Do you know what I love most about video games? The capacity to tell a good story. While this may not be the emphasis of many games, the ones that still tell a good story don't allow the story to take center stage. The problem with games that let the story take center stage is that they end up rather boring because you are watching cut scene after cut scene. There has to be a way to make story in video games compelling right? Enter Heavy Rain.

Heavy Rain is is a game unlike any other in existence right now. The most common title attached to this game is "Interactive Cinema." I resent the title interactive cinema a bit because it makes it sound like a glorified choose your own adventure book, but this is so much more. The story centers around the murders of the Origami Killer and it is your job to figure out just what is going on. In Heavy Rain, you go through three main modes of gameplay:

1. Walking around and interacting with objects/people.
2. Responding to actions in Quick Time Events (these aren't you mamma's quick time events, more on this later).
3. Piecing together clues that you collect from crime scenes.

It is the way that these controls are implemented that make this shine like no other game before it. Every action that you do makes you feel like the person on the screen and usually conveys what you are watching. The best example of this is when you are crawling through electric wiring. The game actually makes you contort your hand on the controller, helping emulate that, "Oh shit, I hope I don't electrocute myself," feeling. There are many times when the game makes you choose something in the moment, and those major, yet spontaneous decisions, will greatly impact the story you tell.

Normally Quick Time Events in the past have just been simple presses of a button to keep you engaged in a cut scene. While this is what you do in Heavy Rain, it never feels silly. That's because if you miss a button press, you don't "lose." Instead the scene adapts. Sometimes this adaptation is minor (you miss a punch) or sometimes it is dire (you end up shooting down an innocent civilian). All of these variations on the story effect the greater narrative.

This is perhaps the genius of the game. Your story is unlike anybody else's story. That's because there are no game overs or restarts in the game. If something goes wrong, you just have to adapt and if you die, then the greater story continues through the eyes of another character. Based on the choices you make (both small and large), you will experience something entirely different. It really makes it feel like your story.

This is perhaps another unique element of Heavy Rain. You are playing this game through the eyes of four characters, Ethan, Jayden, Madison, and Scott. All of these characters have their own prerogative in trying to catch the Origami Killer and it is interesting to see how their stories interweave (think "Crash"). As mentioned earlier, these characters can die, and if they do, the story goes on without them.

Sure, the characters aren't perfect (Ethan is the only really likable one) and the story has some flaws (like some issues with the ending), but the tale is truly captivating. You'll find yourself wanting to continue playing to see what happens next. It's the same feeling you get from watching a new TV series that you love on DVD. You just want to watch the next episode.

Heavy Rain is truly a game changer (pun intended). Not only does it present a new type of game, but it also shows that video games can handle mature themes and do it well. If you have PS3, you have no excuse not to play this game. In fact, I hear the Origami Killer is going to come get you if you don't.

James Cameron's "Avatar" has been making all kinds of money over the last couple of weeks. There has to be some quality behind all the buzz right? I mean, Cameron has been thinking about this movie for over 20 years, it has to have some depth; it should bring something huge to the table. So the real question is, is "Avatar" the Blue Man Group of cinema or is it just a case of cinematic blue balls?

When talking about this movie, it is impossible to not mention how pretty it actually is. For real, it is one of the most stunning pieces of cinematic art I have ever seen. What makes it so impressive is Cameron's use of 3D. Before this movie, I always found 3D to be very gimmicky and just about watching things feel like they are flying at my face. Cameron does something unique with 3D that no one has ever done before, he treats it like art. Instead of seeing in what ways 3D could be used to startle the audience, 3D for Cameron has depth, control, and subtlety. It's like all of the wonderful things about good cinematography are not being approached on a 3-dimensional level. It takes a new way of approaching cinema to understand how truly challenging this is.

One of the most impressive things about "Avatar" is how well thought out the world of Pandora is. My first interaction with "Avatar" was in the December edition of Wired magazine. In this issue, the feature article on "Avatar" described Cameron's journey to create this world. Everything is thought out completely. For example, he worked with a linguistic to develop not only an alien language, but a language with syntax and grammar. The language was so thought out that the linguist had to be on set to correct the actors when they mispronounced words, even though the language was not real. Cameron even worked with botanists to describe biologically how every plant on Pandora worked. To say that the world of Pandora is well thought out is the understatement of the year. That's what happens when you think about an idea for 20+ years.

Visuals and special effects are great, but what about the story? Surely a movie that has been this deep in thought has a plot that would blow us all away. The way that I've described it to friends is that "Avatar" is what would have have happened if Michael Bay made "Pocahontas." Michael Bay because there are all kinds of unnecessary explosions (but they sure look pretty) and "Pocahontas" because I seriously thought they were going to start singing "Colors of the Wind." But for real, the plot is pretty typical for the colonization genre (if that genre exists, think "Dances with Wolves") and not too surprising. The plot's not bad... but it's not good either.

But the reason this movie will be remembered is because of the implications of what it means to filmmakers. Filmmakers are going to have to start thinking about what exactly 3D means to their films and how it can even be incorporated into the story. It also means that the sky is the limit when it comes to the imagination. "Avatar" has shown us that computer technology is capable of creating anything that we can think of our in our minds.

"Avatar" is definitely worth a see, but not because of how the story will move you, but because of how much awe you will be in when watching this film. Plus, if you can see it in IMAX, you should just pay the couple of extra bucks. In order to appreciate what you are watching, the giant screen helps. 4 out of 5.