Indigo Prophecy
Platform: PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox
Publisher: Atari
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
Indigo Prophecy is a video game with an inferiority complex. It one of those games, like the early Resident Evil titles, that longs so violently to be like a movie, that they inadvertently mire themselves in bad game ruts. Take Indigo Prophecy's cinematic camera angles. Sure, they offer a visually striking angle on the game's events. But they also cause your character to veer out of control and bump into walls every time the camera jumps to a new position. Try to imagine how The Bourne Identity would have played if Matt Damon's agent suffered from a debilitating inner ear condition. That's what it looks like when your character bumbles across a room, bumping clumsily against a wall before finally coaxing open his own bedroom door. More and more, I'm beginning to see the wisdom of Killer 7's "on rails" control scheme.
The game's opening menu also asks if you want to start a "New Movie" rather than a new game. Seriously. If I wanted to start a new movie I'd be watching something out of my Netflix cue, not fooling around with my Xbox.
But the game shame seems to stop there. The rest of Indigo Prophecy is a fascinating experiment in game mechanics new and old. The title is essentially a classic adventure game, like King's Quest or Leisure Suit Larry. You talk to people, discover items and make game effecting decisions. The story is essentially a supernatural murder mystery and you play as the investigators and the killer.
There's no combat to speak of. Action sequences play out in a Shenmue-like fashion. You react to events my moving the analog stick. But rather then simply move your character ala Dragon's Lair, you play what amounts to a game of Simon. Mimic the color coded directions properly and your character succeeds in dodging ghostly flea monsters or winning a game of basketball. Fail and you try again.
Flawed or not Indigo Prophecy is worth a look for its audacity to stand out in the increasingly homogeneous field of console games.
Publisher: Atari
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Retail
Indigo Prophecy is a video game with an inferiority complex. It one of those games, like the early Resident Evil titles, that longs so violently to be like a movie, that they inadvertently mire themselves in bad game ruts. Take Indigo Prophecy's cinematic camera angles. Sure, they offer a visually striking angle on the game's events. But they also cause your character to veer out of control and bump into walls every time the camera jumps to a new position. Try to imagine how The Bourne Identity would have played if Matt Damon's agent suffered from a debilitating inner ear condition. That's what it looks like when your character bumbles across a room, bumping clumsily against a wall before finally coaxing open his own bedroom door. More and more, I'm beginning to see the wisdom of Killer 7's "on rails" control scheme.The game's opening menu also asks if you want to start a "New Movie" rather than a new game. Seriously. If I wanted to start a new movie I'd be watching something out of my Netflix cue, not fooling around with my Xbox.
But the game shame seems to stop there. The rest of Indigo Prophecy is a fascinating experiment in game mechanics new and old. The title is essentially a classic adventure game, like King's Quest or Leisure Suit Larry. You talk to people, discover items and make game effecting decisions. The story is essentially a supernatural murder mystery and you play as the investigators and the killer.
There's no combat to speak of. Action sequences play out in a Shenmue-like fashion. You react to events my moving the analog stick. But rather then simply move your character ala Dragon's Lair, you play what amounts to a game of Simon. Mimic the color coded directions properly and your character succeeds in dodging ghostly flea monsters or winning a game of basketball. Fail and you try again.
Flawed or not Indigo Prophecy is worth a look for its audacity to stand out in the increasingly homogeneous field of console games.
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