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
Here it is 2 years after the release of Indigo Prophecy and I'm just now getting around to playing it. Why? I suppose that the adventure gamer side of me avoided it like a hot potato because of the purported "action" segments. Yes, I realize that all of the major gaming websites (even the adventure sites) gave it high marks, but that still didn't compel me to purchase the game. All the while the role-player in me was whispering to my subconscious "You should get this game" .. "Go ahead, what have you got to lose?" When I found it really cheap on eBay, I gave in and bought it several months ago. But still - I let it sit on my shelf, opting instead for other standard point-and-click style games. Now that I've gotten into it, I can write my biased opinions in this review. Was I sorry? Was it as good as everybody said? Read on.

First looks at the game can be intimidating and exciting at the same time. The story grabbed me during the introduction as I watched a man under the influence of a mind-controlling force committing a terribly bloody murder. Afterwards he is aghast as what he has done and extremely "dazed and confused." Since I had gone through the beginning tutorial (which I urge you to do), I helped my character perform the beginning actions to clean up the mess and proceed to getting away from the crime scene. Two more characters arrive to investigate the crime and I proceeded to guide each of them through their various tasks, looking for evidence, talking to witnesses and between themselves. Okay, I said to myself, this isn't so hard. I can do this!

Ultimately strong is Indigo Prophecy's storyline and character development. Set in the year 2009, it feels like a mix of CSI and the X-Files - criminology, science-fiction and the paranormal. While playing the four different characters, it's necessary to keep them healthy - in mind, mood as well as in body. So sleeping, eating, taking a shower, listening to music and other every day actions are part of the gameplay. For me, these simple things helped me identify with the characters and added to the realism factor. Listening to their thoughts also brought the characters to life.

Viewing scenes in split-screen is a bit disorienting at first because it's hard to look at all screens at once. But this is one of the things that the major review sites lauded as innovative.

I thoroughly loved the music which added so much to the feelings I had while playing. Those feelings included apprehension, excitement, shock and sympathy.

The Bad
Oh, this part is so very disappointing. I really wanted to love Indigo Prophecy as much as everyone else, but I just couldn't. It all boils down to my inability to get through the action segments. I tried - I really did - but I couldn't master the "flying fingers" technique of frantically punching keyboard keys in the proper order. I died and I died and I died again until my frustration led me to uninstall the game after 2 days of play. I played the game from the beginning in the Easy mode and still couldn't get it. I'd hate to think what it would be like for the color-blind.

In my opinion, this game should have been redesigned completely for the PC to allow mouse-only action. Leave the arrow keys for movement as an option, but take away the number pad entirely. As for the mouse control that exists, it's different to say the least. The drag-hold and drag back-and-forth quickly in various directions was not what I consider ease of control either.

The Bottom Line
As I said above, the story is absolutely the best part of the game. Graphics are good, too, especially those of the characters in motion. Mood-inspiring music, great character back story and top-notch voice acting are additional pluses.

Indigo Prophecy is a wonderful game, if you are adept with the keyboard and have good reflexes. Having a gamepad connected to your PC would be of major help here since many portions of the interface are console-like.

I'm upset that I can't finish the game. If you like action in your adventures, this might be the game for you. Point-and-click adventure fans may find it as frustrating as I did.

The Good
Fahrenheit is the second game from Quantic Dream, a small company that develops games that has an emphasis on storytelling. It was well received by the press that their next product was so much better.

First, I like how the game introduces you to the four protagonists that you need to take control of, with Lucas Kane being the main protagonist. One minute you are controlling Lucas as you try to cover up a murder before making your escape out of a quiet New York diner, and the next you're in charge of Detectives Miles and Valenti as they investigate the murder and interview witnesses. They eventually discover that there are murders all over the city by ordinary citizens, and that these murders are ritualistic. The information that you gather is right up there with the James Patterson novels. Really captivating stuff.

Fahrenheit (or Indigo Prophecy as it was called in North America) is an adventure, but there are two uniques things that I like about it. During the game, you perform all your actions by using a series of mouse movements that imitate real-life actions like picking up or dropping objects, turning on something, mopping floors, and climbing fences. Also, when you talk to different characters, you are presented with a series of dialogue choice that you have to make. But these choices are timed and force the player to make a quick decision.

Besides talking to characters, you also have to endure a series of actions that must be performed within a time limit. An example of this is the chapter where you have to cover up the murder before a NYPD cop turns up at Lucas' apartment. There is also a chapter where Carla has to navigate the basement of a police station, and you have to perform a series of left-right movements to control her phobia.

Fahrenheit can be played with the keyboard, but the game is meant to be played eith a gamepad similar to the PS2 or XBox controller. There's these PAR games that operate in the same vein as “Simon Says”, except that you have eight buttons, four on each side. With the keyboard, you use the cursor keys to control the left side, while using the numpad to cntrol the right.

Some actions in the game increase or reduce your character's mood, and if they are in a really bad mood, they will have a nervous breakdown. It doesn't matter if three of your characters are happy; if one of them breaks down, the game is over. The game auto-saves at the beginning of each chapter, meaning that if you don't like what mood of whoever it is that's in control, you can always restart the chapter.

