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Terrific Melding of games and movies

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 67 / 71
Date: September 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Note: I own the Xbox version of this game. From the PC demo I've played the PC version doesn't have the aliasing problems as the Xbox and the game has a much better resolution. Other than that, the review below should be accurate.

There have been games throughout the years that have truly done something original, different and completely engaging. It always seems to be that these games fall by the wayside in terms of popularity which is a shame. Indigo Prophecy falls into this category as an original game with a fantastic premise and incredibly exciting gameplay.

Never before have I played a game that was so interactive in its story-telling. When trying to describe this game, I would point to God of War, a PS2 game in which there were scenes where you have timed button presses that would move forward a cutscene. It helped bring you into the story, the cutscenes so that it was you that were doing all of the cool acrobatic manuevers killing the hydra. Another game that used this to a lesser effect was Resident Evil 4, for example with the knife fight that you had to push buttons to keep Leon safe. Indigo Prophecy takes this idea and pushes it to the extreme.

IP is basically and incredibly interactive movie. It mixes the adventure genre, which is seldom seen on console, and movies and melds them into a cohesive and incredibly engaging story. It starts off with a bang as you immediately find yourself killing someone you don't know in a diner. You feel like you're not in control of your actions and as a result you have a body in a restroom and a policeman drinking coffee in the restaurant. What do you do? You're free to act from here on out. Do you leave the body and rush out? Do you hide the body? What about the blood? What about the blood on you? What about the knife? When you leave do you pay your bill? You can take care of all or none of the options above. And the story will be different, sometimes marginally sometimes drastically. Oh, and by the way, that cop sitting outside needs to use the restroom and soon the screen will split and you better be out of there before he makes it to the restroom.

This opening sequence exemplifies everything this game is about. Choices, story and gameplay all merged into one. But innovation doesn't end there. As soon as Lucas (the murdering protagonist) is free of the diner, you take control of two police detectives who investigate the scene. You can switch between the two on the fly and you have to find clues, make theories and basically do everything in your power to catch Lucas. Its this give and take gameplay, where you have to play one side against the other, that truly gives the game a sense of urgency and excitement.

Going back to the God of War example, when you have cutscenes in this game, you better not put your controller down. Gameplay pushes forward the story-centered bits as well. Whether its doing a simon says type control scheme to manuever your character past cars that are hurtling toward him, alternating between the L and R trigger as fast as you can to save someone who's drowning or using the R stick to make dialogue choices on the fly (you're timed) to hear all you can, the game makes sure to bring you into the story. Its very effective and really ratchets up the tension.

If there is one sore spot in the game its the graphics. While not bad, exactly, they don't necessarily push the Xbox in the way that this last year of Xbox life should. It looks like a first or possibly second generation Xbox game. Artistically the game is good. The characters in the cutscenes move really well and realistically. And there is never a moment of lag or skipping seen in a lot of games today. The character's faces have some nice emotion to them and the graphics aren't stellar, like I said, but they do a decent job. There's a ton of aliasing, however, which is sad.

Another sore spot is the controls. When you are in direct control of your character (i.e. actually moving them as opposed to having control of the cutscenes via button pressing) the game is pretty loose. It reminds me of playing the old Resident Evil games. You have the cinematic camera which causes some confusion as to which direction you should push your character. As a result, you will do a lot of figure 8s in the game which can cause a lot of problems when you have to hide the evidence because a cop is at your door and the timer is going down. Character animation while moving is also very stiff and a big difference from the cut scene animation.

The audio is terrific, however. While the box says the game does not run in 5.1 in game, I think it lies. My receiver lights up whenever 5.1 is being used and its always lit with this game. And it sounds like 5.1 is being used. The voice acting is absolutely wonderful and professional. Each voice matches the character and it helps enhance this feeling of playing a murder mystery movie. With voice acting becoming so important in games today, this is most welcome and really helps sell the game. Musically, the game also excels by using the very talented Angelo Badalamenti to score it. That name might not mean much on the outset but he has created scores to many Hollywood movies including most by David Lynch (Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., Twin Peaks) but also Dark Water, Arlington Road, etc. The score is absolutely beautiful and moving; it really fits in with what is happening on screen.

