It's evident right from the moment you start Rain; the new downloadable platformer from Sony that it wants nothing more than to be thought of as the next great art game. It struggles so desperately to be thought of in the same vein as games like Flower, The Unfinished Swan and Journey as a games that means something, as something different. It's not, it can't and it won't be. While Rain does have it's share of memorable moments, some of them even bordering on breathtaking; they're far outnumbered by a linear tale that shows all of its cards way too early; and the result is a disappointing experience that won't resonate with any that way that it aspires to.

"This creates an interesting mechanic..."

Rain casts you in the damp shoes of a young boy who follows a mysterious girl through a magical door and is transported into a world where he, the girl and the unknown beats chasing her become invisible when not in the Rain. This creates an interesting mechanic, and undoubtedly one of the game's best features, navigating the mysterious world by way of where you're going to get rained on and planning your next move. The unknown enemy AI is smart enough to look around where they last saw you even if you've gone invisible, so there's a bit of a trick to creating distractions and getting past some of the game's more tricky sections.

Here's the thing though, once you've seen the Rain mechanic, you've pretty much seen the whole game, and though this is one short experience (you'll probably finish it in one sitting), it's not enough to carry the entire game. To be fair, there is a bit of an interesting twist when the boy finally catches up the mysterious girl but even that didn't feel like different enough. With Rain, Sony is guilty of showing its entire hand way too early, and the result is a predictable and linear affair that doesn't live up to the hype.

"My biggest problem with Rain though is just how forced it feels."

My biggest problem with Rain though is just how forced it feels. This is the type of game that we've become trained to consider as art; it's dark, it's somber, it's got kids and it deals with some pretty ambiguous topics. Here's the thing though, it often feels like the developers are trying so hard to make this game artsy. Now, art is subjective and others may have been moved by Rain, but I found myself not caring less than midway through the experience. Games like Journey and The Unfinished Swan don't scream at you that they were art, they just were, and while it may not be fair to compare Rain to such well-done titles, it's obviously what it's trying to be.

That aside, Rain does do a phenomenal job with its soundtrack. The game's somber tone is matched almost perfectly with slow and deliberate piano tones that create the impression that this game could have been so much more. There's a pretty somber sound the game makes when you die (and you will a lot) but it's so well done that you won't even mind, at least not at first.

Rain tries to be so much that it manages to accomplish so little. It's a game that we're trained to think is artistic and beautiful because it's different and melancholy, and though there are some truly impressive moments, they're heavily outweighed by cumbersome gameplay and repetitive environments. Rain has very high ambitions, but unfortunately it also can't live up to them.