Indigo Prophecy

The Good
Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in the US) was made by Quantic Dream, the same company that created Nomad Soul, a very original game with plenty of creative content. I was interested to discover that the next product of the talented developers turned out to be an intriguing attempt to reinvent the adventure genre - sadly, a rather unsuccessful one.

The passion of the developers and their belief in the design ideology they express through the game mechanics is instantly noticeable and commendable. Essentially, Fahrenheit tries to solve the "adventure problem". Since the prolonged agony of adventure games has begun, various developers started looking for the cure. One of the most common recipes was inclusion of action elements and reduction of puzzle-solving. The example of Dreamfall, however, showed that was a clear dead end. Fahrenheit opts for a more fundamental change: it revives the old concept of an "interactive movie" and imbues it with consistent action. Most true interactive movies (like Tender Loving Care) failed because they were reduced to watching long cutscenes while occasionally making a choice. This was also more or less how Japanese adventures worked, although they were more "interactive novels" than movies.

Fahrenheit is also an "interactive movie", and that is its conscious, deliberate self-definition: even on the main screen, there is a "New Movie" option instead of "New Game". But from the very beginning you are thrown into a suspenseful segment where gameplay is integrated into the movie. Essentially, you are invited to actively participate in cutscenes. Fahrenheit does draw from concepts introduced by earlier games, such as the (ill-)famed quick-time events from Shenmue. I have to say that this game takes them more seriously and their implementation is somewhat more exciting thanks to the superior quality of dramatic direction. There are also bits of more traditional interaction here and there, spiced with an interesting physical element that requires fiddling around with your mouse.

The game's cinematic merits are unquestionable. There is the dramatic split screen, where one of the sections shows your character, while the other displays what is happening around him. This seemingly simple feature works great (especially in the beginning) creating a tense atmosphere. Imagine you are trying to run away before the police arrives and actually see the policemen approaching while you are moving. Motion capture is beyond reproach, and the direction of some of the cutscenes is quite impressive.

Fahrenheit starts strong. Right away, you are invited to what is probably the best sequence in the entire game - a suspenseful introduction to most of its gimmicks done in a concise, poignant fashion. In particular, the enigmatic story keeps you on the edge of your seat - until it collapses under its own pretentious, nonsensical conclusion.

The Bad
I guess you've already heard about the disappointing ending of Fahrenheit and how its story goes downhill halfway through. To be fair, I think it would be extremely hard to come up with a reasonable explanation for the whole mystery; perhaps in one way or another, the solution was bound to be a disappointment. But I feel that there was still no need to resort to such obvious, painful cliches. I can't reveal much for fear of spoiling the story, but let's just say that if you've seen the ending of this game the infamous amnesia twist from Final Fantasy VIII doesn't seem that bad anymore.

Much bigger problems, however, lie with the gameplay. QTEs must have some drug-like qualities, because it seems that developers become addicted to them the more they use them. I'd be okay with a few well-placed quick-time events (though by no means thrilled by them), but this game ends up being full of them, and they don't really make sense. They get trite and tiresome even in all those action-loaded scenes, during chases and fights; but it's particularly weird to press buttons while watching a totally peaceful scene without any action at all. I recall a scene which showed the Oracle talking to the members of the Orange Clan; during this conversation, I had to press buttons. For what? The Oracle is not one of the playable characters, nor are the clan members. Was I pressing buttons to help the Oracle? Or to bother him?

I felt that the developers loved their own concept too much. That is probably the game's most unsettling message. Fahrenheit is all about relentlessly pursuing its creator's gimmicky ideas, imposing and enforcing them on any solid gameplay concept until there is none left. After all, what have we seen here? A lot of cutscenes, excessive QTEs, and a nice, but shy and shallow adventure game in fancy clothes that reveals itself as disappointingly simplistic and easy once the novelty of suspenseful game-and-film synchronization wears off. There are no interesting puzzles and hardly any exploration, which is a recipe for a dull on-rails adventure game masquerading itself as a "meaningful" action title. Designing a game by creating a movie and then applying a few smart tricks to make it more playable and exciting is neither revolutionary nor promising for the future.

The Bottom Line
One may certainly admire the dedication with which this game was made, and it does have some neat ideas helping to emphasize its uncompromisingly cinematic nature. However, even if it had a better story to match its filmmaking aspirations, Fahrenheit would remain a timid, restricted adventure game clearly unable to revitalize the genre.

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.

The Good
+The overall design, atmosphere, and gameplay is unique, plus it really does stand out from the crowd. It’s one big, satisfying interactive movie with a compelling, twisting story that allows you to “bend” the situations.

+An excellent music score that sets the mood and goes well with the widescreen format of the game.

+Interesting, well-voiced characters with great dialogue.

+Exciting action-sequences and tasks that requires the use of the analog sticks and shoulder buttons.

+Multiple endings based on your actions and an auto-save feature for all chapters which allows you to start where you want to change your previous decisions.

+Character models aren’t the greatest but they are utilized effectively for evoking emotion from the player (that means me...I guess).

The Bad
-Becomes quite strange and rushed in the last-half of the game. A big shame because if more care had been implemented as the first half had, this would’ve been the greatest.

-Needed to be longer (this goes along with the first negative).

The Bottom Line
Indigo Prophecy is not a perfect experiment but it shows how so many games under-utilize the capabilities of a video game to evoke emotion or tell a story. In a market full of the same-old FPS’s and action games, IP stands above the rest. I pray that other developers will look to this game and its positive elements. Oh yeah, this game is a worthy addition to your collection...PERIOD!!!