The camera work is brilliant, and it isn't long in the game when you will see the camera split-screen effect (a la 24), and this lets you know what is happening in another room nearby. In the very first scene where you are trying to cover up a murder in the bathroom, you see a cop in the main arena standing up and heading toward you. In non-interaction modes, the camera automatically adjusts your position when you are spending your time walking around, but clicking the right mouse button lets you adjust it to your satisfaction.

Sound-wise, the music really blends in with what you are doing, and the voice acting is superb. There are a few licensed soundtracks and I enjoyed listening to some of them, particularly outside the game (within the menus).

The game automatically saves your progress at the beginning of each chapter, and in between every scene. Even if you progress through the chapters, you are free to replay previous ones. Included in the game are extras like design sketches, soundtracks, and “making of” documentaries” which is ideal if you want a break from the action for once. There is also a tutorial which you can complete before you start the real game, courtesy of David Cage. I did not even bother with the tutorial as it teaches you how to move around and do other things that are necessary to complete the chapters.

The Bad
Most of the chapters are quite short, and can take less than twenty minutes to complete. I also don't like how the majority of PAR games require you to press a button quickly, resulting in a loss of life or a repeat of the cinematic if you are not quick enough.

I really didn't like Valenti as a character. To me, Valenti sounds like she gets turned on every time that the person that she wants to apprehend badly is one step ahead of her. Having said that, it isn't long until she develops a relationship with Lucas – when she finds him - and “does it” one more time because she thinks that it is the end of the world.

The Bottom Line
Playing Fahrenheit is one of the best games I have played this year. The title plays out like an interactive movie, with every action and dialogue choice affecting the outcome of the game. The ability to switch between protagonists is brilliant, as in the amount of work that was put into the game, so that it matches the quality of any high-profile movie out there. Anyone who is a fan of heavy storytelling should get 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!!!

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
- Clever use of multiple view angles (à-la-24)
- very strong story start.
- good immersion,sense of urgency very present.
- Overall first 1/2 of game solid.


The Bad
Right about half point :

• False sense of choice
  (its either "game over" or go on, no branching tree story)
  
• You realize whatever you did in the past is irrelevant.
  
• Story quickly dwindles, you end up doing menial irrelevant things or just pushing buttons for the story to continue
  
• Ending is... well, very, very bad.

The Bottom Line
Ingenious design. Brilliant concept. Poorly executed.

Once you realize that nothing matters, it leaves a rather bitter taste.

The Good
--Disclaimer--- [I played the European version of this game, being a European. The only differences are that it's called "Fahrenheit" and that the sex scenes haven't been removed and the nudity isn't blurred. Whilst the sex scenes aren't exactly necessary, especially seeing as it's difficult to justify why viewing sex is necessary in any visual story-telling medium except to titillate, they're so soft-core that it doesn't seem worthwhile taking them out to me, and the game is a 16+ anyway. Also, call me biased, but "Fahrenheit" is a much better name than "Indigo Prophecy". It's more symbolic and references the cool juxtaposition in the game's plot of the temperature falling all over the world as the tension among the characters is rising.]

The reason I write reviews for Mobygames is to exorcise myself of the ghost of a great game after I finish it. Most of my real life friends don't play games, so this is the only option I have if I want to talk about my funky digital experiences. With 'Fahrenheit' though, this is going to prove difficult. Not because the game isn't great, because it's bloody marvelous, but because so much of why I love it is down to the story and the character development. I'm tortured by not being able to reveal one of the most well structured stories in a game that I've ever played.

This title is giving serious gamers everywhere hope, and with good reason. One of computer gaming histories great tragedies was the death of the point-and-click adventure. It fueled the argument that games are a negative force on us and our kids by virtually eliminating the last remaining genre that required intelligence and lateral-thinking, and also, story-telling in games from then on pretty much went out with the bathwater. There was usually a flimsy plot which only progressed at the start and the end because the rest of it was spent with you doing the 'actual game stuff': jumping over things, shooting things, building things, collecting 100 gold, whatever. Of course, adventure games themselves weren't much better because in many of them, to open the door to your own bedroom, you still had to combine the portable meat tenderizer with the stuffed turkey with the inflatable bikini with the string.

So welcome to the first game ever (perhaps) where the story and the game are moving at the same time! Next to each other! In sync! You don't break off from the plot to fight some bad guys, it's always moving forward, and yet you're still playing, you're not just watching. The effect of this is so strong that it makes 'Fahrenheit' almost impossible to quit once you've started. The game begins with a murder in a diner. You play the murderer and have to flee the area. After that, you play the two detectives who are investigating the crime scene. Then next, it's the murderer having got home safely to his apartment...where something else happens...and on it goes. No cutting away to something else unrelated. No meaningless objectives. Just a tight, focused narrative that never stops progressing but still manages to stay simple and interesting.

The control system is so fluid and simple that the idea alone is one of near-genius. Available actions appear at the top of the screen and you do them by sliding your mouse in the appropriate direction while holding down a button. You can walk to a door, open it, go up to a vending machine, get a coffee, and drink it in one fluid motion, all of the time feeling in control.

