Indigo Prophecy

"A semi interactive movie noir supernatural detective story....and it's not half bad"

Indigo Prophecy, or as it's known over here in the U.K as Fahrenheit, isn't your typical game. I personally didn't run into this unique gem until a few days ago, after seeing it sweep a few categories from Gamespots end of year awards, and it's such an interesting game that I felt it deserved special coverage by myself to tell the true story, just as this game tells its own. Now, on with the review.

I'll begin by saying there's no multiplayer section, so that will not effect a final score.

Graphics: 5.5/10
Not a good way to start, but I'm a firm believer of saving the best 'til last and breaking the bad news first. The graphics in this game are....less than exemplary, the majority it plain, hence the 5, and while some effects are great and some are bad, they all blend down into a mediocre soup of snow, blood and apartments that look suspiciously like swingers pads....you'll see if you play the game, but believe me, do NOT pick this game up if you're interested in eyecandy predominantly, as you'll be deeply disappointed. However, it should be known the graphics do succeed in keeping the atmosphere of the game right.

Framerates are smooth, thanks to the way the game plays (you'll see in a minute what I mean when the category arrives) but I found a slight problem with the fact that bright colours in the background made a few segments of the game awkward to do....the game uses two identically coloured, 4-sided symbols for certain action sequences that you have to press the directions of in a short time to succeed in the given action sequence...however, having the yellow bar on the right flash when there's a bright yellow background is a big no-no. Now, I understand such things can be hard to balance, as changing colours would result in other sequences being tougher, and changing the actual background/foreground colours would reduce the games graphics further.

One definite saving grace is the awesome use of multi-camera situations. Like, for example, you're in a room, trying to find something, and someone chasing you is approaching, you'll get a time meter, and also the camera will shrink the main screen somewhat to show the person approaching through the halls, or whatever, changing angles and looking at their feet, a first person view or something. It all works very well, and sometimes acts as a hint to keep you moving and to help out during those short time moments....one camera on you, one on the approaching threat, and another looking at some key locations does give you a practical element as well as an atmospheric one.

Anyway, yep....smooth framerates, fairly bland visuals, decent atmospheric visuals, sometimes jerky animations, cool multi-cameras, and certain annoying colourful action sequences leave this game sitting at a 5.5/10....just be glad I'm an old-school RPG player, so graphics aren't really my biggest dig, or I'd probably give it worse, but don't be disheartened, it gets better from now on.

Sound: 8/10
Divided into music, SFX, voices and ambience, this game is well rounded in this respect. Music is primarily supplied by Theory of a Deadman, a band I've never heard of, but I was fairly impressed with their tunes as it fit the game quite well...more meaningful lyrics than microphone munching sounds of death-metal, and also not too grungy either. There are other, older tracks....some funky tunes surround one of the characters and there's a classic track there as well.

SFX were accurate, although a little recycled. Granted, there's only a few ways you can make a heavy landing sound or a bullet being chambered, but on some action sequences, and if you break your attention away from staring at the 4-way symbols, you'll hear some rolling sounds and such be re-used and it's kinda annoying, but not too bad really. Hard to fault, it's more just niggling things, really.

Voices are provided by a group of people I'm not familiar with, so I was glad to see these new people (compared to the Steve Blum's and such I'm more familiar with) were on the money with their vocal talents. Emotions are normally well portrayed, mental monologue does have some good tones of someone thinking on their feet compared to being overly theatrical.

Ambiance....being a stalwart Thief series fan, ambiance is THE defining point for me in a lot of games, as of late. Many other games that I like depend on ambience, like the mentioned Thief, which has won awards due to its scene-defining sounds. Indigo prophecy doesn't disappoint, from the subtle tunes you get when your mood decreases or increases (namely due to the nostalgia related to them, like checking photos) Dark areas have those faint background noises that keep you locked, and when you've got a limited time before something bad happens, and the threats footsteps are exaggerated...it all works well, and is definitly worthy of praise, so the 8/10 is well earned for being satisfactory...no, very good.

Gameplay: 8.5/10

This game is a joy to play. Not mindless action, not button bashy, not full on tension that one mistake will cause you to break a pad, but a good mix of the lot that balances out what could have been an over the top use of each. Reactions, imagination, creativity and puzzle solving are on display here, and it's a fine exhibition. The controls are simple....90% of the primary actions are performed with the right analog stick, while movement and standard features are performed with the regular buttons.

There are a few categories that the game presents that all require discussing.
There are action sequences, where you get two 4-direction coloured segments appear on the screen, you'll get a prompt, and they'll begin to glow, you press the direction they're in, and if you're successful, you're treated to your controlled character doing well in the background. Only problem is, some of the more crazy, fast parts will leave you concentrating on the display rather than the actions in the background, which is a shame.

