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[siamesedreamer]

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/652/652204p1.html

Closing Comments
Indigo Prophecy is not a perfect game. There are camera and control issues, the graphics aren’t stellar, and the action sequences can be imprecise at points. However, the game’s sound, story, and characters are so strong, and the variety of situations players will find themselves in is so large, that at no point is this a boring play experience. An average gamer can expect to put in about 12 to 15 hours to run through this game, though depending on how good you are with the action sequences you can definitely get through faster. However, if you’re rushing through this game, you’re not playing it properly. For anyone craving a new, twisting suspense story with a little action mixed in, you’ll definitely come away with Indigo Prophecy as a satisfied gamer, and will remember it for a long while after.


9.0 Presentation
Great story, great characters, though there are some issues mentioned above which you may have chosen not to read. Plenty of extras too.
7.5 Graphics
Though appropriate for the cold, snow covered environment, some of the textures stand out as particularly bland, and jaggies mar the corners of many objects.
9.0 Sound
Almost perfect, the sound and voices will be remembered for long after you play.
8.5 Gameplay
Adventure and action, what's not to like? Some action sequences can be imprecise, though, and the controls can be frustrating.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
It's worth playing through this game again just to experience it, and also to collect any bonus points and conversation paths you missed.
8.4 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

 

[FoneBone]

I'll probably pick up the PC version when the price drops...

 

[Suikoguy]

12-15 hours is fantastic for this type of game

Based on the demo, there are many ways to play through the game, i'd say there is a solid 20 hours of gameplay.
My only complaint other then control issues (which stems into camera) is you can't skip cutscenes

 

[saelz8]

Should have this tomorrow or the day after. Good score, looking forward to it.

 

[Coop]

I dont know how accurate that is..from reading other message boards it seems the game can be beaten in 6 to 10 hours.

 

[Ryudo]

I dont know how accurate that is..from reading other message boards it seems the game can be beaten in 6 to 10 hours.

You can also blend up a gourmet meal and drink it in a fraction of the time it would take to eat it with a knife and fork.

 

[Neex]

You can also blend up a gourmet meal and drink it in a fraction of the time it would take to eat it with a knife and fork.

Excellent line.

 

[Ceb]

Score sounds about right. But 7.5 for graphics? WTF? Even on the PS2 it looks pretty good - cool lighting, shadowing, the grain filter hides most of the aliasing and shimmering. The only real downer is the framerate, which is a bit choppy most of the time, and really chugs during most of the "24"-style splitscreen moments. Anyway, the animation is so smooth that it made me forget about the framerate for the most part.

 

[aku:jiki]

You can also blend up a gourmet meal and drink it in a fraction of the time it would take to eat it with a knife and fork.

That would be clever if Coop wasn't exactly right. I have no idea where IGN gets 12-15 from, since I did everything that could be done at every location and never rushed and I can't have clocked much more than 7 hours.

Also, I'm very confused by IGN calling action sequences "imprecise". What's precise (or not) about QTEs? (Yes, I'm too lazy and disinterested to read the entire thing, in case they go into further detail.)

 

[B E N K E]

12-15 hours is bullshit. More like 8-10 hours, but there is stuff you want to do afterwards.

 

[Ryudo]

That would be clever if Coop wasn't exactly right. I have no idea where IGN gets 12-15 from, since I did everything that could be done at every location and never rushed and I can't have clocked much more than 7 hours.

Also, I'm very confused by IGN calling action sequences "imprecise". What's precise (or not) about QTEs? (Yes, I'm too lazy and disinterested to read the entire thing, in case they go into further detail.)

I am just saying, take your time and enjoy the game. Thats all.

 

[Ceb]

That would be clever if Coop wasn't exactly right. I have no idea where IGN gets 12-15 from, since I did everything that could be done at every location and never rushed and I can't have clocked much more than 7 hours.

Also, I'm very confused by IGN calling action sequences "imprecise". What's precise (or not) about QTEs? (Yes, I'm too lazy and disinterested to read the entire thing, in case they go into further detail.)

Funny, I never rushed either, and know for sure that it took me at least 10 hours.

 

[AniHawk]

Good. I need a short game in the coming weeks. There's just so many games I'm buying soon, and my time is limited.

 

[Juice]

You can also blend up a gourmet meal and drink it in a fraction of the time it would take to eat it with a knife and fork.

Forget Indigo Prophecy, let's talk about your one-liner.

I think for Adventure games, it's more accurate than you know. In the case of most adventure games, you can whip through them in a matter of MINUTES (skipping cutscenes) by just doing exactly as you're instructed by a walkthrough on GameFAQs. It completely defeats the purpose of being an interactive, thinking story-telling medium.