Scenes like this are punctuated with action sequences, which are always relevant to the plot of course. These are controlled using button-tapping and a system where lights appear on the screen and you have to press the corresponding keys. Fail to press the right keys quick enough and depending on the situation, your character could be killed or simply just miss out on some useful information. The genius of this system is it's simplicity and, because of it's reliance on skill, the tension it generates in you. You'll find yourself staring at the screen unblinking, pulling off dexterous finger movements and trying not to panic. The action sequences themselves, that is, the animation, choreography and direction, are so incredible that I'm going to mention them again later.

In the manual, the director, David Cage, has written a little article explaining what he was trying to do with 'Fahrenheit'. This is a small excerpt:

"I was under the impression that video games were only exploiting a tiny part of their amazing creative potential, because they concentrated on 'Action' and totally neglected a fundamental element of human experience - emotion"

He's clearly never played 'Kana -Little Sister-', but nevertheless, 'Fahrenheit' has a far greater emotional content than many games around at the moment, especially those of non-Far-East origin. There are beautifully tender moments, such as Lucas Kane playing a soft ballad on his guitar in his empty and desolate apartment while his life is beginning to crumble around him; genuinely scary moments, such as an escape from an asylum during a blackout, which is played in first-person with the character's terrified whimpering being one of the only things you're listening to; moments of extreme emotional tension, where things are clearly being left unsaid; and action sequences so thrilling that they'll leave you breathless.

So yeah, those action sequences: they're motion captured. Because you're not fully 'controlling' them and are instead just mimicking the on screen action with the keyboard to help your character, 'Quantic Dream' have been able to have every movement digitized in using real stuntmen. At times it simply looks real and, watching your character, who by this time you really care about, making impossible leaps over building tops in the middle of a heavy blizzard whilst being pursued by police helicopters, and then escaping by running along the side of a building, with you frantically tapping buttons to help him, as the strings on the soundtrack reach their emotional cadenza will frankly stay in your memory for a while.

There are multiple ways to complete some scenes. In the first one, where you basically have to just get the hell out of the diner, you can do it quickly without bothering to cover your tracks, but then you'll leave more traces for the detectives to find afterwards (who you also play, so you'll be making your job EASIER in that scene if you do the first section badly, how cool is that?). If, as Lucas Kane, you leave the diner and get into a taxi, you can then, as one of the detectives, find a clue by later looking at the official taxi destinations for that day and Lucas Kane's address from the employee roster of the bank that he works at. You can finish the game badly and prematurely in all sorts of ways, by making so many bad decisions as the detectives that they resign, or by making so many as Lucas that he commits suicide, or dies, or goes insane, or turns himself in. And there are multiple endings you can get by finishing the game fully.

Impressed yet? You should be. There's more good stuff, but it doesn't matter. This is clearly a must-buy.

The Bad
I would complain that all the major characters are extremely beautiful specimens, but the developers probably had difficulty with faces that are more average and I'd rather look at Lucas (who at times looks like an even more handsome version of Montgomery Clift) and Carla than some of the minor characters who continue the computer game tradition of looking like life-sized rubber dolls that have been repeatedly hit in the face with a spade. Still, Carla didn't need to be so attractive. If 'Quantic Dream' were REALLY cool and daring then they could have created a strong, independent, secure woman of average looks. A feminist icon for the computer game world. And people wonder why more girls don't play games...

It's disappointing that most of the scenes don't have as many variable outcomes as the first few. The game also tries to trick you into being less linear than it is by having events like a phone ringing happening in what feels like "real time", when it's actually a scripted moment that sets the phone to ring in 5 seconds or whatever, which you triggered by walking through a door.

Unfortunately, the plot loses it's way towards the end and brings in some unnecessary elements. What saves it is Lucas Kane's incredible character development, but that brings up another snag in that his is always the more interesting line of the story and, since you know he's fundamentally innocent, you don't really want to help the people who are trying to catch him. The intentions of David Cage, the game director, were highly noble but perhaps he underestimated just how much empathy people can feel with the characters when a story is interactive.

You may have some issues with the button-hammering part of the control system. All you have to do is press left and right as quickly as possible and it's not difficult or frequent, but I personally don't like doing it because I worry about stupid things like wearing those keys out. It's not great, but it is tense and it requires physical effort, which is good and is just what is needed.

Whilst the story is excellent and the pacing and character development even better, the script can be a little bit cheesy. Lines like "My story is the one where an ordinary guy has something extraordinary happen to him" and "All I know is, nothing is ever going to be the same again" don't exactly wow you with their novelty. It doesn't help that technology still isn't anywhere near to being able to render all the complex expressions of the human face, so it's left up to the voice acting, which is done well, but contains slightly dodgy accents here and there. Lucas comes off best, he has a great speaking voice and (presumably because the technology isn't capable of doing otherwise) a mostly deadpan expression which actually does a very good job of showing the guy's torment. Think Montgomery Clift again.

'Fahrenheit' owes a massive debt to 'The Matrix' in it's action sequences, but this is better than that film. It's tale of an ordinary guy going through hell in order to discover his inner awesomeness is done more successfully than the famous movie, because said movie starred Keanu Reeves. A casting decision on the Wachowski brothers part equivalent to God making the most beautiful woman in the world and then giving her one eye.