What this game does best is meld the story-telling of a movie with the gameplay of video games. It exposes the limitations of both and yet uses the best of both to create an engaging, moving and very interactive story. For me, this game is a perfect building block for video games. I can overlook most of its flaws because it is so different, so exciting and so damn cool. It warrants a 5 star review simply because of what it did. I would most heartedly recommend this game to those who love a good story, like action adventure games and want to be impressed with what video games and movies can accomplish together.

Incredible and refreshing change in VG entertainment!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 19
Date: September 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is incredible. I have only played the demo, but as it was released in this stage so close to full release, I think it is fair to comment on it as nothing was removed in the first scene.

Very rarely do I play games completely. Usually, a demo will do as the rest of the game is the same thing, just different maps, etc. Every once in a while, I'll get a game that I can't put down - Splinter Cell series, Half Life series, Deus Ex, Broken Sword, Max Payne series, Unreal, Medal of Honor - these games play just like a movie and bring you right into the action. You spend all your time playing them for 3 days straight - stopping only to work and eat. Bills pile up. Your girlfriend leaves you.

Oh. Sorry. (Ahem.)

Ah. Some games, however, are really great, but no need to play them as they get boring and redundant (Call of Duty is awesome - but since it came out so late, now there are hundreds of WW2 theme based shooters - why play it now?)

Adventure games have been hit or miss. Some of these games get abnormally high marks and I have no idea why. There will be random puzzles that have nothing to do with anything, aside from the fact the coder put it in there and you can't progress without it. Like Myst? Couldn't get into it. I'm tryin to get back home, and there's a puzzle in the middle of an ocean? Never got it. Syberia - great story line, but still didn't get the need for a puzzle every two minutes. I just don't get some people. What? Do these game makers think we are stupid? They charge $50 for nothing more than a digital version of Madlibs or something?

You won't find that here. Indigo Prophecy (named Fahrenheit in some regions) is absolutely incredible - and the puzzles are real world scenarios. Not spoiling anything here - it's in the reviews and trailers. You wake up after murdering someone, what do you do. OK, can I just walk out of here with blood on me? Do I keep on walking by the cop even though he asked me to stop? What would YOU do if in real life you were a murder suspect here? I don't know about you, but I would clean my hide up and get the heck out of there pronto without rousing suspicion. Well, I did that and was surprised at what happened. Cause the actors in the game actually did act how cops / waitresses / customers / cab drivers would act in real life, too.

Many games have boasted real-time. To this day, none have come close until now. I.P. will go into a split screen so you can see what's happening in other areas of the game as you play uninterrupted - whether the scene is going on across town or in the next room - you see it first hand. There is none of this cheesy backtracking or merely exiting a room and re-entering it to kick off an event. You got one shot at this.

Replayability is EXTREME. There are at least 4 or 5 different ways in EVERY scene - making for almost 100 different endings altogether. The graphics, as it is a 3rd person and adventure, are gorgeous and run on mid range machines - a $5000 alienware box is not needed. You even have access to Special Features - just like a movie, which shows you behind the scenes of the incredible voice acting and the motion capture used for the killer animations - including the martial arts scenes!

This game plays just like a movie and makes you the star. This game is definitely going to be worth it. I encourage you to download the demo and see for yourself. I was completely blown away and this will be one of those games that make my list up top. I won't put it down. All my time will go into working, working out, and playing this game!

Guess my girlfriend will leave me again.

