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September 27, 2005 | 1:23 AM PST
by: John Thomas Perkowski
An adventure that entrances you from the beginning.
The words ‘innovative gameplay’ get tossed around so often it’s hard to understand what is so revolutionary about some titles. In Indigo Prophecy, however, it's easy to see. With a simple and intuitive interface, Indigo Prophecy mesmerizes you from the moment you start the game until its eventual conclusion. Not since the original Metal Gear Solid has a game made you care so much about what happens, nor has one hooked you in so entirely that you find yourself unable to put down your controller.
The game begins with a murder committed by Lucas Kane, an average man who simply stopped by a local diner for some dinner. He didn’t want it to happen, nor did he have any control over his own actions. By the time he regained control, he was kneeling over a dead body with the bloody knife in his hand. This is where the game begins. One of the hooks of the game is that the player chooses how the game progresses. Does Kane clean up, hide the evidence and the body? Or does he run out the door quickly, with no regard for his appearance? But its not just Kane who you control. Often you will step into the shoes of the two detectives assigned to investigate the bizarre slaying, Carla and Tyler. Choices you make with them also determine the outcome of the story. You will even step into the shoes of Kane's brother at more than one point to make a life or death decision.
Each decision adds or subtracts from a character’s mental health, which goes up or down during the game. Do you turn on the music player to soothe Kane's nerves, or turn on the TV? Do you take medicine or drink some milk? Saving a life may make you a hero, or get a cop’s attention faster. Saying more would do the game injustice, but needless to say, this game gives you the impression of freedom and the fear of consequence far better than any game before it, including KOTOR. This freedom of choice also adds replay value, as you will play multiple times just to see what the consequences of each action are.
Everything about this title screams cinematic quality, from the setting to its music. This turns out to be more of an annoyance that a benefit. While the dramatic angles heighten the drama of the game, they also make the controls somewhat harder to figure out. Since the characters don’t adapt to the new angle, ala Devil May Cry, you’ll find yourself struggling to adjust the camera to a proper angle just to move around effectively. This can also be a real pain during the more tense or dramatic moments, when you’re trying to accomplish a set number of goals in a limited amount of time.
Almost every interactive sequence in the game is a mini-game of some sort. Dragging a body may require an alternate tap of the L and R triggers, while the majority of other sequences play out in a Simon Says-like fashion. You match the lights on-screen with the proper directions on the thumbsticks in order to accomplish something. This allows you to feel directly involved with a spectacular cinematic sequence while not having any real definable control over it. This is a good and bad thing as the simplistic controls are easy to pick up, but they can also become repetitive over time no matter how dramatic the sequence. Also, sometimes it is hard to understand why you are doing the indicated action, as it doesn’t appear to have any effect on what is happening on the screen even though it indicates a success.
The story is the main focus of the game, but it has its flaws. There is a huge time gap late in the game that makes you question some parts of the story. It almost feels like a huge chunk of the story was left out, and this creates continuity gaps and plot holes that shouldn’t exist. Since so much else in the game is polished to perfection, this is a confusing omission to say the least. Despite this flaw the story flows along perfectly. Each chapter of the game has new surprises for Kane and company, and you will often play just to see what happens next.
Animation is excellent, with each main character getting a unique walking animation. There is no clipping to speak of, though the character models do tend to be a bit rough looking. In fact, the graphics themselves tend to be a little primitive, though not awful by any means.
By far, the most amazing aspect is the sound. The music tops the list, with an orchestral score by Angelo Badalamenti that complements the cinematic feel of the game. There is also a movie-quality licensed soundtrack, featuring some excellent songs from Theory of a Deadman among others. The voice actors also do extremely well, with each and every actor adding depth to their performance. On top of this list is Alec Baldwin as Lucas Kane, whose nuanced performance gives humanity to Kane that few videogame characters share.
No matter what you may think of adventure games, Indigo Prophecy is a stellar example of what a great game plays like. It’s accessible to anyone who can hold a controller, and will have you hooked from beginning to end.