When I was a kid, my friend Mark and I played Maniac Mansion all the time trying to figure it out. We got at least thirty or forty hours out of it. We never came close to beating it.

Last summer, we whipped it out with a FAQ at the ready and had every ending in under an hour. It brought closure, but not really entertainment.

Adventure games are far better in small sittings at a time, their stories and artwork is usually well ahead of the rest of the genres' games, since that's all there really is to them. Like a glass of wine, I love mixing an adventure game in the rotation and play it only twenty or thirty minutes at a time, absolute maximum.

That's currently how I'm playing Phoenix Wright, and I'm loving letting my mind wander to how exactly I'm going to make that prosecuting attorney pay for being such a prick. Because you're finding the holes to an actual narrative, there's plenty of enjoyment to be had in thinking about and discussing the game, something that can't be said of most games.

So, what's Indigo Prophecy? Is it the one I want to download the Euro version of because the US one is missing some digital tit'ems?

 

[aku:jiki]

So, what's Indigo Prophecy? Is it the one I want to download the Euro version of because the US one is missing some digital tit'ems?

It's that game, yes, but I'm not sure if you actually need the titties. If the removed sex scene is the one I'm thinking of, it actually detracts from the story rather than adding to it. It's completely out of the blue and feels like cheap porn, basically.

 

[Ghost]

I just picked up the PC version this morning, cant wait to ge back to play it.

 

[EmSeta]

My opinion:

+ First half of the story kicks ass.
+ Amazing soundtrack - it's fucking Badalamenti!
+ Nice visuals and great overall direction and mood
+ Open-ended "adventure" gameplay and conversations
+ Cleverly branching paths and parallel storylines
+ Good characters (except for the black guy, talk about stereotyping)

- Second half of the story - it's a ridiculous fucking trainwreck. What were they thinking?
- QTEs - repetitive and WAY overused
- Unskippable cutscenes on second playthrough *groan*
- Some incomprihensible control and camera issues

On the story:

Spoiler

Mayan prophecies, secret world orders, alien artifacts that grant super powers, underground armies of enlightened bums, evil energy monsters from internet viruses, strange dreams of black beasts, a chosen orphan - and almost none of these bizarre elements actually seem to have anything to do with each other. Were the developers on crack? What was the deal with the giant bugs? What was the deal with Lucas sneaking into hangar 4 at night if he caught the Chroma when in his mother's womb? Why did the story suck so much?

 

[aku:jiki]

Oh yeah, that whole bit with the

Spoiler

AI gone crazy

was retarded and ridiculous. I'm just glad they didn't really mention it much, and as such it's pretty easy to ignore.

 

[Ceb]

Like I said in another thread, I can't help feeling that the game would've been a lot better if it had kept the more down-to-earth angle of the first half. What if the game would've simply opened with Lucas comitting a murder because of jealousy or something, and you had to try to cope with the guilt? It would also have helped if you could actually choose to NOT retrieve the murder weapon. God, I hate a false sense of freedom like that.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

I'm grabbing a copy this week for sure. I can't wait to sit down with this game.

 

[Excelion]

David Cage (director) last post on a french forum:

Bonjour à tous,

FAHRENHEIT sort aujourd´hui. J´ai beau faire ce métier depuis quelques années maintenant, j´ai toujours le même frisson en voyant la boîte de mon jeu dans les magasins. Je ne peux m´empêcher de penser aux heures de travail, aux nuits blanches, aux engueulades, aux moments d´euphorie, bref tout ce qui fait du développement d´un jeu avant tout une formidable aventure humaine.

Nous avons maintenant presque toutes les notes au niveau mondial, et la moyenne globale y compris les US est de 87%. Toute la presse presque sans exception a vu l´aspect original de Fahrenheit et en quoi le jeu apportait quelque chose de véritablement nouveau. C´est pour moi une véritable satisfaction.

La France est le pays qui a le plus mal noté le jeu avec une moyenne de 79%. Pourquoi un jeu français est noté presque 10% en dessous du reste du monde reste pour moi un mystère.

Est-ce le syndrome franco-français (c´est un jeu français, donc ça ne peut pas être bien) ou une différence de goûts? Sincèrement, je n´ai aucune explication à cette exception française.

C´est une véritable déception de ne pas avoir été compris dans mon propre pays. Au-delà de Fahrenheit, je crois que la presse spécialisée traverse une crise d´identité, entre ceux qui ont une vision plus large du jeu et ceux qui veulent avant tout qu´ils continuent à s´adresser à un public adolescent.

Fahrenheit n´est que le révélateur de ce malaise.

Pour conclure, je voudrais remercier tous ceux qui sont venus participer à ce forum et partager leur enthousiasme pour ce jeu.

