In both Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain, Quantic Dream succeeded in creating a narrative-based experience with gameplay that was somehow both simplistic yet in depth. With two critically acclaimed titles under his belt, founder David Cage and his dedicated team at the small developer were bound to press on and continue working on their formulas, tweaking the (minor) flaws in the companies most recent success, Heavy Rain. At E3 2012, Quantic Dream pulled something from the depths of development that could top everything that the story of the Origami Killer brought to the Playstation 3.
The reveal started with an areal view of a police officer and an apparent victim. When the victim’s face is shown, the familiarity of the digital person is rather eerie. The boyish crew cut does nothing to hide the fact that the victim being interrogated is the video game iteration of actress Ellen Paige. Lending both her likeness and voice to Beyond’s 15 year old Jodie Holmes, Paige portrays one of the two protagonists found within Quantic Dream’s next foray into the realm of narrative-based gaming. Heavy Rain relied heavily on stringing quicktime events together, a method of gaming that, while looked down upon by some, Quantic Dream has no intention of leaving behind.
Beyond: Two Souls’ reveal at E3 did little to explain exactly what’s going on at the stories open. All that can be figured is that Jodie Holmes is far more than just a regular teenager, as the SWAT team has a keen interest in her and she has a supernatural companion known as Aiden watching over her. Two days after Quantic Dream’s reveal, the developer gave a look at a 23 minute gameplay segment that explained a little more about the relationship between Jodie and Aiden and the ethereal forms purpose in the young girl’s adventure.
The gameplay segment has the player controlling the spiritual Aiden as he (she/it) explores a train that Jodie is resting peacefully on. If anything is to be learned from the developers past, it’s that the peace isn’t kept for too long. Aiden witnesses a duo of cops checking identification and the immediate concern goes from exploring the area to warning the sleeping heroin. The player focuses back on Jodie and is given options via a sparkling line. One line, which is yellow, connects to environmental pieces or characters that can either be manipulated or possessed. In this scenario, Aiden flings a water bottle at Jodie, waking her up just in time for things to get hairy.
If this segment is to show anything, it’s that Jodie, while only a teenager, is quite the action hero. Fending off cops left and right, she jumps from the roof of the moving train, only to find herself facing off against a a pack of vicious police dogs. The next portion shows off where Beyond differs from Heavy Rain. Taking control of Aiden, the player must help Jodie make it past a police blockade. Doing what ghosts do best, the supernatural entity possesses a lone officer, forcing him to act as a distraction by driving erratically. Jodie escapes the roadblock with the help of her spiritual guide, but finds herself in dire straits when a SWAT team blows out the tires to her procured motorcycle.
What happens next only further supports just how awesome Quantic Dream can be. As Jodie finds herself hiding behind a vehicle with a rather nasty looking leg, Aiden works his magic in the playground of controllable SWAT officers. From forcing a sniper to take out a few of his buddies to blowing up a gas station with another officer’s grenade, Aiden’s power seems extensive – so much so that he can take down a clock tower and break open doors with no effort. The scene comes to its climax as Aiden takes down a hovering helicopter by possessing its pilot.
The mayhem found in this measly 23 minute long clip is just a fraction of what Beyond: Two Souls has in store. From the tactical style that controlling Aiden brings to the heavy story that any Quantic Dream game promises, Beyond could easily be the developers next greatest installment in the world of gaming.
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