Indigo Prophecy

"The Final Countdown Results In A True Masterpiece"

FAHRENHEIT

Fahrenheit (or Indigo Prophecy) is a whole new gaming experience. And what an awesome experience it is! The term 'Interactive Movie' is usually one that doesn't come with too much anticipation, but from the moment Fahrenheit was first previewed in the mags it created a lot of talk and excitement. The trailers (and demo) promised a truly cinematic experience that contained drama, murder, romance and an extremely odd plot. When it finally hit stores, copies flew off shelves. Everyone wanted to see this original concept in action, and most weren't disappointed. The game delivered pretty much everything it had promised. A truly gripping plot, stunning action scenes and a mile-long array of choices to be made were all components of this masterpiece. Boy oh boy, this is surely just the beginning of a whole new gaming style!

The story stars Lucas Kane. Just an ordinary, middle-aged guy. He works in a bank, lives in a small apartment in New York and suffers from severe depression (probably caused by the pre-ten-yearly deaths of his parents). From the start, the player really doesn't know much about this guy atall. But after being thrown almost instantly into a gruesome and unexplained murder, the player has no choice but to pick up where this murderous stranger left off.

The opening setting is an east-end diner in New York. Lucas Kane sits alone inside a small toilet stall, slicing his wrists with a knife. This is a gruesome start to the game and is only a glimpse of what is to come a mere few seconds away. At first, Lucas seems psycho. He shakes violently as he works this self-harm on his forearms. Another man stands at the urinal, emptying his coffee tank. Lucas Kane then proceeds to rise to his feet and walk gradually (almost robotically) over to the urinating man, bloody knife in hand. Well any moron can predict what happens next. Stabby stabby, Lucas commits a terrible crime. After the murder Lucas awakes from his trance-like state, horrified at what he has done. He cannot remember anything before or during the murder, and he has absolutely no idea why he has done this horrid deed. Confused, depressed and overcome with a tonne of guilt, Lucas Kane must escape the diner without being caught.

And this is just the beggining. After successfully escaping the scene of the crime, Lucas must proceed to go on with his life and avoid raising suspicions. Meanwhile, Detective Carla Valenti and her partner - Tyler Miles must track him down and put him behind bars. Lucas Kane still has no clue what made him commit the murder and he sets out to discover the truth. Yup, a dramatic and thrilling plot to say the least. And it only gets better as the story unfolds, ending in a completely unreal and unpredicted epilogue. Don't worry, I won't spoil anything. But just know that the story can end in a number of different ways (three are confirmed by myself and many others).

The unique and never-before-seen gameplay style is a plus. Most of the game plays out just like a movie, with the player interacting and choosing how the story plays out. The left analogue stick is used to move whilst the right stick is used to interact with the environment and charecters etc. The game also features many cool 'Action Sequences', which can basically appear out of nowhere. Two colorful circles appear on screen and the player must repeat the sequence as it flashes on screen, using both the left and right sticks. Due to the complete out-of-nowhereness of these sequences, you find yourself gripping the dualshock non-stop, ready for anything. You'll never put the controller down for fear of missing a fast sequence. These sequences can be pretty tricky at first. But they're dead easy to get used to. As time goes on, you'll grow to really enjoy them. You'll find yourself fixed to the screen, hitting every direction as it flashes on screen. When the sequence has ended, you'll be waiting hopefully for the next one. Some who've played this game feel the analogue sequences ruin the game. But when you think about it, they actually make the game. Without them it would pretty much be one extremely long cut-scene, with short breaks to walk around and interact with things to cue the next part of the scene. This really wouldn't work, even as a lame DVD game. Yeah, if you ask any skilled gamer, you'll be told these sequences are great fun (and damn challenging at times). You can even tamper with the difficulty if you're finding them too simple, or if you're too blind to follow the sequence in detail.

