Indigo Prophecy is an interactive movie more than an actual "video game". The game is advertised as an interactive movie and it lives up to this name. It is a game that intrigues you from the very start, and keeps you playing until the very end. I played the game on a PS2, but the other Xbox and PC versions are quite similar.
STORY- 10/10 Story is the main focus above all other game components of this game. The story of Indigo Prophecy is a dark one. It is a mystery story concerning people who randomly kill others, as if in a trance, in public with no motive or reason. The game starts you out right after a killing of a man in a bathroom, and puts you in control of the killer, as well as one of the main characters, Lucas Kane. Throughout the game you play as him, trying to hide his identity as the killer as well as trying to find out what possessed you to kill the man that January night. Not only do you play as Lucas, but you play as two detectives on the murder case, Carla and Tyler. They each have their own back stories, friends, relationships, and personal lives that you learn about and play through as well. It is very interesting to be on the other side of the story, instead of always playing the misunderstood hero. The story is truly excellent, has real character development, not to mention the voice acting is top notch nearly 100% of the time. This goes especially for Lukas's voice acting, who comes across as truly human. The story is tight and engrossing all the way through, except towards the end, the story gets quite supernatural quite quickly, and some gamers may not be satisfied with this. The ending isn't bad by any means, it just changes tone very quickly and gets somewhat convoluted during the final act.
GAMEPLAY- 8/10 The gameplay alone isn't anything great, but it works perfectly to tell the story. You normally just walk around, interacting with various objects and people. During action scenes, you enter analogue stick inputs, somewhat like a weird version of simon says. This works well to keep you engaged in whatever is happening in the game, and forces you to stay alert. You can adjust the difficulty of this action sequence minigame as well. To simulate physical activity, the game makes you alternate pressing the L1 and R1 buttons. This actually works, and you may find yourself getting a little tired, but it does what it is intended to do. The one problem about the gameplay is the controls. They work great 90% of the time, except the game uses a lot of cinematic camera angles as you walk, which means that the direction that you must tilt the analouge stick changes as well. Sometimes this leads you to walk in a direction that you don't intend to walk. This is a minor annoyance most of the time, but can be somewhat frustrating during the story's timed sequences. Overall, however, the game controls great. You perform every small action that the character does. For example, not only do you press a button on the vending machine if you are going to get some coffee from it, but you control the character's hand as she reaches down and grabs the cup as well. You keep control of your character's sanity throughout the game as well, where doing negative things will bring your sanity down, and positive things will keep your sanity up. For example, if you find a key clue in solving the mystery, sanity will go up. But if someone close to you dies, or if you see something bad, your sanity may go down. If it reaches 0, it's game over, and your character will do one of many things such as give up on finding the truth, commit suicide, etc. However. It never becomes a burden or annoying, and it is a very cool system in the game.
SOUND- 10/10 The soundtrack to this game is absolutely beautiful, with the main theme being a beautiful solo viola piece, and different atmospheric, ambient sounds throughout. The game also uses real-world music, with many varying genres. For example, when playing Tyler, a cop who is African-American, it sometimes plays classic soul/funk music in the background. The soundtrack provides a very cool, artistic, atmospheric mood to the game. If you have ever watched a Quentin Tarentino film, you will know what I mean.
GRAPHICS- 9/10 The visuals in Indigo Prophecy look great. The character models are solid, and the outdoor environments have their own, slightly blurred artistic visual style to them as well. Definitely one of the better looking games from the Ps2/Xbox/PC era.
ADDICTIVENESS- 7/10 The first time through, you will not be able to stop playing this game. The story is phenomenal and the characters get you very involved. However, after the first playthrough, there isn't much else to experience. You can unlock extra concept art, making of videos, etc. With bonus coins you find throughout the main game. During conversations, you can answer questions differently, but this will not affect your game by much.
OVERALL- 9/10 There are not many other games like Indigo Prophecy. It is a very unique, engrossing game that no gamer will forget. I highly recommend it for its rich story, characters, and atmosphere. The game is quite adult with dark themes and language, and is not for young children. However, anyone old enough to appreciate this game should play it right away. You won't regret it. |