Like the pot calling the kettle black, Quantic Dream's tells Game Informer that adventure games are all-but dead and that shouldn't be labelled as one.

"I dont think Heavy Rain belongs to the adventure genre, although it is about story and characters," Cage states. "I dont know to what genre the game belongs."

By arguing that Heavy Rain doesn't have an inventory system, point-and-click mechanics, or obtuse puzzles, he makes the case that it isn't an adventure game. The focus on characters and storytelling, he says, make if fundamentally different.

Regardless of whether you think Heavy Rain is an adventure game or not, Cage's contention that the genre is dead appears questionable. A thriving community on and more recently on and iPod touch have prompted a resurgence in adventure gaming.

By Tracy Erickson