Finally, the endings are far too short! Why do developers always do this?!

The Bottom Line
I read an article yesterday arguing that all films based on games will be awful, like 'Doom' and 'Tomb Raider', because they have to choose games that don't have stories. Games and films are so closely linked that, with the all the games with high-quality plots, "the film is already there". Surely none more so than 'Fahrenheit', which would have made a fantastic movie but practically is one already.

I feel optimistic. Even though there is only one other review for this game so far on Mobygames, I reckon that eventually this will be regarded as a classic, because the story is what people always remember and come back to in adventure games, not the puzzles. For proof, look at how many glowing reviews 'Loom' has, which is so easy that a chimp could complete it. 'Fahrenheit's style of story-telling shows immense promise. Hopefully we'll see a lot more games like it.

I've just called this an adventure game. Is it even that? If it is, then it's the best since 'Grim Fandango' without question, but there are too many action sequences and not enough puzzles for it to fit that description comfortably. If it's an action adventure then it's the same genre as 'Tomb Raider', which it clearly isn't.

Maybe it's just original. An original, brilliant game which has thrown up some ideas that show enormous potential. Yeah, that sounds good enough to me.

The Good
The most important element in an adventure game is its story, and Indigo Prophecy has a very good one. You start as Lucas Kane, who has just murdered a complete stranger in the men's room of a diner, under the control of an outside force.

Starting from that point, you start deciding what to do next and watch the story unfold, and there are consequences to your choices, so there isn't always a single way to complete a single chapter of the game; you have alternatives. For example, in the beginning, you can run away quickly or take a cooler approach and try to conceal as much evidence as you can before you leave.

The story is well written, with lots of twists throughout the game. But the presentation is even better. It is designed much like a movie: You play the game from different perspectives. You play Lucas Kane, and then the "movie" cuts to the detectives Carla Valenti and her partner Tyler Miles, and play them. Sometimes you play other characters as well, like Marcus Kane, Lucas' brother. The game succeeds in doing a very hard job, where it lets you play different (even opposing) characters and still not spoil the story for you.

The game has unusual controls. Basically you have one action button, but you use it in combination with a mouse gesture, usually reminiscent of the real-life movement you would make to take such an action. For example, to pull a door open, you might hold down the mouse button, pull the mouse towards you and then to the left. There are indicators on the top of the screen that show you what gesture you need to make to take a particular action.

There are also two unusual aspects of the game, that add to its movie-style atmosphere. One of them is the conversation system: The characters talking to you will not wait forever for you to choose from different things you might say. You just see some keywords (like ideas that go through your mind) and have to choose one of them within a limited time, or the game chooses the default keyword (which is probably not the best or most revealing choice) for you and the conversation goes on.

The other aspect is the mental health system. When bad things happen to your character (and not necessarily directly, it might be anything that would make them feel bad), the mental health lowers by a number of points depending on how bad it is. And when good things happen, including little things that might give some relief (such as drinking water or taking a shower), the mental health raises by a number of points, again, depending on how good it might make them feel. If the mental health comes down to the lowest score, the character may just give up, or even commit suicide, so you should make sure to stay in a good mood, you never know when you might get some terrible news that can drive you to suicide if you're already depressed.

The game has many thrilling moments where you have to act against time, avoid suspicion, fight your phobia, among other things. Sometimes the game uses split-screen cameras which makes the situation much more exciting, as well as realistic. The action scenes are really great, and are made using motion capture and wire-flying techniques, and the choreography is also amazing and make them very stylish.

Throughout the game there are also tarot cards that give you points to unlock extras, such as concept art, behind-the-scenes videos and bonus scenes, as well as some replays of key moments.

Finally, you might enjoy the game's references to literature and popular culture, as well as real-life situations.

The Bad
The first thing that is bad about Indigo Prophecy is the controls. They're obviously made for console gaming and haven't been optimized for PC.

Using mouse gestures for the actions are a really good idea and gives you a somewhat realistic feel, but they're not very flexible so you may mess up sometimes and this can be frustrating, especially in timed situations such as a conversation.

I also didn't care much for the character-based movement (as opposed to camera-based), but since this is not an action game, it's not really a problem.

The action scenes are great but you won't really appreciate them--you'll be too busy playing a dual "Simon", that color-code game where you have to repeat given sequences. Console gamers might already be proficient with these controls, as many console games feature such controls to represent reflexes in action scenes. On PC, however, it's really not a popular method, and it's not very responsive to the keyboard, plus the speed required varies on occasion, so there's a good chance you'll hate it. It's a bad idea that causes you to miss most of the action.

But the most important thing is, that it's short. The game is either really short, or really really feels like it. Either way, with so many characters, I expected more.

The Bottom Line
Indigo Prophecy offers an unusual experience, where the characters, the story, and everything evolves as you play. It feels very much like a movie, but it depends on your choices, which also gives it a replay value. I definitely recommend it.

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
It played like a movie; I know David Cage and company tried to do this. And I think they pretty much succeeded. I like that there is an actual plot, and that it is not all mindless button-mashing (although there is a fair amount of that). They tried to do something creative and new in terms of the controls, and this alone makes this game worth taking a look at. The visuals and on-screen presentation are also very good. This is a really well-conceived game.

