Indigo Prophecy is a masterpiece in gaming. This game is a must have title.
It is incredibly hard to discus Indigo Prophecy with out giving away its truly amazing story. This is because the story sewn though-out the entire game. Every action you perform reveals a small tidbit in a tale that where it a movie; would be an instant blockbuster. You start the saga as Lucas Kane, a normal mind-mannered man. One snow crested night in a small diner Lucas gets up from his table, follows a man to the restroom, and stabs him to death. You gain control of Lucas just after this murder, but something is amiss. For Lucas has no idea how he has gotten here, or why the man beneath him is dead. It is now that you must unravel the mystery of how Lucas became a killer.
One of the most unique things about this game it your ability to bend the story. From the get go you can perform many actions that affect how certain parts of the story play out. Do you run out of the bathroom covered in blood and dart down the nearest alley-way? Or will you attempt to hide the body and clean you self up, so that you may casually walk out the front door. These choices are your's, and each one reveals different story driven dialog. Even if you chose an action that gets you arrested, and therefore a game over, you are treated to excellent dialog blurbs about what happened after Lucas was incarcerated.
Parallel in time to what Lucas is doing, you play as two police detectives. Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles are given the job of bringing Lucas to justice. In many cases you'll have the ability to control either character for the purposes of questioning witnesses, and hunting down clues. The game is broken up in to chapters where you control one of the three playable charters. You're given the choice of which character you would like to play as in a "choose your own adventure" esque story arch. There is an excellent balance between the stories and each protagonist is fully fleshed out with unique backgrounds and home lives.
Adding to the outstanding story is the game's direction. Indigo Prophecy feels and looks like a movie. This is due to the way the camera angles and pans around your character. The scenes are displayed in a film noir style reminiscent of Christopher Nolan movies such as Memento and Batman Begins. This visual style haunts every setting with perfectly selected viewing angles. This is not to say that the camera is solely in a fixed position, as when necessary you are given control over it. Also adding to cinematic feel, is the game's liberal use of extra screens to display action that is happening in more than one place. Often when things are heating up, your screen will split in to two or even three allowing you to simultaneously see different events.
The similarities between Indigo Prophecy and movies also show themselves though the game's action sequences. During an action sequence your ability to control the character is removed. Instead the game will control the character for you while displaying two faint "Simons Says" like images in the center of the screen. During the events happing on the screen the two images will cycle though different inputs that you must match. For example, the right image may display UP, DOWN, LEFT, while the left image shows RIGHT, DOWN, RIGHT. Your goal is to repeat these inputs in the exact same order. Doing so correctly advances you character in the action, while incorrect inputs result in losing a life or worse. Along with input matching will be stamina tests. The game will task you with alternating left and right as fast as you can for a predetermined time. Usually this mechanic comes in to play during actions that would in real life actually require endurance, such as swimming or hanging off a ledge. In this way the controls immerse you with-in the world, as the stress you are going though mirrors the character's stress.
One downfall to the action sequence controls is that for the entire time you are watching a scene you will be staring at the indicators. It would have been nice to have an option to replay the scene once completed with out having to input anything, so you could get a better look at what is going on. Another detractor is that certain sequences are far too long. There is a scene in particular where Lucas' apartment becomes swept with wind and everything is sent flying. It becomes difficult to obtain a good rhythm in this long scene as there are over 25 different objects you must avoid, each with three unique input assignments. Also, if your hand eye coronation is not up to par, Indigo Prophecy will call your bluff immediately, as it is very unforgiving of incorrect selections.
Interacting with objects is another instance where normal button press gaming is forgone. When you come across an object which can be manipulated, you use the mouse to interact. Clicking and holding the left mouse button allows you to drag the mouse in the ways indicated by onscreen contextual diagrams. These inputs will be simple left or right movements that usually correspond with where the object is in relation to your character. This mechanic also shows it's self when having conversations with a NPCs. It is a simple yet effective way to manipulate the world and is used well.
Another way in which Indigo Prophecy ashews normal gaming conventions is its "Sanity Meter". While it functions similar to health bars in other games, the way it is affected is completely different. Instead of being affected by battles, it's affected by interactions. Doing normal things such as watching TV or playing guitar can raise or lower your sanity. When playing guitar you might do well and therefore gain some sanity points. On the other hand, watching a television displaying a news a story about Lucas as a murder has negative effects. The game strikes an interesting balance between doing things that you know will make your character feel better, and doing things that might make the character unstable. However, most of the interactions you perform that affect characters negatively reveal more about the story, so you are compelled to do them. If the sanity bar reaches zero your character is committed to a mental asylum which is a game over, yet since there are so many things that can be done which appease this hardly ever becomes a problem.
While the environments you play in are linear, they are also very detailed. From the dinner in which you start the game to the police station in where the detectives work, the settings feel astatically different. Each setting is full to the brim with intractable objects that all have individual dialog portions. The character design is a mix of 3D models with motion captured face mapping. The Faces are lifelike and sync to the voices perfectly. Yet since the bodies do not enjoy the enhancement of mapping, scenes where less clothing is worn makes the 3D models look clunky. Luckily these scenarios are few and far between, and are not overtly distracting.
Indigo Prophecy has incredible replay value, not only due to the bendable story, but also credited to the three different endings. You can choose which way you want the story to play out, and replay the game in these ways, even choosing to die or get arrested in parts for more story background. Each time you speak with another character you get four choices of what to say or ask, but only two at any given time can be selected. This encourages multiple play-throughs so that you can attempt all dialog selections. On top of that scattered though out the chapters is collectable currency which you can trade in for wallpapers and music from the game's outstanding sound track
Indigo Prophecy is a masterpiece in gaming. Its few flaws are limited to some longer then necessary action sequences, and clunky 3D modeling However, these downfalls are quickly forgotten thanks to its brilliant bendable story. This game is a must have title, unless your only idea of fun is confined to gaming convention norms.