Indigo Prophecy

"A Lost Treasure"

Story (10/10):
Indigo Prophecy places you in control of the character Lucas Kane who is in a winterly New York diner in the bathroom. The game opens to Kane cutting himself in a trance and then suddenly to stabbing a random man in the bathroom. You take control over Lucas after that as he tries to unravel what has happened to him.

You also play as Lucas' pursuers, two cops. Now, as the gamer, you have already seen where Lucas has gone. What this means is you can lead the cops on a wild goose chase, or lead them in a precise manner.

What is interesting about this is there are so many endings to the game. You can stay and get caught in the bathroom, or you can save a drowning boy or not. But I'll save that for game play.

Sound (10/10):
The main theme of this game is very spooky and becomes filled with action and tension in the next instant. The voice acting is over the top. These guys are pros, and you don't ever get any wooden voices either. There are very creepy ambiance and environmental noises too. As a musician, this is the best musical score I have heard in a game.

Graphics (7/10): The graphics are not great, and I was playing this game in 480p, wide screen. The graphics are oddly reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto, in its simple textures and character models. Though the styling is great and gets the point across. As such, it always feels like you're playing a movie. And who ever didn't want to reach into the screen and mess with the main character? The camera angles are sometimes a pain, but there are several of them, so it comes out to be OK.

Controls (8/10): Okay, these controls are either love it/hate it I believe. You control the actions you do on screen by using the right analog stick. It'll appear as an icon at the top of your screen and you move the joystick in that direction to do it, such as opening a door, or climbing up a fence. What ends up happening is the mini-games you play in the game. You see a "Simon Says" type graphics display in the middle of the screen and you must move the control sticks in those directions or else suffer. This makes for some very interesting cut-scenes, such as dodging police cars.

Also in some situations which require physical effort from your character, you must jam on the Left and Right Triggers to help the character do various things - like swim into a freezing lake. This can get very tiring on you too. I found myself putting the controller between my legs, holding it there, and pushing the triggers so fast my hands felt like they were about to fall off.

All in all the controls are finely tweaked, and serve you well.

Game play (10/10): If I could give anything higher than a 10 I would. One of the other interesting things this game throws in is a Sanity Meter. It shows you just how far you are from cracking under the pressure. Once it reaches zero, you character may quit their job, or even commit suicide. Very scary. The Simon Says and other events are really fun. At one point you just might be flying around like Neo from the Matrix. There are a few puzzles in this game too, and they will tease your brain for a little while as well.

When speaking to characters you have a limited time to come up with a response. You chose a response by moving the right control stick. Also, there are a huge variety of things to do. At one point you're running for you life, examining a body, jumping on to helicopters, looking up books, sneaking around military guards, and fighting yourself...

Excellent game play that keeps it fresh and alive for many more times to play.

OVERALL: 10/10

This game hits the mark on every level. Some may not like the adventure genre, but I suggest giving it a try. There are so many endings and ways to play it is dizzying. Go Quantic Dream!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/06