Indigo Prophecy

The Good
The game starts out as a kind of detective or police procedural, then subtly morphs in a more sci-fi direction. The game play is unusual and not like all the other games out there. The story was important to the game and satisfying. The voice acting was nominated on several sites as being the best of the year. It was believable and realistic and added to the experience of the game.

The Bad
The graphics weren't anything special.

The Bottom Line
An adventure RPG with a unique game system.

The Good
I liked this game for taking things in a new direction. I was a big fan of the "interactive movie" BioForge by Origin, but I now see all the things that it lacked. Indigo Prophecy has definitely moved things up a notch.

I found the so-called "intuitive" controls of Indigo Prophecy a very novel concept, something that I hope can be developed upon later. I didn't quite feel like I was really performing the actions, but I'd love to see somebody take this further in future releases.

Although I really didn't like some of the gameplay, I did particularly enjoy the sequences in which you have to control Carla's breathing in claustrophobic spaces and also solve simple puzzles at the same time. I wish there had been more! The time-based challenges were also very good at creating a sense of urgency.

The voice-acting, motion capture and general cinematic quality of the game are all superb. The action that takes place is really enjoyable and well directed. In almost every scene, the design and use of (sometimes multiple) camera angles is a treat for the eyes in some way.

The Bad
I found the challenge aspect of the game rather dull. The scenes were almost all easily figured out, because all you had to do was walk around until you found actions to perform. Some scenes/puzzles were almost insultingly simple, and the game just didn't really hold much compelling gameplay/puzzle-solving for me.

The arcade-y challenges were especially strange to me. I know I'm not much of a console gamer, but I really feel the DDR-esque action sequences and endurance button mashing didn't translate to the PC platform. With the exception of the claustrophobic Carla scenes, I felt they only distracted the player from the action (granted you can go back and watch them passively later, but still, they seemed trivial).

Despite vivid scenes and fantastic acting, the graphics didn't do them justice. The graphics didn't seem to be trying to do anything special, which I guess is because the developers were focusing on other aspects of the game. All the same, this detracts from the experience.

Finally, the final third of the story just goes completely off the rails. Major plot developments happen way too quickly at the end, and it seems like way too much was crammed in there. I was disappointed, because I would have liked to have seen some of the more fascinating aspects of the late plot explained in more detail.

The Bottom Line
Don't go into this game looking for gameplay is all I can say. I played the game on normal difficulty, and I think you've got to play it on difficult if you really want to feel challenged.

There's plenty of eye-candy in spite of the dated graphics, and the story is one of the best you'll see in a video game. Try to enjoy it as if it were a film as far as possible. Either way, play this game. It's flawed, but there's real innovation happening here.

The Good
One of the most impressive features of the game is its cinema-style presentation. You can basically shape the story based on the choices you make. Although the story itself deviates a little by your choices, it is still a great feature.

Personally, I was very impressed with this game when it first came out. I had very low expectations of this game at first since I really didn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about. After playing the first 10 minutes, I was blown away. I couldn’t believe how great the game was and I couldn’t stop playing it.

The game unfolds like a movie. So explaining the game mechanics is hard to explain without spoiling much of the fun. In other words, the game must be experienced, not heard about.

If I remembered correctly, you can play three different characters; with each character’s story intertwining each other.

The Bad
There are four things I really didn’t like in this game.

The first is the stress system. I don’t know if it’s actually called the stress system, but I think the name is appropriate. The stress system is basically your mental state throughout the game. Depending on what dialogue choices you make, actions you take, and things you see, your stress level can increase or decrease. If you’re happy and alert, you can handle certain things; however, if your stress level is very high, the game can end if you pick the wrong choices. For example, listening to music can make your stress level reduced. However, if you watch news reports about yourself, your stress can increase. If you are so stressed out, and you happen to do something that furthers increase your stress, the game ends.

The stress system is great, in my opinion. However, the problem with it involves what can increase and decrease your stress level. The game isn’t exactly clear on it and sometimes if your stress is really high, and the next scene involves your stress level increasing, your game can end.

The next thing I really didn’t like is the “plot twist.” Of course I won’t spoil it for anyone, but I think everyone who played the game thought to themselves, “Where the heck did that come from?!?!” The plot twist is really out of place and nothing seems to build upon it from previous dialogues and scenes. It made it appear as if the developers had an original story, then somewhere along the line they decided to throw in this plot twist without any time to fit it around the earlier scenes.

The next thing I really didn’t like was the interaction within the game. The game plays a bit of a “Simon Says,” where you have to move your left and right analog sticks according to what’s given on the screen. It’s alright, but it presents no challenge to the game. Basically, the two sure ways you can die in this game is by the stress level or missing a sequence to this “Simon Says” thing.

The final thing I didn’t like was the game’s length. The game was very short compared to other games. I think the game itself can be played in 4-6 hours.

The Bottom Line
I recommend this game to anyone who wants an interesting story, and a fantastic game. The game is very hard to explain in words and it’s best to just go out and play the game.