The Bad
As others have commented, the controls can be very hard to get the hang of. I started with a Saitek gamepad, which gave good Force feedback effects but lacked the precision necessary to succeed at any of the button-mashing levels. I eventually tried an XBox 360 gamepad (more expensive, but worth it) which was the only gamepad precise enough to allow me to advance through the levels. With the standard driver, Force feedback was not an option. After some tweaking, I finally managed to get the open-source XBCD driver installed and configured to my wishes, which gave me good Force feedback. As installed, I doubt the gamepad configuration suits anyone.

The Bottom Line
It's like playing an interactive novel. The story is fairly open-ended and is directed by the player. Some of the levels are quite fun by themselves, but ultimately it is the story that drives everything. Being European, there's more emphasis on sex and less on violence - which is quite refreshing. Some more branches in the story might have been nice, but it's quite rewarding as it is. I played it through to get to (and see) the various game endings, also to see the various branches and hear the different dialogue threads. I would really like to see more games like this.

The Good

The basic idea behind "Fahrenheit" is quite simple - how to tell a story using a video game console controller? The game provides an answer by creating a unique, simple and very effective control method that is the core of the game and allows for storytelling in a way previously unknown in video games. Yes, it really is revolutionary.

Unfortunately, the term "interactive film" has already been reserved for the rather embarrassing trend of the early 90s. If it weren't, "Fahrenheit" would deserve it like no other. The game has solved the old dilemma stating that we either watch a cutscene or play a game. In "Fahrenheit", you do both at once. The method is crude enough - two times four symbols appear on the screen and you have to press the button corresponding to the symbol that lights up. If you manage to do it on time, the character you control succeeds at whatever he or she is doing at the moment. Of course the game is not all about that - there are plenty of scenes resembling the traditional adventure games, where you walk around, talk to people and interact with objects, but here the controls are also as simplified as possible - all the actions are done via mouse gestures (at the top of the screen, there appears a sort of a mouse-gesture menu and you perform the gesture corresponding to the icon representing what you want to do). Very easy to learn and fun to use - what more could one want?

The heart of "Fahrenheit" really is the story, even though not particularly original. The pacing of the storytelling is diabolical (you quite often get time limits for your actions to speed everything up even more), almost everything you do just fuels the action and builds up suspense. Even doing such ordinary tasks as waking up in the morning, getting a shower, getting dressed and leaving to work is surprisingly enough fun to play, probably because the control method is something so new.

But the game is of course not only about that - the rest of it is a fast thriller full of police investigations, action and world-domination conspiracies, inspired a lot by the Matrix film franchise. What's also great about it is the way it is shaped by the way you play (there are quite a lot variants of the final confrontation depending on what you did before, but unlike many other games, this diversity can be seen in almost the whole game, not only the ending). You don't ever have to worry about messing something up and having to return - if you fail to do anything non-fatal to the character you control (and it can be quite fundamental things), you can carry on, the story is flexible enough to cope with it. No reload-and-try-again here.

The best feature of the story, easily, is that it is told from two basic points of view - of the "innocent murderer" and of the two police officers who are investigating the murder; and you actually get to control all three of them. So you, as the murderer, can leave clues behind, and later, as a police officer, locate these clues and connect them together - you are, in a way, framing yourself. And believe me, that is very cool.

Another amazing feature of "Fahrenheit" is that it is probably almost as much fun to watch as to play. The "cinematography" is excellent. You will see some truly amazing work with split-screens and the action sequences have brilliant, very well thought-out choreography and unbelievable pacing (you'll see some Matrix-style one-on-one fighting, bullet-dodging, car chases, jumping from one rooftop to another and then on helicopters, you name it). The character movement is very fluid (lots and lots of motion capturing with stunts-men went into this game) and perfectly realistic, even though the 3D models are not that great. It really feels as if you are watching an exciting film, and if you add that throughout all of the action sequences you have your fingers dancing on the buttons of your keyboard and you concentrate really hard not to mess anything up, you get an absolutely overwhelming experience that literally had me open my mouth in awe.

The Bad
There are small gripes, of course. The story is quite banal, not that well-written, the characters sometimes behave in very mysterious (or rather stupid) ways - very minor spoiler here especially Carla's behavior towards the end of the game is quite hard to believe in a police officer - and there are several pretty major plot-holes.

The controls, even though I really consider them unique and brilliant, make things sometimes difficult - the meaning of the icons at the top of the screen is sometimes not quite clear and you may end up doing something you didn't want to. Notoriously, when standing in front of two cupboards, I always kept opening the one I didn't want, because their icons are absolutely identical. It is even worse in dialogues - they are carried out in the same mouse-gesture fashion, except that instead of icons, you get one or two words that represent dialogue choices and sometimes these words are just too vague and you really don't know what they stand for; and you can't think about it for too long, because there is a time limit for making dialogue choices that I found pretty annoying.