A Fantastic Game....But Not For Everyone

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First off, let me say that I was very torn with giving this game a 5-star rating. What for the most part is an intriguing fast-paced adventure game would at times get bogged down by temperamental controls, ultimately reducing the gameplay to a series of frustrating repetative motions just to complete the most mundane of tasks. At times I really had to restrain myself from smashing my gamepad to pieces (while swearing that I would rate this a 2-star game!), but once the story begins to move along again, the frustration is quickly forgotten. Indigo Prophecy is one hell of a game.

This is an amazingly well presented game with an engrossing and compelling story. The atmosphere is dark and moody, and is accented by a perfect music score that seems to be lifted straight out of your favorite David Lynch thriller. The graphics, while not cutting edge, are up to par and do not detract from the experience. The voice acting is by far the best I've heard in a game.

The main aspect of this game that will turn off many gamers is the control scheme. This is a console game ported to the PC, and the controls were designed as such. This game is virtually impossible if you do not purchase a dual analog gamepad. The players interactions with the game involve pressing the analog sticks in a series of motions displayed on the screen (think of the old simon game) while your character reacts in the game when sequences are pulled off correctly. The more frustrating parts of the game involve climbing fences and poles, which requires a series of repeated (and timed) quarter-circle motions. I've been playing video games for most of my life (and have pulled off dragon punches in Street Fighter 2 using only my feet on the controller!), but let me tell you, the climbing motion is VERY HARD TO PULL OFF correctly. Since its timed you have very little margin for error, and many times you'll pull off 10 climbs on a pole only to fall off on attempt number 11 and have to do it all over again. At times like these the gameplay is reduced to spending a half an hour (or more) just to get over a fence. It really can kill the experience.

Luckily these sequences are not very abundant in the game, and if you can get past it, what's left is a great unique experience that isn't very common in the gaming world today. For those adventure gamers with good coordination, a gamepad, and some patience at times, this is a great buy.

Indigo Prophecy Best Ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 14
Date: September 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is with no doubt the best I have ever played. A must buy for any REAL gamer.

Sleeper Hit

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: October 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is by far one of best games thus far this year (it definately has sleeper hit written all over it)in that it delivers an innovative and unique experience that is few and far between nowadays. The things that I refer to, to even suggest such a claim for this game are its openendness, the story is really up to you and what you make of it and how you decide to do things. For instance when questioning a witness you can ask various things about the suspect or nothing about the suspect at all, this is like Grand Theft auto in an adventure sense on the level of freedom that it provides to the player.
Other good points about this game is the very sharp voice acting that makes each and every character believable and seemingly worthy of your sympathy towards their situtation however it may seem. The music score is beautifully composed as well as each piece of music seemingly fits where it needs to be.
Of course a game of this caliber does however come with its faults as mentioned in previous reviews the controllers aren't as great as they could be along w/ the camera which you'll find yourself readjusting to focus on a vital clue in the game or when you're trying to avoid the heat (which creates even more sweat inducing tension if you look on the brightside). Also experienced players should be able to get through this game in less then 10 hours, but it's openendedness as previously stated keeps this bad point in check.
Nevertheless the good obviously outweighs the bad and is therefore a game that is the worth the money and time to all that choose to step into the world of Indigo Prophecy.
One final WARNING which is aimed at the PARENTS is that though this game may not appeal to the younger crowd (adolescents and children) PLEASE exercise good judgement as this game contains nudity, cursing, violence and a sex scene or 2 , so please don't heap anymore problems on the gaming industry by letting your little ones get a hold of this game. As for everyone else this is a must buy.

I have played a lot of games...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing games on computers and consoles since the NES was first released on the market in the US. I have played a lot of first person shooters and I still do.

I have been very bored with video games the past few years; Halo, huge disappointment most likely the most boring game I have ever played.. Half life 2 had some interesting parts to it and in the end I admitted I had some fun.. Doom 3, looked damn good but ultimately boring in the end. That kind of trend goes for most games I have played over the last 6-7 years, that is until a friend introduced me to Indigo Prophecy on her PS2. The controls are a little weird at first and the graphics are decent for what they are designed to do, but I like game play, storyline and over all enjoyment over graphics any day of the week.