The words ‘innovative gameplay’ get tossed around so often it’s hard to understand what is so revolutionary about some titles. In Indigo Prophecy, however, it's easy to see. With a simple and intuitive interface, Indigo Prophecy mesmerizes you from the moment you start the game until its eventual conclusion. Not since the original Metal Gear Solid has a game made you care so much about what happens, nor has one hooked you in so entirely that you find yourself unable to put down your controller.
The game begins with a murder committed by Lucas Kane, an average man who simply stopped by a local diner for some dinner. He didn’t want it to happen, nor did he have any control over his own actions. By the time he regained control, he was kneeling over a dead body with the bloody knife in his hand. This is where the game begins. One of the hooks of the game is that the player chooses how the game progresses. Does Kane clean up, hide the evidence and the body? Or does he run out the door quickly, with no regard for his appearance? But its not just Kane who you control. Often you will step into the shoes of the two detectives assigned to investigate the bizarre slaying, Carla and Tyler. Choices you make with them also determine the outcome of the story. You will even step into the shoes of Kane's brother at more than one point to make a life or death decision.
Each decision adds or subtracts from a character’s mental health, which goes up or down during the game. Do you turn on the music player to soothe Kane's nerves, or turn on the TV? Do you take medicine or drink some milk? Saving a life may make you a hero, or get a cop’s attention faster. Saying more would do the game injustice, but needless to say, this game gives you the impression of freedom and the fear of consequence far better than any game before it, including KOTOR. This freedom of choice also adds replay value, as you will play multiple times just to see what the consequences of each action are.
Everything about this title screams cinematic quality, from the setting to its music. This turns out to be more of an annoyance that a benefit. While the dramatic angles heighten the drama of the game, they also make the controls somewhat harder to figure out. Since the characters don’t adapt to the new angle, ala Devil May Cry, you’ll find yourself struggling to adjust the camera to a proper angle just to move around effectively. This can also be a real pain during the more tense or dramatic moments, when you’re trying to accomplish a set number of goals in a limited amount of time.
Almost every interactive sequence in the game is a mini-game of some sort. Dragging a body may require an alternate tap of the L and R triggers, while the majority of other sequences play out in a Simon Says-like fashion. You match the lights on-screen with the proper directions on the thumbsticks in order to accomplish something. This allows you to feel directly involved with a spectacular cinematic sequence while not having any real definable control over it. This is a good and bad thing as the simplistic controls are easy to pick up, but they can also become repetitive over time no matter how dramatic the sequence. Also, sometimes it is hard to understand why you are doing the indicated action, as it doesn’t appear to have any effect on what is happening on the screen even though it indicates a success.
The story is the main focus of the game, but it has its flaws. There is a huge time gap late in the game that makes you question some parts of the story. It almost feels like a huge chunk of the story was left out, and this creates continuity gaps and plot holes that shouldn’t exist. Since so much else in the game is polished to perfection, this is a confusing omission to say the least. Despite this flaw the story flows along perfectly. Each chapter of the game has new surprises for Kane and company, and you will often play just to see what happens next.
Animation is excellent, with each main character getting a unique walking animation. There is no clipping to speak of, though the character models do tend to be a bit rough looking. In fact, the graphics themselves tend to be a little primitive, though not awful by any means.
By far, the most amazing aspect is the sound. The music tops the list, with an orchestral score by Angelo Badalamenti that complements the cinematic feel of the game. There is also a movie-quality licensed soundtrack, featuring some excellent songs from Theory of a Deadman among others. The voice actors also do extremely well, with each and every actor adding depth to their performance. On top of this list is Alec Baldwin as Lucas Kane, whose nuanced performance gives humanity to Kane that few videogame characters share.
No matter what you may think of adventure games, Indigo Prophecy is a stellar example of what a great game plays like. It’s accessible to anyone who can hold a controller, and will have you hooked from beginning to end.
February 8, 2010
