Awhile back, I had about 2000 or so extra Microsoft points and they were burning a hole in my hard drive. There wasn't any downloadable content that I really wanted. No extra levels, or songs, or even horse armour that caught my eye and tickled my fancy.
Until I stumbled across the small yet beautiful archive of old Xbox 1 hits.
The first thing that caught my eye was Halo. Beautiful, beautiful Halo. I didn't get it. Why? I had already played numbers 2 and 3 to death, and had completed 1 on Legendary at a friend's place. I was quite honestly sick of it. *gasp*
The next thing I saw was Indigo Prophecy (May be Farenheit for some people, just a quick FYI). I thought to myself "Didn't that get an average of 8.5 in my favourite videogame magazine? I may as well try it. It looks different and exciting."
Oh, how right I was.
Indigo Prophecy isn't a game. It doesn't even say "New Game" on the damn title screen. It says "New Movie." Yes folks, this is a good ol' point and click interactive movie. A "non-game" if you prefer.
Do not, I repeat, do NOT let that turn you off.
This game has quite possibly one of the most complex and involving story lines that you will ever see in a game. By the end, I was sad that I had to bid farewell to the characters. Not even Mass Effect, with it's stellar conversation and story made me feel that way.
On to the game itself now:
Story: You play Lucas Kain, a man who commits a murder in the opening scene while in some sort of trance. He comes to, and immediately freaks right the hell out. He hightails it outta there, obviously. And here's where it gets good, you also play as the two cops invesigating the murder! That's right, you actually investigate or elude what you do as Lucas or the cops in turn.
The dialouge is also top notch. Like Mass Effect, you choose what you want to say based on a max of 4 choices, which are only a one word heads up. So you hear every line for the first time. However, the fact that you're on a timer to answer can be really pissy.
The story line itself unfolds beautifully...mostly. As you get deeper into it, you uncover that fact that you were the victim in an magical ritual, and the only reason you survived this long after the murder is because you have an unusally high amount of the energy that makes up the universe. The titular prophecy rests with a young girl, and you eventually find her. However, that's when it all falls apart.
The whole "old-ass ritual" thing is a bit overdone nowadays, and the powers you gain at the end blantently rip off the Matrix. It's quite the tale all in all, and the dialouge is top notch, but the end closes it all up so fast you'll get whiplash. The love scene at the end is rather a pathetic throw in as well, but I'm just nit-picking now.
Graphics: As an Xbox 1 title, it's okay. About on par with Halo 1 I'd say. The talking animation is fairly decent at best however.
Control: Walking is pretty stiff, and the camera not much better. Quicktime events are rampant in this game. It's the only way to progress during scenes where you fight, flee, dodge things, lie to the cops, avoid being found, etc.
If you hate QT events, then you should likely just steer clear completely.
Sound: The soundtrack is very good. Lots of Theory of A Deadman, and they play one of my all time favourites during the credits, "Santa Monica." The voice acting is top-notch as well. I don't know who found all the actors, but they deserve a big high five.
Fun: The story is really all this game has going for it. The action sequences can be tedious and repetitive, you hold a gun once in the whole game, and the dialouge is literally at least 85% of the game. If you want action in your games, then, again, steer clear.
Replay Value: Unless you want to hear all the dialouge and see all the scenes, there really isn't any. You can skip around in the scenes, so if you know what you want to hear, you can go right there.
Final Verdict: Indigo Prophecy re-invents the almost dead point and click adventure genre and gives it a wonderfully complex story, where everything (and I do mean everything, for example: taking a leak. Seriously.) has an impact on the characters.
Hell, it's only 1200 points, and for a fully fledged Xbox 1 title, that's value on par with The Orange Box. If you love games with story and wish for something different, albeit somewhat slow and dull and a little silly sometimes, then Indigo Prophecy is a definite "Buy It."
Until I stumbled across the small yet beautiful archive of old Xbox 1 hits.
The first thing that caught my eye was Halo. Beautiful, beautiful Halo. I didn't get it. Why? I had already played numbers 2 and 3 to death, and had completed 1 on Legendary at a friend's place. I was quite honestly sick of it. *gasp*
The next thing I saw was Indigo Prophecy (May be Farenheit for some people, just a quick FYI). I thought to myself "Didn't that get an average of 8.5 in my favourite videogame magazine? I may as well try it. It looks different and exciting."
Oh, how right I was.
Indigo Prophecy isn't a game. It doesn't even say "New Game" on the damn title screen. It says "New Movie." Yes folks, this is a good ol' point and click interactive movie. A "non-game" if you prefer.
Do not, I repeat, do NOT let that turn you off.
This game has quite possibly one of the most complex and involving story lines that you will ever see in a game. By the end, I was sad that I had to bid farewell to the characters. Not even Mass Effect, with it's stellar conversation and story made me feel that way.
On to the game itself now:
Story: You play Lucas Kain, a man who commits a murder in the opening scene while in some sort of trance. He comes to, and immediately freaks right the hell out. He hightails it outta there, obviously. And here's where it gets good, you also play as the two cops invesigating the murder! That's right, you actually investigate or elude what you do as Lucas or the cops in turn.
The dialouge is also top notch. Like Mass Effect, you choose what you want to say based on a max of 4 choices, which are only a one word heads up. So you hear every line for the first time. However, the fact that you're on a timer to answer can be really pissy.
The story line itself unfolds beautifully...mostly. As you get deeper into it, you uncover that fact that you were the victim in an magical ritual, and the only reason you survived this long after the murder is because you have an unusally high amount of the energy that makes up the universe. The titular prophecy rests with a young girl, and you eventually find her. However, that's when it all falls apart.
The whole "old-ass ritual" thing is a bit overdone nowadays, and the powers you gain at the end blantently rip off the Matrix. It's quite the tale all in all, and the dialouge is top notch, but the end closes it all up so fast you'll get whiplash. The love scene at the end is rather a pathetic throw in as well, but I'm just nit-picking now.
Graphics: As an Xbox 1 title, it's okay. About on par with Halo 1 I'd say. The talking animation is fairly decent at best however.
Control: Walking is pretty stiff, and the camera not much better. Quicktime events are rampant in this game. It's the only way to progress during scenes where you fight, flee, dodge things, lie to the cops, avoid being found, etc.
If you hate QT events, then you should likely just steer clear completely.
Sound: The soundtrack is very good. Lots of Theory of A Deadman, and they play one of my all time favourites during the credits, "Santa Monica." The voice acting is top-notch as well. I don't know who found all the actors, but they deserve a big high five.
Fun: The story is really all this game has going for it. The action sequences can be tedious and repetitive, you hold a gun once in the whole game, and the dialouge is literally at least 85% of the game. If you want action in your games, then, again, steer clear.
Replay Value: Unless you want to hear all the dialouge and see all the scenes, there really isn't any. You can skip around in the scenes, so if you know what you want to hear, you can go right there.
Final Verdict: Indigo Prophecy re-invents the almost dead point and click adventure genre and gives it a wonderfully complex story, where everything (and I do mean everything, for example: taking a leak. Seriously.) has an impact on the characters.
Hell, it's only 1200 points, and for a fully fledged Xbox 1 title, that's value on par with The Orange Box. If you love games with story and wish for something different, albeit somewhat slow and dull and a little silly sometimes, then Indigo Prophecy is a definite "Buy It."