There are exertion bits, where your character is doing usually routine actions or forcing something, which involves back-and-forth use of the L and R buttons in rapid succession, and you must fill the meter into the last three segments of the meter, where you'll be awarded with it glowing, and your character usually succeeding. Sometimes you have to just get it there, sometimes you just have to make it go up as quickly as possible, and sometimes you have to maintain the pace for a long duration; whichever challenge comes up, be sure your forearms will ache at times.

There are manual actions which involve movements with the right stick. Things like climbing fences (moving the stick left to up for the left arm, then right to up with the other, then at the top moving it up and around to the left to represent climbing over, for example). This is almost always easy, and just requires semi-accurate motions with the stick.

Conversations are interesting, as you have a limited time to use the right stick to push a direction associated with a category. You must try to keep the conversation going by not angering the other person by asking the wrong question, which could result in a mood penalty or a mood bonus. You'll sometimes have to choose your responses wisely, like if you're being interrogated, you can often choose to joke, lie, tell the truth, or dodge the question, with some options being there and some others not, and the wrong category can lead to you rousing suspicion.

Due to the dark nature of the story, your characters will have a mood meter. It ranges from neutral (at the top) to wrecked (right near the bottom, which I never got lower, but believe it.....pixel-lines on the meter were left) which represents your characters state of mind on the matters at hand. Relaxing, having a bite to eat, listening to their favourite tune or having sex (that's right, you heard me) will increase your mood by a varying degree, where as begging chewed out by someone, headaches, bad memories and screwing up a past-time can make you become gradually more depressed. Apparently, if your meter runs out, you commit suicide, but thankfully there are parts on each main characters story where you can greatly increase their mood before taking part in a critical part of the story that will almost certainly drain their mood.

You control 3 main characters, which you'll sometimes have the opportunity to switch from as the story advances, and other times when you can do it as often as you like (Tyler and Carla, the two police officers, get this in bucketloads) One persons actions can effect the other, although they tend not to be too drastic. What someone does in one timeframe, however, can effect anothers. Mopping up a bloodstain will mean the police might not notice the stain on the floor, but may well notice it on the mop, for example.

The game lasts a solid duration, and multiple endings and different choices can provide a few plays through at least. Well deserving of its 8.5/10, and it falls short since the game just doesn't feel perfect for some reason....there's just something missing, I think, that I can't put my finger on....but believe me, this game can satisfy those who prefer action, or storylines, or a game that gets you thinking.

Story: 8/10
I can't speak much on this, since the whole game is a story, anything I say would be a spoiler....it's a solid story, the first 3/4's are great as the story unwinds, some plot holes are filled as clues appear, and sudden twists are well spaced.
I WILL say, however, that there are some moments in this game, notably later on, that.....well, they are EXTREMELY unnecessary and toning it down a bit would have served to improve the experience.....let me just say that the matrix has nothing to do with the plot, and even that's pushing the spoiler-border a bit too much, so I'll say no more on that.

You control 4 characters, although one for only about....30 seconds, so I'll ignore that one.
The main character is Lucas Kane, a simple bank I.T worker who the majority of the games ups and downs are targetted at. (the following info isn't a spoiler since it's on the main site and any game description found elsewhere) One night at a diner, he falls into a trance and brutally murders a man, completely out of control. He comes to and must find out what happened, why, and avoid the police long enough to do so.
Then there's Carla Valenti, the more important of the two police officers who must solve the case of Lucas' murder and catch him, she's a serious, focused policewoman, a bachelorette, no less, who soon finds that this case isn't quite as simple as an average murder. The duality of avoidance when you play as Lucas and the re-discovering of hidden evidence is a great part of the game.
The third character is Tyler Miles, Carla's partner in crime....solving. A pretty easy going guy who likes his music, loves his girlfriend and often gets on the nerves of those around him, including his partner. He often does the more odd-job tasks while Carla does something closer to the case.

There are some flashbacks you control, but other than that, it all flows in a sound chronological order than will keep you entertained. Some characters will make you laugh, others will make you tense, and the same goes for things that happen in the game. 8/10, 10/10 for the majority of the game, -2 points for the later occurances that I just felt hurt the experience.

Overall: 7.5/10, but that rounds up to an 8/10 mathematically.

A game well worth a look, a rental and quite probably a purchase. Due to the unique nature of the game, I would suggest a rental, play a little, then consider if it's worth your hard-earned cash. If you're a fan of darker films with less action, you'll probably dig the story. If you have a short attention span...you might be able to like this game, if you have a REALLY short attention span, avoid. This is not a mindless action game, but the action does keep you focused and you'll be clacking those analog sticks like mad for minutes at a time on some action parts, and it's fairly forgiving for those more suited to a point-and-click game unused to quick action sequences. Lives are limited, but you'll get to reload from the plentiful 'checkpoints' if you do too badly.

Hope you found this review interesting and it inspires you to make a purchase. This game is available for X-box, Ps2 and PC, so feel free to go for the platform of your choice.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/05