Some scenes are a lot weaker than others, but that's probably natural - especially the small-boys-at-a-military-base sequences are particularly irritating, because the controls aren't really suited for this kind of gameplay (hiding behind buildings and running when the soldiers aren't looking). There are also the notorious sex scenes (only in the European version), one of them even "interactive" (badly), that, even though really I don't have anything against sex and they are quite tastefully done, are annoying because they are so utterly pointless. They are not serving the story in any way and, well, are not even remotely erotic (3D models of clothed people are already quite convincing, but I guess it will take a lot of time to create a naked 3D model that wouldn't look so much like a blow-up doll. I know there are fans of the polygon love, but it just isn't me). I guess I'm just not a teenager anymore.

The Bottom Line
"Fahrenheit" is a game that does not fit in any genre. It is a brilliantly crafted experience and a must-play, just to know what the video game medium is also capable of (and a giant argument for us, die-hard PC gamers, that not everything that comes from consoles is bad). I don't think there will be many more games like "Fahrenheit" and I actually hope there won't, because I feel this game has already explored all the possibilities of the wonderful system it has invented. Recycling it would probably just point out what we all willingly forgot during the gameplay - that deep inside it is actually a quite primitive form of entertainment and playing games is reduced to pressing buttons according to on-screen instructions and that throughout the whole game you don't have to think for a moment. But don't get me wrong - I loved every minute of the game and chances are that so will you.

The Good
When I first heard about Indigo Prophecy, I was stoked. Finally a game that wasn’t linear, that allowed you to do things and find out things yourself. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this title and I finally got to rent it this week.

The games main focus is the story, rather than action. It takes the form of being a movie, with the director addressing you in the beginning of the game, telling you that you now have complete control over the action of the movie AND the dialogue. The basic drive of the game is not like a sand box game, but the actions you feel most natural taking affects the plot in every way, right down to the order you do things. And God they did it perfectly.

The story starts off pretty simple: you were possessed by some unknown being and forced to commit a murder. Now you, Lucas Kane, are on the run from the police. The story is brilliantly made though. Even though you control the game, the game makes sure that sooner or later you get all of the essentials in before the game is over. As it develops a deep, dark, twisting plot emerges that will blow you away.

The best part easily about this game is the fact that YOU control the story. Where it goes is completely up to you. You reveal the story through directing what the characters say. You choose the best way to reveal a story. Suppose you want to make the story completely baffling until the end of the story. Okay. All you have to do is make sure that the dialogue that takes place doesn’t reveal too much. Or maybe you want to reveal bits and pieces and then towards the end, all of the pieces fall into place. Or even if you want a good, slowly developing story that reveals it as you go, it doesn’t matter. You control all of the characters (or at least all of the main characters), and as a result, you have the welcoming feeling that you control the storyline, and it doesn’t control you.

Now, not only do you control the way the story is revealed, but also what is in it. My making certain decisions, you can completely alter the content of the story. For example, if you make the right decisions, you are able to save your brother from death. However, if you make the wrong decisions, your brother will die a tragic death. This combined with the fact that you control how the story is revealed makes for one of the greatest video games experiences ever.

As a result, the game has tons of endings to it. Not only will game play be different every time, but the story will be as well. And every time you do it the dialogue will be different, resulting in a new story every time you play it. Some games claim to have open-ended game play with branching storyline. But Indigo Prophecy is far from a branching game. It is never set up before you play, but instead it alters itself depending on what you choose during the game, to ensure a good changing storyline as you go, and that the story isn’t predictable.

Game play consists of a combination between story parts and action sequences. Story sequences are usually in the form conversations, which you have direct control over. You can choose to talk to someone or not, which reveals certain parts of the story. You can ignore premonitions that the character gets and go with your gut instinct. Directing the story is easy, as the direction you want the story to go in is directly reflected in character’s dialogue options. You have to choose a conversation option quickly, as you have a time limit to choose an option. Also, you don’t get to go back and make all of the choices because most of the time the game will only allow you to ask a few questions, not all of them, or the option to make one choice will disappear once you ask another. This keeps the game from getting stale and letting you ask all the questions you want.

Because the game’s main focus is the story, this does not mean it has no action scenes. In fact, action scenes make up a good part of the game. Instead of moving around with the character as most games would, you hit buttons on the screen to ensure that your character gets out of the scene alive. There are two types of button mashing to do. The first is pressing L1 and R1 repeatedly to make sure that the character can withstand something for a prolonged period of time. An example of this is hanging from a rail or pushing against strong winds. The other, and more common, test is moving the analog sticks when told to do so. Two circles with four colored sides appear at the bottom of the screen. When one side lights up, you push that side with the right or left analog stick as indicated. Sometimes this can get very intense. Sometimes two directions appear at once, and a lot of times it gets VERY fast, especially when you’re dodging something. As a result, quick reflexes and good hand-to-eye coordination is needed to stay alive. Failing a test means losing a “life”. Lose all your lives and you must restart from the last save point.

Interaction with objects and people is innovative. You use the right analog stick to choose options in interaction, as well as choosing options in a conversation. Even doing other actions you use the analog. Like if your are climbing over a fence, you first have to push your analog right to move your leg out, and then swing it up to swing up your leg, which gives a great immersive feel to it. The use of the analog sticks gives a great smooth feel to interaction in the game, as it uses your thumbs and avoids the use of having to pull your fingers up to the buttons to play.