When I first started playing Indigo Prophecy with my friend I got really in to it after the first few minutes. After that first night of playing the game I went to Amazon and bought it for the PC. I have no idea how far through the game I am currently but I have enjoyed it so much it does not really matter. The storyline is well done so far, I can actually feel for the characters for the first time in a very long time which is another huge bonus to me. The game has it's limits just as any game does, but in terms of this game I find the limits to be unnoticeable.

All in all I have enjoyed this game more in the last few days than I have all the games in the last 5 years combined. Maybe that is because I am burned out on all of those types of games, but this is one that got me on the first try. I highly suggest it to anybody who is looking for a good game and is tired of the normal "I kill you" junk.

Worth playing again... Immediately!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: May 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is by far one of the most engrossing, impressive games I've played and was well worth buying a game controller for. (Now that I've got one, I'll never go back to gaming with my mouse and keyboard again!)

Unlike many point-and-click adventures, there is very little boring lag time on this one: the developers chose, instead, to keep players engaged by making the "story development" episodes interactive.

Meanwhile, the player is presented with many action and conversation choices throughout the game, and each choice can lead the storyline in a wholly new direction.

In other words, playing the game once does not mean you've seen or done it all. Thank goodness for that, too, because I finished the game on Saturday (or so I'd thought) but didn't have another waiting to be played. Rather than cleaning house, I decided to play Indigo Prophecy over again... only to find that just TWO different choices in the opening chapter changed my entire game play experience.

Why can't more games be so well-planned, interactive, and wonderfully designed?

Now this is what I call intereative ADVANTURE game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Let's be honest, if your definition of "advanture" is about doing things like "moving some chess pieces on a board to open up a mysterious door", or "swaping a fried fuse and toying around with strange power switches", then do yourself a favour, the "Puzzle Game Section" is that way ----->>>>>

Indigo Prophecy does not need weird, Mensa-certified puzzle sovling. It is an adventure game based on using your guts and wits. It is a tale of mystery solving told from multiple perspectives. Its presentation form is what makes the game unique - ever read one of those "choose your path" novels? Indigo Prophecy is just like that, except this time, it is a "choose your path" adventure game that has top quality cinematic feeling.

Voice acting in the game is very well done. You can "hear" the character's emotions. Be it sadness, anger, or fear.

Graphically, IF you compare it to present day games then it is a little bit on the weakside. Try think of Max Payne 2 in terms of graphics if you have played that game. The game engine is about the same level as that year 2003 game.

But does the graphics matter much? Nope.

The best thing about this game is its presentation and story. Sure, the story has its flaws at near end parts, but along the way you encounter many surprising twists that will keep you going and going until you see the very last screen.

The action parts of the game is very intuitive in my opinion. They are simple to execute in which that if you have two hands, or feet, or whatever.

So, to sum it up, Indigo Prophecy is certainly an outstanding adventure game that redifines many aspects of the gerne. If you love mystery thrillers, you will love this game.

EXCELLENT game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I usually play adventure type games, (Syberia, The Longest Journey, etc.) and I thought this game would be similar. Although it isn't the same type of game, I think adventure gamers will really like this game also. It is like an adventure game, but also has action cut scenes where you push buttons like "simon says" to make him succeed in the action sequences. The story line is just amazing, and so are the graphics. You have different decisions to make, and they effect the story's outcome, and the mental stability of the character. WHAT A GREAT GAME!

Indigo Prophecy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I found this game to be absolutely rivetting. It has many chapters to play, and each chapter can be played several times in many different ways. The controls are unique - I found them to be difficult at first - however, you can easily remap keys on your keyboard to make the controls totally individualized.

Indigo Prohecy actually has a storyline that develops from the opening sequence to the epilogue. There are a couple of unanswered questions; however, for the most part, the game is well developed and splendid.

I have played this game over and over and over again - and I'm still not tired of it.

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