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Terrific melding of games and movies

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: September 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

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.

Snakes and Trigger Keys

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought the Xbox version of Indigo Prophecy simply because the machine doesn't get all that much use. I prefer adventure/rpg games and they are scarce for the Xbox, to say the least. Unfortunately, the game was clearly written for the PS2 and then ported to the Xbox with little thought about gameplay. This time Atari took a good game and definitely did not make it better.

Let's do the good parts first, since Indigo Prophecy really is a good game on many levels. The game's inner story is based on an actual legend associated with the change of Mayan eras. Into this new era is supposed to be born an 'indigo' child who will come with a prophecy that will grant great power to those who would listen. Add in a lot of human sacrifice and a dollop of paranoid plot to take over not just the world, but the universe, and you have Indigo Prophecy in a nutshell.

Oracles use randomly chosen instruments to carry out sacrifices, and this is the story of Lucas Kane, who suddenly finds himself a murderer and must elude both the police and assassins from a secret clan long enough to find out what happened to him and why he suddenly has strange powers. Pther key characters are Lucas' brother Marcus, and two police investigators, Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles. The player get's to control all of these characters, often in the same episode. The story is good, and the modern noir settings and sound are as well. Where this game runs into trouble is in the action game play and artwork.

Action is managed by to different operations, either following directional sequences displayed on the screen, or in rapid toggling of the two trigger keys. On any of the typical Xbox controllers these operations are more irritating than challenging. Accomplishing significant parts of this game involve being totally focus on the few square inches of screen where the progress of the challenge is displayed. So there you are in the middle of an action sequence and you can actually miss most of the action. It wasn't until I happened to look at my PS2 controller that I realized all this activity would have been much smoother if I had played the PS2 version of the game.

Artwork is low detail even for a PS2 based game, and looks even weaker on an Xbox. This is odd, considering that there isn't a lot of intricate action to eat up computer time that could have been dedicated to graphics. Atari chose to make this game on a slim budget, and the story, while strong, isn't enough to make this a real winner.

Overall, this is a three and a half star game on the Xbox, but a solid 4 on the PS2. Good entertainment, but not particularly memorable.

starts off strong then falters at the end

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I actually just recently sold my copy when I got this invitation to review. Indigo Prophecy was a pretty fun and interesting game. The story was what sold me and the "choices that affect the game" approach. Much of the gameplay is similar in a way to Shenmue. There's a lot of exploring and minigame sequences for action scenes and forth. Most of these mini games are done like Simon Says and the ever so grueling L and R tappings. These give you somewhat of a sense of realism while playing the game but that doesn't make it too much fun. The fun really comes in having a variety of choices and seeing what happens when you do this or do that. The characters you play as have a mental state meter that goes up or down depending on what happens. Why yawning knocks off 20 points to this is beyond me but overall a neat feature. The story starts off intense and gripping at first but then starts to get strange and seems a bit rushed. I don't want to spoil it for you but you'll see what I mean once certain deaths occur. In any case I'd give this game a rental. It's fun for what it is but the L and R sequences and the storyline at the end doesn't make it a keeper. You should be able to finish it relatively quickly.

Great Concept but Needed More Testing

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: September 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Indigo Prophecy deserves kudos for thinking outside of the box. This merges an adventure game, a thrilling crime drama and reflex action together. Unfortunately, the results are a bit sporatic.

First, the basics. You are an innocent man - but somehow you wake up standing over a dead body, knife in hand. Obviously you killed him - but why? You're not the only person asking this question. You can switch between three other characters in order to solve this crime.

The game is a "movie". The tutorial takes place in a green room situation where you learn how to move and interact. There are flashbacks, thought-overs, foreshadowing and many other movie gimmicks. If you love movies, this is great. It helps to immerse you in the feeling that you are interacting in an epic situation.

There is a lot of dialogue here, and you lead it along. You have a series of options you can choose from, and depending on what direction you choose to go in, the storyline follows you. In that sense, the game is really quite open and you can have a great impact on what happens.

All of these situations are great in theory. The practice is a bit different.

For starters, the game's graphics are really not that wonderful. I realize that in many games it doesn't matter - but this is supposed to be a gritty crime drama. With all the amazing XBox games out there, to then go "backwards" to this one is quite noticeable. It detracts from gameplay to have pixellated objects to interact with when you're talking about human lives on the line.

The game, for all of its freedom of choice, is very linear. It starts right from the beginning. You're in your apartment, evading the cops. You want to hide a bloody item of clothing and do up the bed. But wait - you can't pull out your blankets if you're holding something in your hand! You can't put that item down either. So you have to run across the room to the washing machine - put it in - then run back to the bed and pull that across. They have a set order they expect you to do things in. If you don't, you keep failing and restarting until you get it right.