During the game, the screen splits up to reveal two sides of what is happening. It sometimes warns you of incoming cops, while other times it is just for a flashy show. It adds to the illusion of a living, breathing world around you, because it shows you that other thing go on while you aren’t there. This definitely adds to the immersion of the game.

The characters are some of the best you will encounter in a story based game. In the beginning you will be presented with characters that aren’t cardboard cut-outs at all. They seem real, and the game designers went to great lengths to make them seem like they have emotions. When they hear bad news, their facial expressions become solemn and sad, but when they become aggravated, they become tough and anxious. By the end of the game, you will become attached to even the game’s main enemy, who is mysterious and powerful in every way. The voice acting is superb on all of them, which makes the game seem more realistic. There is almost no cheesy lines in the game, which make the characters more believable

The graphics, while I will not say are revolutionary, are satisfactory for a game like this. Graphics had to be toned down just slightly to make room for more memory for storyline. But I will assure you it was worth every byte of memory. The graphics are far from crappy, and you will find that they are perfect for a game such as this. The character models are done well, and facial expressions are clear and crisp.

A great part of the graphics is that all pre-rendered cut scenes are done completely with the game’s game play engine, so you will fell that when a cut scene comes, it does not break away from the immersion of it. Instead, the cut scenes flow with the game play perfectly, as there is no lag before or after the cut scene, and graphics are the same as the game play graphics. As a result, cut scenes do not cut into the game, but flow seamlessly in and out of game play, which is good, because cut scenes can occur unexpectedly and surprisingly anytime during the game.

Sound is surprisingly good. Directed by Angelo Badalamenti, the music is well fit for each situation. It becomes tense at the right moment and sad at the perfect moment, to add a great deal of immersion to the game. You will be gripped by the main theme, a sad combination of violins and other instruments, which lends to the games dark atmosphere. Sound effects are done quite well, so that they don’t seem fake, which again contributes to the immersion.

Finally, a great feature is the use of “chapters” throughout the game. The game automatically creates chapters, so that when you are done the game you can go back and make new decisions at key points in the plot. It also has an amazing system in choosing. You can choose to play the chapter in a new save file, and by doing so you can create multiple stories without ruining your old one. Also, if you are done with the story you are on, you can choose to go back and overwrite your old story with a new one. This way, creates multiple storylines is easy, and you don’t have to mess with multiple save files for multiple stories.

Finally, the game obviously has some great replay value. You can choose to keep replaying the game for a while before the overall story gets boring, and even that will take a while. This game has one of the greatest stories, and some of the most lovable characters to boot.

The Bad
While a game such as this seems flawless, it is not perfect.

Even though you can change the story around a lot, you can throw something new in every time. The story is flexible, but it still has a basic backbone of the same story. Even when you replay the game, you will still know the story already, and you can’t throw something new in like killing a character or refusing to progress the story. As a result, the game will only be tolerable a few times through until you get bored of the story, even if you can change the way its told every time.

I would like to point out that while the interaction controls are fun and good, moving around can be a nightmare. The problem is that the game gets its movement controls from the position of the camera. However, the controls do not adjust accordingly when the camera changes. As a result, the directions feel mixed up. You could be moving down when in fact you are pushing left on the controller. This can make some of the parts frustrating. LUCKILY, the game has no major parts where you have to dodge bullets manually, or where you have to run manually, so we have a good break there.

The game is pretty short. Even on my first time through I was able to beat it within 6-8 hours. As a result, the game completely relies on the replay factor. Fortunately, the game changes every time you play, and as a result every time you start a new story, the game doesn’t get any shorter. It relies on your ability to make good decisions, not your skill at the game, so game will never be shorter the more you play them.

Action sequences are fast and action-packed, but unless you can look in two directions at once, you will be staring at the bottom of the screen for the most part. They are perfect for any matrix fan to enjoy, but in order to get past these scenes you will be continuously watching the bottom two circles for your next move. The lucky part is that you can go back to watch all of the action sequences again in bonuses to have a nice look at what you might have missed.

On top of this, sometimes when you miss your chance to hit a direction, you miss every other one as well. Imagine something like DDR. Once you miss one, sometimes it is going so fast that you miss every one after it until you get your rhythm back again. However, this happens very rarely during the game, and most times you won’t notice.

Also, they could have done way more in an action sequence than just use the bottom two circles. You feel that pressing directions on the analog sticks will get repeating, and even the occasional pressing of the L and R buttons won’t mix things up much, and you just can’t help but wonder why they didn’t add some more stuff to it than that. I mean, the way they used the controller during the game was fairly impressive, so why couldn’t they just add a little more to mix things up a bit?

Another problem is the lack of something to do BESIDES the story. Out of the main game, the title really has nothing else to offer. It includes some extra unlockable content like “making of” films or concept art, which you can unlock through collecting “bonus cards” throughout the game. However, this only gives you about a half an hour or so extra content before you get through it all.

