Indigo Prophecy

"Are you ready to play a movie?"

People often discuss how movies and video games are very different, but here's a game that goes in the opposite direction. Indigo Prophecy is less a video game, and more of a highly interactive movie, featuring a story that actually surpasses that of most films. However, this game's strengths do not stop there, it features audio by famous bands, and composers. It takes a dive with its graphics, but the rest of the game's elements are so unique, that you may not even notice until the credits roll.

This game's highlight is, without question, its story. It centers around Lucas Kane, an average New Yorker with a normal IT job at a bank. One night he finds himself awaking from a vision, on the blood-stained floor of a diner bathroom, a body and knife at his feet. At this point the story can take many turns, depending on the player's actions. You can clean up the bathroom, and dash out the back door of the dinner at break-neck speed, or you can end the story right there by turning yourself in to the police officer sitting at the bar. If you escape the diner to get to your apartment, you begin the long trek to find out why you killed the man in that diner, while having to evade the police, and supernatural forces ranging from monstrous dust-mite creatures, to animated angel statues. What happens during the multi-layered story all depends on the player's actions during the many choose-your-own-adventure like segments of the game play.

There are multiple types of game play that take place, that actively affect what happens in future levels. For instance, during the opening diner level, you can hide the knife, the body, and make a phone call before leaving. In the next level you play as detective Carla Valenti, and her partner Tyler, as they search the crime scene for evidence. They will find the body and the knife, hidden where you put it, as well as retrieve the phone records, and figure out who you called. This is a very neat effect, and makes you feel like you are really the master of your own destiny. One of the worst parts of the whole game are the horrid stealth sequences that have clearly been thrown into the game for the sake of variety. Lucas will occasionally have flash-backs to his past, which always involve long stealth sequences. These involve nothing beyond playing through the level enough times to memorize where enemies are, and how to get past them. Check points are poorly placed, so you must play through the same part five or six times, until you figure out the correct way to get past the section you're stuck at. In the game's action sequences, two colored rings appear on the screen, each corresponding to one analog stick. You then must play a simon-says like game, and depending on how well you do, the action on screen matches it. For instance, in a fight, if you hit every command correctly you will hit your opponent with a flurry of punches, defeating them. If you miss several commands consecutively, you may be beaten, and have to repeat the sequence. It can become repetitive, but it keeps you immersed in that movie-like feel, while still making it interactive. The movie similarities do not stop there, featuring incredible sound, and music.

The sound is excellent, featuring music by people who worked on the music in movies by the famous David Lynch, as well as the band Theory of a Dead Man. When walking through a dark, snow covered street, sad, despairing music will play, reminding you of all the problems you face, both in the game, and the real world. During action sequences orchestral music plays, but the music is not as prevalent here, as you will be so focused on what's happening you may not even notice it. There is also a sound gallery where you can access all of the Theory of a Dead Man tracks contained in the game, some of which sound very nice, others less so, but it is a nice touch. The audio is very atmospheric, and will haunt you through the game, even when it's not playing.

The game's graphics look decent, but are not up to par with most Xbox games. The environments are not at all detailed, and when not zoomed in on during cut scenes, the character models look very muddy. The one unique exception to this rule is the snow. For the duration of the game it will be snowing outside, and the snow looks incredible. When your character goes outdoors, they will leave tracks that you can watch slowly fill in, and it is an amazing touch. Unfortunately, overall the graphics do not take advantage of the Xbox as console at all, and are very disappointing.

One of the game's largest downfalls is its value. In your first play through, it will probably take roughly fifteen hours to complete, while you figure out what to do in certain sequences, and where to go. The second time you play through it, you will know exactly what to do in every scene to get the best possible outcome, and completing the game takes no more than ten hours. There is a gallery with special features to unlock by finding special "magic cards" throughout the game to accumulate points. Unfortunately, the unlockables in the gallery are not interesting, featuring things like concept art, and videos from the main game that you have already seen. Even if the unlockable were worth taking the time to unlock, any additional value is killed at the end of the game, where you receive more than enough game credit to unlock all these bonus features.

This game has something for everyone. Adventure game fans will adore the sections such as diner, and spending time in Lucas's apartment, where you're free to do anything you want. People who enjoy action games will love the action sequences, like when Lucas's brother Markus has to break into an apartment to prevent his brother from committing suicide. This will be considered a normal video game by most, but when anyone who has played it hears that, under their breath they will laugh. They will laugh because they know that this is not a normal video game, but merely a movie you watch with a controller.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/06