Heavy Rain gold, demo drops Feb. 11

Heavy Rain won't hit the PlayStation 3 until February 23, but gamers can get a taste of the coming storm weeks earlier. Sony has confirmed that Quantic Dream's upcoming adventure game has gone gold and will have a downloadable demo arrive on the PlayStation Network February 11.

Heavy Rain follows the pursuit of a mysterious serial murderer called the Origami Killer. Players will be able to assume the role of several characters--a drug-addled FBI agent, a private investigator, and a victim's father--who must collect clues in a film-noir-style setting to crack the case. The demo will give players a close look at a pair of those characters--the Fed and the gumshoe--through two of the game's chapters.

The PS3-exclusive title was developed by Quantic Dream, the Paris-based shop behind 2005's Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) for the PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Like that critically acclaimed title, Heavy Rain eschews normal game conventions for a more cinematic approach, focusing on complex storytelling and emotion via realistic graphics.

For more on Heavy Rain, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.