The Bottom Line
This title is definitely something to look at if you are tired of bland FPS and shooters where the entire game is how many bullets you can pump into. If you are a fan of a deep, intriguing plot and likable characters then this is definitely a game for you. Whether you want to buy it or not, this is a game for you to definitely try out once. I would recommend that you rent this game first, to make sure that you can handle replaying it, as that is where this game gets its most of its content. I would also recommend renting it due to the fact that not all gamers can go a long time in a game without shooting something. If you love the game then, and want to be able to go back to it time after time, then this is a game for you to get!

The Good
Indigo Prophecy is a trendsetter. This game is just so damn awesome that I don't know if I'll be able to word things correctly, but here goes nothing.

You start out at a diner, in the bathroom, on the throne. You're unconscious, fully clothed thank goodness. A man comes in and uses the urinal... you twitch.

He walks over to the sink slowly, while your body begins to shake and convulse rather violently. He's washing his hands, and you step out of the stall, staggering like a wooden puppet. A small steak knife is in your hand, and you lift it. Your head lifts up, revealing your face. A grimace of death and agony is upon you, and your eyes are rolled back. The man sees you in the mirror, and turns around just in time to catch the blade in the heart. He falls to the ground, you on top of him, struck silent in horror and pain as you raise the blade high into the air again, and strike again. You lift the blade one more time, and plunge it into the last artery, completely severing the man's heart. You raise your hands in the air, covered in blood, head looking upwards as you almost seem to levitate, still twitching violently. All of a sudden, SLAM.

You fall the the ground, waking up as if from a deep sleep. You don't remember what the hell just happened, but you know that if you don't cover this up quickly, someone is going to find out. You drag the body into a stall and mop up the blood, and then wash your hands of the stain of your sin. A cop tells the cook to hold onto his food, he needs to use the restroom. You don't have long. You leave in a rush, with the option to pay for your food calmly or just rush out like a bat out of hell... You think you got away, but they're on your heels like bloodhounds... Who did this to you? What the hell even happened? It all unravels in my favorite game for Xbox: Indigo Prophecy.

I love that game so damn much. The game's graphics are eye-candy, and the storyline just gets deeper and deeper and drags you in with it. User controls allow easy movement and control of objects around your house, such as a stereo with real working music, a sink, a fridge, the works.

The voice-acting and sounds are sublime! Everything... to tell you the truth, it's just like a freaking movie! It's just so damn good!

The Bad
Well, it had to end for one. Also, I wished that some things that you do/see/hear have a little more... explanation. This game has basically no flaws...

The Bottom Line
The best game for Xbox, in my opinion. Rent first, but a definite buy. Rent first so you can make sure you're okay with the controls and method of talking.

The Good
Fahrenheit is a game I am glad I picked up. At first it seemed a little complicated getting used to (from playing the demo on an Atari demos disc) but eventually I got the hang of it and soon finished the demo. This sparked me to purchase the full game at a good price of £9.99. I am glad I made this purchase as this game has so many different ways to it. I love it and it is one of the most enjoyable games I have played this year.

We are introduced to several key characters in the game. The first is Lucas Kane. He was used to carry out a killing by someone else (proxy). This then sparks of an investigation into the killing by two police officers (Carla and Tyler). These two characters are also controllable in a lot of the game. A few other characters are also controllable but not so much as the ones I just mentioned. Some chapters even let you choose what police officer you want to be and you can swap between them during gameplay. Away from the main storyline we are introduced to Tyler's relationship and Carla's loneliness. So, there will be some "off-topic" moments. but these don't detract too much.

What I like most about this game is you can go in the direction you want to go. You control what happens next based on the decisions you make. So, there are probably dozens of ways to go in this game which will eventually lead to the ending. Now, because of this I think it will make you want to play through it again but differently.

It's simple to play. All you need to do is keep track of the storyline and make the right decisions. You'll also need to be prepared for some button mashing in some scenes and remembering combinations of the analog sticks. It's a good idea to be reactive a lot so drink some coffee before playing. The controls are basically you using the analog sticks during most of the game. I doubt you'll ever press the X or O button much except when in the menus.

The sound is by far brilliant. Voice work is clear and it really seems like it is coming out of the character. Really good acting for Lucas Kane and Carla. The cold blizzard sounds and other background sounds add to the addicting gameplay.

The Bad
The biggest letdown is the graphics though. When I first played the demo of Fahrenheit I thought this was an early version of the game but no, I was wrong - this is the actual quality of the graphics when I picked up the full version. Thank goodness for the good storyline which will probably make you buy it. This game would of gotten a really good rating if it wasn't for the bad graphics. It just looks like an early PlayStation 2 game. The characters will have a lot of polygons missing of them and some of the structures just don't look very impressive. If a similar game were to be developed by Quantic Dream then please double the graphics quality.

The Bottom Line
Purchasing this game I recommend. You could rent it but you probably won't have enough time to check out all the different ways of playing through the storyline. If you do purchase this game, then you can play through the storyline for many hours and when you're finished you can explore it differently. So, this definitely adds up to more hours of gameplay. You'll also be entertained by the occasional jokes and sex scenes.

Despite the poor graphics it doesn't mean it isn't worth buying. I bought this game for the storyline and gameplay. It would of added to the value if they had much better graphics on the characters and backgrounds though. I hope to see another game with a different story to it containing all of the elements of Fahrenheit sometime in the future.

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.