The movement makes this doubly difficult. You enter a room and forward is up. Go into another room and forward is left. The cameras don't follow with you naturally. It adds extra frustration to the constant restart cycle.

The game design is very innovative. Again, I praise them for thinking outside the box and creating this rich, dramatic environment. However, they should have spent a few more months in testing and design, so that the rest of the game was brought up to those same standards.

Don't get me started on the left-left-right-up-right sequences required in order to do certain tasks ...

Note: this does play on the XBox 360.

OMG QUITE THE AMAZING GAME!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: September 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just finished beating this game today, on the 18th sunday. The game was amazing, the voice acting is great and the fact that its like a choose your adventure books makes it even more fun. I can't get over it. I noticed the version I played appeared to have full nudity don't think that will go over well here in the US...but I highly enjoyed it. With the nudity is the greatest! YAY!

Amazing and Original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Finally a game that is different. It's nice to take a brake from shooting games and racing games. Indigo Propechy is the first game for the Xbox that is really drama based. Sure there are games with drama, but also action. This game is like watching a drama movie where you control what happenes in the movie. On another note, ignore idiotic reviews who base this game on nudity. Anyone who would by a game because of cartoon nudity needs to get a life.

Addictive, Original but Short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Indigo Prophecy is a game like no other. It truly gives the feeling that you are playing a moving instead of a video game. Your decisions will alter the outcome of the game and often they can lead to your demise. The graphics of the game are excellent. The controls are simple to use but there's a tutorial to train you on the basic moves if needed. The storyline is original and engrossing, the voice work is about as good as you'll find in any game. This is more of a RPG than a standard action game. You won't get into battles head on, but rather you will play a series of "simon says" sequences that you can pass or fail depending on your dexterity. There is a flaw with this type of combat system in that the guide shows up on the screen and you are so focused on trying to master the moves that you miss what is actually going on in the game.

You'll play as different characters, the lead, a presumed murderer and the cops that are tracking you down. This adds interest to the game as you will diligently try to escape the cops one minute and the next you are desperately looking for clues to try to catch the character that you just played. Throughout the game, you'll have to make decisions: conversation topics, actions, etc. For the most part, each decision alters the game outcome so you have to think about what could happen in the long run but you will only have a limited amount of time to do so. The game plays like a movie and unlike most games, the cut scenes are not transitions into the next chapter but are actually the game itself. Indigo Prophecy is a bit short, however there is significant replay value as making different decisions can completely change the outcome of the game. It is obvious that there was a great deal of time and thought put into the development of this game and it clearly shows. This is one of the most original, clever games created for any platform. Give this one a try.

Fun but Short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game because I had heard great things about it. The gameplay was great. Movement is a little odd, but once played for a bit it gets easier.
I like how you play the parts of the different people in the story line. It adds depth to the story playing both sides, thinking to myself, "if I do this with the cop...will I make the fugative get caught?"
I have only 2 problems with the game...
1. It doesn't seem that the choices you make really make that much difference in the game other than capture or death in that scene.
2. Much too short for the kind of gamer I am. I beat the game in approx. 8-9 hours of gameplay. I beat it the same day I bought it and a friend is already borrowing it because I told him don't waste the money on such a short game. I also unlocked ALL the extras (videos, pictures, etc.) the first time through, and don't plan on playing through again.

Over all, great game. I would like to see a sequal! But with longer gameplay and perhaps more consequences for your actions.

Nice Change, but Fell Short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is an interesting concept but I think it fell short on actually being fun. More a movie then a video game the graphics and the cinematography are great. I played the whole game through simply to find out how it ends.

The problem with the game, was there really wasn't much playing to it. You steer the character around until you see an action option, then you click it. The only real 'thinking' you do is to try to quickly read the conversation options and pick one, before your time runs.

The action sequences are simply following the on-screen prompts of moving the directional pads left-right/top-bottom. I found this to be the worst part of the game as you miss all the action going in the background as you try to follow these prompts.

I give them an A for effort, but I think they need to try again.

Great Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Indigo Prophecy is an awesome game/interactive movie. As I played I really began to care about the characters. The music and atmosphere are awesome. I only have a few minor complaints. My biggest problem was the left/right button mashing sequences toward the end. It was alright when they were spaced out but the back-to-back ones caused me no small amount of headaches. I got so fed up with this in the last sequence that I just stuck with the mediocre ending instead of trying to get the good one. Overall though, it was an awesome game.

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