I honestly don't even know where to begin with this game. I am a huge fan of this style of adventure game. I wasn't really familiar with Quantic Dream at first, strangely enough. I played Heavy Rain at launch and was in LOVE with the game. There was no way on Earth I could resist this one.
The first thing one must realize when going into a game like this is what type of game it is. It is NOT going to be a very exploration or action intensive game. It is NOT going to give you mind-bending puzzles or very thoughtful platforming. What this type of game WILL do is take you on an emotional roller coaster ride unlike most any experience you've ever had. There will be a beautiful, well told story that forces me to care for all the characters in a meaningful way. Particular to Quantic Dream, I will also have very important and tough decisions to make in the game in order to progress the story.
Beyond delivered to this criteria almost perfectly. The game starts at the end, similar to many other amazing tales. The story is about the life of a girl named Jodie, who has this strange spiritual entity linked to her. You play the game as both of them, reliving important points throughout her life. I really liked the approach that the story took. You jump around in her life rather than doing the events in sequential order. It managed to always make sure you would get answers as you continued, but not enough answers to satisfy you until you approach the end of the game. I don't really want to say much more about the story, because that is the main selling point of this game, but rest assured that it is fantastic.
To supplement and enhance the well-told story are a fantastic cast. The overall quality of the voice acting in this game are exceptional, even from the characters NOT voiced by Willem Defoe and Ellen Page. They all felt like they connected with their characters, which really helped the player get even more attached to them and believe them more. Also, this game is absolutely beautiful. The character models are some of the best I've ever seen on the PS3. Some of environments seem somewhat uninspired, but they DO look very good and convey their message as needed.
The one issue I had with this game was with the lack of meaning in choices. While I only played the game once, I never REALLY felt like the choices I made had significant repercussions in the game. This is the exact opposite of Heavy Rain, where I felt like every choice I made was going to have a meaningful impact. I didn't play either of the games more than once, but that was the feeling I got from the two separate experiences. That's not exactly bad, and there is just enough gameplay thrown in the game to make sure you stay attached to the game as a game rather than a movie, but I just wished the choices felt more impactful. As a level of praise though, I feel like they did a better job of integrating actual gameplay into this game than they did with Heavy Rain. I felt like there weren't as many unnecessary motion based quick time events. There was a very good balance of motion, and normal controller interaction in the game...that always felt logical wherever it was placed.
The game is clearly showing that Quantic Dream has thought about what they did right and wrong with their previous game, and attempted to take it a step further. They mostly succeeded in that regard. I especially liked the high level of variety in the story due to the fact that it follows a person's life, rather than a series of events that take place within hours.
This is not an adventure you will want to pass up. This great looking game will keep you attached to every character and every moment as you play it. Enjoy.
NOTE: I gave this game a 9.0 rating and rounded up rather than down (my actual score would be an 8.5 for it) because I felt like the experience as a whole outweighs the negative points.