the script for Unique Features and Warner Brothers, who have a first-look deal together.

The game is an impressive achievement, allowing for maximum interactions for players who will do everything from investigating a crime scene or question someone of interest to something as small as opening your car door and putting it in drive. This opens up a whole new level of realism for gamers to experience. But on top of the technical achievements in style and gameplay, Heavy Rain is a truly cinematic experience, making it another that could very well break the curse of video game movies. The other is (maybe?) the Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune movie.

Heavy Rain
Developer: Quantic Dream
Platforms: Playstation 3
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
ESRB: M
Release Date: February 23, 2010

Because the mystery is what makes a large portion of the story enjoyable, I will try and keep spoilers from the main portion of the game to a minimum.

The highly anticipated Heavy Rain has finally arrived. After being touted as a revolutionary step forward in video gaming and spending years in development, the finished product does not disappoint.

The story revolves around four main characters and the investigation into a series of murders in a unspecified neighborhood (though contextual clues imply the setting is near Philadelphia). Over the span of three years, 8 boys disappeared, only to be found several days later, drowned in rain water, with an orchid and an origami figure near their bodies. With no real leads to go on, the police are nowhere near catching the “Origami Killer.”

A majority of the time, especially early on, the player controls Ethan Mars (Pascal Langdale), an average man whose happy married life falls apart after the accidental death of one of his two sons (taking place two years prior to the events of main game). Divorced and having a hard time connecting to his living son, Shaun, Mars suffers from blackouts and depression, made worse when Shaun disappears and is feared to be the next victim of the Origami Killer.