"Heavy Rain" ducked out of the glut of big-name holiday releases in 2009, and Sony has now officially selected its arrival date following the delay. The Quantic Dream title will come to North America on February 23, launching what Sony hopes will become a breakout exclusive for the PS3.
"Heavy Rain" showed up on the PSN's Qore program with a February 16 releases date, but the real date is February 23, and that date is set in stone, according to the official PlayStation blog. The game is currently available for pre-orders from various retailers with free first chapters of “Heavy Rain: Chronicle One – The Taxidermist” thrown in as an incentive.
The heavily nuanced approach to gaming that Quantic Dream co-CEO David Cage plans on unveiling with "Heavy Rain" will introduce a Choose Your Own Adventure-styled format with with heavy amounts of mystery and violence -- perhaps even enough violence to earn comparisons with "Modern Warfare 2."
A European release will follow on February 24 with the UK and Ireland getting "Heavy Rain" on February 26, according to the European PlayStation blog.
What are your initial impressions of "Heavy Rain"? Are you interested to see how well Cage's concept works on the PS3? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.