It takes time for a diamond to be made...but once it's made, found and sold it's a true gem and that sums up this game.
User Rating: 8.5 | Indigo Prophecy PS2
"My hands slap the chilling tiles of the floor. My head is pounding, a slow, deadly rhythm of flowing blood. I gradually regain my senses. Touch, sound, taste, smell…the smell of dried blood surrounded and engulfed me. I snap my eyes wide open to find white, lifeless eyeballs staring back at me. I scramble to my feet, unable to take my eyes off the body lying on the floor in front of me. My legs can’t support my uncontrollable shuddering… I can’t feel my knees, the blood is draining away from me. I look down at myself in disbelief. I’m not capable of something like this. But as I hope I’m not, I see the dried blood on my clothes, and my sliced wrists with dripping red liquid. I was the killer. “What…what have I done?” The opening scene of Indigo Prophecy/ Fahrenheit immediately plunges the gamer into the unfortunate and disturbing shoes of Lucas Kane, an ordinary New Yorker who wakes up from a sudden trance in the restroom of a diner, standing over a dead body… but you don’t remember anything about the murder…you don’t even know the man who lies motionless in front of you. But you have to act fast…you have to decide what you want to do because, sooner or later, someone is going to need to use the bathroom. It’s up too you how you play and what you do. But nearly every action has a consequence, no matter how small. Developers have been talking for a long time about creating a cinematic experience but their games haven't exactly delivered on that promise…until now. Indigo Prophecy has taken the first steps down the long road to a truly new gaming experience that goes beyond that of any game before it. It accomplishes this feat on a number of levels, but the foundation is in the conceptual approach. Where other games have been designed as just that, games -- with cinematic aspirations, Indigo Prophecy has an undeniable sense of having begun life as a work of fiction; and one clearly capable of carrying a feature film at that. It's a dark story of ritualistic murders, the investigation of those acts and the mystical plans for subversion of the world they are tied to. But unlike most games, this isn't built for your 12 year old child who wants to blow up more coppers. The subject matter and game content isnt just mature, it's genuinely disturbing -- not in the campy b-movie style of games like Resident Evil but in the mess-with-your-head sense of movies like Angel Heart… but only if you’re willing to be absorbed into the chaotic world of Lucas Kane. The game follows the lives of three very different but lovable characters, from the distraught regular man, Lucas, to the funk loving, video game obsessed detective Tyler. And lets not forget the J-Lo look alike Detective Carla. As the story unravels we grow increasingly closer to these three characters and continue to play because we want to help them, not because we have to. This is mainly due not only to the representation of their facial expressions but also to the fantastic work of the Voice Actors, making every sentance and phrase so meaningful that if you didn't feel any emotion at all, then it is safe to say your heart is made of concrete. The story unfolds with the grace and elegance of a classic. Never are you forced down an avenue just to be the playable character, quite the opposite. Throughout the story you reach points where you must chose which side to play next. Ultimately you wind up seeing all the various pieces, but their order, and to some degree their impact, is your call. Relationships are built with figures on different sides of the storyYou know them; you care about them; and what connection you build with them is left entirely up to you. That's not to say there isn't a game here. The individual pieces of game play will actually be familiar to anyone who's played games like Shenmue. But again, it's how they're used that's innovative. Quick-time events are woven into the very fabric of the experience. Tied to both the analog sticks, two colored rings flash patterns that must be quickly duplicated by pressing in the correct direction. Long strings, sometimes excruciatingly so, allow you to really get into the character's shoes -- working out with a punching bag, or even playing guitar. At other times you may be called on to frantically tap buttons to simulate an endurance test. Regardless the mechanism, the real magic is in how linked the action feels to what's going on in the game world. And in every case this is used to heighten your sense of emotional involvement with the game. It's one of the many techniques used to suspend your disbelief and allow you to get caught up in the moment. In much the same way you'll find yourself going through sometimes mundane actions while exploring the game. If the phone rings you'll need to walk across the room to answer it; if you want to share a glass of champagne with your significant other, get out the glasses and start pouring. The dialogue portion of the adventure is equally involving. Your selections in the conversation trees are made by tracing a pattern indicated with the stick. The twist is that for each response you have a limited time to select your course. The fuse burning across the screen leads to some sweaty-palmed moments anxiously deciding whether to press one way or another. Such is the intensity of the connection between game play and the action that it winds up detracting from the game at times. During some of the most dramatic moments all your attention must be focused on what becomes a difficult dexterity test. Getting into the zone it takes to keep up leaves you all but oblivious to what is actually transpiring on screen as a result of your inputs. The desire to bring more traditional game-like elements into the story also led to two rather weakly implemented Metal Gear Solid-like stealth sections. But the most remarkable thing about Indigo Prophecy is that these game play issues are secondary to the overall experience of the game. If it was a book you'd call it "a real page-turner". When all is said and done, as the credits roll across the screen, you'll remember the poignant moments as part of the story, not the actions you took that caused them to be played out. And your regret will be that the final third of the game flashes by in what feels like a rushed job after the perfected pace of the rest. That there are opportunities for refinement only reinforces how truly pioneering Indigo Prophecy is. Perhaps the most telling evidence of its impact is in the post-game anticipation. It's not for the next game; it's for the next story.