Sometimes, these sequences will be replaced with a different mechanic. A rapid-press L1, R1 system. Button-bashing gamers will love this. What's interesting is how the mechanic changes from time to time. At certain points in the game you must tap in rythm, rather than pounding the buttons psychotically. Some, however, might find this to be the low-point of the game. At some points this mechanic can be extremely difficult, sometimes almost impossible on the hard difficultly setting. It's also quite annoying how you are never properly instructed on what you should do in the given situation. Should you tap like crazy? Time your presses? Take it slow? Most of the time it's the first choice. But at quite a few points (including a matrixy wall run) you'll find that careful timing is in order (after the first few frustrating game overs). All in all though, the challenge and tension only adds to the game's brilliance.

The rest of the gameplay revolves around slow-paced exploration-style atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, this is most definetely not a bad thing. The player gets to control three main charecters for the majority. These being Lucas Kane (the killer), Carla Valenti (the detective) and Tyler Miles (the bopping partner). You will also gain control of Lucas' brother and preist - Marcus, for a small piece of the game. Whilst controlling these charecters, you must explore your surroundings and interact with the environment. Alot of your actions during the first few chapters of the game will have pretty big consequences on the way the story plays out. This is hudgely exciting. Do you hide the evidence?, stay at the crime scene longer than you really should?, make a break for it? Then there's the seemingly small choices such as taking the subway or a cab, which actually turn out to be significant decisions later on. There's no real difficulty to this section of the gameplay, but it sure is interesting to see how differently things can happen when re-playing for that six-hundredth time.

The look of the game is nothing amazing. But still, it's nothing terrible either. The graphics are basically average for a good PS2 game. Maybe even above average in some of the exciting action scenes. The game also features bullet time! Cough cough.... yeah. It seems every single action game created since The Matrix features slow-motion or bullet time in some way. This game does make a great show of it, though. Again, it's nothing spectacular. But a sure thrill to watch and experience. Unlike the graphics, the soundtrack is more or less flawless. Angelo Badalamenti has done a terrific job with the music. Wow, it's just so cinematic and gripping! Whats more, all the right songs appear at all the right times. The sound just fits perfectly with the feel of the game! The 'Bad Angel' isn't the only genius responsible for the musical side of things, though. Fahrenheit also features quite a few 70's style dance tracks. These are mostly played at times where Tyler Miles is the central role. They may not be the greatest tracks in the game, but again they fit right in with the feel and atmosphere at the time they appear. The repeat my statement, a near flawless soundtrack.

All in all, the entire game takes just over ten hours to complete. If you rush through it might take less time. But why in the hell would you rush through? This is one of those games that you'll want to go through really slowly, making sure to try everything and every choice at your disposal. And with all these endless decisions to be made, the re-play value is limitless. By the time you've finished for the first time and watched whichever ending you got, you'll be dieing to play through again and do things differently. I myself have played through the entire game a total of 5 times and I'm still itching to play again and again until I'm sure I've seen pretty much every single outcome in every single chapter. I'll sure you guys will feel the same if you enjoyed the game as much as I did.

To conclude this review, I highly recommend getting this game. It contains bloody gore, cinematic-style action scenes, a gripping and dramatic plot, romance and paranormal themes. Even if you end up disliking it, you'll be missing out if you don't play. If you have doubts, rent the game first. There's a 90% chance you'll become hooked and want to buy! If you recieve this game as a gift I recommend giving whoever gave you the game a hudge thankyou. This really is a milestone in modern gaming, and there is sure to be a million similar games in years to come. It's not too late, peeps. Grab this game ASAP! You'll end up playing it over and over, weeks after purchase! Go on! You know you want to!

__________THE SCORE__________
Story / Plot: 9/10 [A gripping plot, but grows a little odd near the end.]
Gameplay: 8/10 [Exciting, fast-paced action sequences. Accompanied by tension-happy exploration moments.]
Graphics: 7/10 [Nothing hudgely special. But hey, they're cool.]
Sound / Score: 10/10 [Perfect. All the right themes at all the right moments.]
Life Span: 10/10 [Practically immortal.]
OVERALL: 9/10
__________THE SCORE__________

And that concludes this review. It scored a nine! Woop! And take into note: I'll only give a perfect ten out to a game if every aspect checks out with 10/10. As you can see, this is far more than a regular old game. Go on peeps, buy Fahrenheit now and experience it for yourself! Then, come onto the site and post your own review! Peace!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/01/06