Ceci est mon dernier post. Je laisse maintenant la place au jeu, et j´espère que vous y verrez toute la passion et l´enthousiasme que nous y avons placés.

Quant à l´avenir de Quantic Dream, nous espérons grandement continuer à créer des "Interactive Drama" à la Fahrenheit, avec une réalisation, un game play et un scénario encore meilleurs.

Nous allons aussi appliquer tout ce que nous avons appris à notre prochaine grande aventure impossible : Karma.

Restez à l´écoute...

He is happy that the average score for his game is 87%, all the press saw that Fahrenheit was something really new, he is proud of it. He's disapointed that the average french review is only 79% and he cant explain it: lack of vision from the press ? harsher with games made in France ? (well imo it's the score it deserved, the second part really sucks)

next game: Karma, sequel to Omikron

 

[XVI]

12-15 hours is bullshit. More like 8-10 hours, but there is stuff you want to do afterwards.

QFT, took me around seven and a half.

 

[Xrenity]

It's out here already (called Fahrenheit).

The demo was simply great.

 

[Speevy]

I might check this out.

 

[aku:jiki]

It would also have helped if you could actually choose to NOT retrieve the murder weapon. God, I hate a false sense of freedom like that.

Wait, what? I never retreived the murder weapon (and as such left it for Carla to grab prints from)?

Your ideas for keeping the game more down-to-earth are good, though, and I totally agree. It would've made it even better. Maybe some type of Memento type deal where we don't know why he kills him at first, but we unwind the story as we go and find out what it was all about (sans cults and magic). Like have the cops stories go forwards chronologically, but have Lucas' go backwards to keep the suspense up.

 

[Lord Error]

I can only echo all the comments made so far about taking your time with adventure games, never rushing through them. Can't wait get my hands on Indigo Prophecy. I really loved the demo.

Score sounds about right. But 7.5 for graphics? WTF? Even on the PS2 it looks pretty good - cool lighting, shadowing, the grain filter hides most of the aliasing and shimmering. The only real downer is the framerate, which is a bit choppy most of the time, and really chugs during most of the "24"-style splitscreen moments. Anyway, the animation is so smooth that it made me forget about the framerate for the most part.

Even on a PC it's very simple looking, yet it's hard to get it running smooth with everything set to high on my PC that runs a lot more technically demanding games without hitch. 7-8ish is something i'd agree with, but I also agree that the graphics do have a nice art direction touch to them. PS2 game is from what I've heard the exact same thing as far as art assets, only runs in lower res and chuggier framerate. On one hand, graphics should have been a lot better by today's standards, on the other hand, as long as looks stylish enough and with a good mood, it doesn't matter for a game of this kind.

- Second half of the story - it's a ridiculous fucking trainwreck. What were they thinking?

However, this scares me. I keep hearing this over and over.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

I'm about halfway through, story says 50% but the way that thing jumps about who knows, and the occult stuff is just starting to kick in. The fantastical stuff is slightly dissapointing and I agree that the more down to earth stuff is better, so far I've actually preferred the bits with Carla doing the detective thing more than those with Lucas. Sometimes I wonder if the industry is ever going to mature at storytelling when every writer/director seems to be a fantasy geek who wants to tell their version of a prophetic apocalypse.

Also I'm not too sure about the whole sticking QTEs in all the time. Their fun during the action sequences but during story exposition

Spoiler

like the flashback at Agatha's or when Carla/Tyler questions Lucas at work

feels like they're sticking them in because they're worried people might not think it's intense enough.

Also what the hell was that stealth section all about? Why must we have crappy stealth bits shoved into otherwise unsuspecting games?

Definitely a flawed gem though. It oozes atmosphere from every pore.

 

[Ceb]

Wait, what? I never retreived the murder weapon (and as such left it for Carla to grab prints from)?

Sorry, I expressed myself a bit clumsily. I meant that it sucks that you can't leave the café without "finding" the murder weapon as Carla or Tyler. Of course, having no evidence on Lucas' guilt would've kinda wrecked the whole plot, but when the director brags so much about freedom...

I'm about halfway through, story says 50% but the way that thing jumps about who knows, and the occult stuff is just starting to kick in. The fantastical stuff is slightly dissapointing and I agree that the more down to earth stuff is better, so far I've actually preferred the bits with Carla doing the detective thing more than those with Lucas. Sometimes I wonder if the industry is ever going to mature at storytelling when every writer/director seems to be a fantasy geek who wants to tell their version of a prophetic apocalypse.

The funny thing is that David Cage seems to be really full of hatred for conventional storylines, and he's always been talking up the human element of the game. It's almost like the latter parts were thrown in to appease the publishers and the casual market.

Agree about the QTEs and stealth portions too.