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Classic Review - Indigo Prophecy

Indigo Prophecy is difficult to classify. It's part adventure game, part action game, part murder mystery flick, with mild platforming and FPSing thrown in for good measure.

And I thought there weren't any surprises left for me in the gaming world.

There are a great many things to like about Indigo Prophecy. First and foremost, this game tells a story. Gameplay, visuals, and all the other elements that go into making a video game serve to move the story forward. It's an emphasis rarely seen in the gaming world.

The developer, Quantic Dream, is now following up this effort with the PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain, which looks like it'll be a technical masterpiece, if fraught with content issues.

Throughout the game, you'll play as one of three characters: Lucas Kane, a man framed for a murder he didn't commit; Carla Valenti, a dedicated homicide detective; and Tyler Miles, Carla's gangster-turned-cop partner.

The story begins with Lucas committing the murder. I know, I just said that he didn't commit it. But he did. Then again, he didn't. Admittedly, it's complicated. And a bit of a head trip. But the game weaves an intricate and intriguing tale that touches on all kinds of themes, leaving a lasting impression. I haven't been so affected by a game's story in quite some time.

This is a game with a kind of pacing normally found only in movies (which isn't surprising, since lead developer David Cage is committed to the idea that games and movies are essentially the same thing). There are entire sequences with zero action, plot points, or puzzles to solve.

In one particularly memorable scene toward the middle of the game while playing as Lucas, you find yourself in his apartment after a particularly stressful day trying to calm his nerves. You have him pick up his guitar and play it. The game uses on-screen cues that are a bit reminiscent of Dance Dance Revolution (though not nearly that lame) to give the player the feeling that he is involved with Lucas as he strums out the song. There's no real reason for doing this other than to connect with the character - the player could just as easily send Lucas to bed and move on to the next scene. It's an emotional and strikingly human moment that brought a smile to my face.

The same DDR-style on-screen cues are used throughout the game to involve you in what would otherwise be passive cut-scenes. When you get into a fight, you'll have to follow the sequence of cues in the correct order to succeed. Sometimes failure results in death, and other times in missed opportunities.

The game does a fantastic job of wrapping you up in its world and involving you in the story. However, after finishing the game, I'm not entirely convinced it's worth it.

There are a variety of issues. First and most easily identified is the sexual content. In the North American version of the game, most of this was censored out (the game is called Fahrenheit in other regions and contains the censored content). There's still enough of it in the game to give me pause, however. There are two sex scenes in the game — one occurs completely off-screen, with only the audible portion of the act to titillate the player; in the second, a moment or two of sexual motion is visible before the scene fades to black.

There are a few other areas of sexual content, but none of it exceeds a PG-13 level. On the other hand, however, none of it is really justified in any way. On-screen sexual content is rarely, if ever, necessary to a story (in any medium). What sexual content there is in Indigo Prophecy is there merely for titillation, in an apparent grasp for superficial maturity. It's a cheap attempt at sensualization that doesn't belong in a game that is quite deep and honest otherwise.

The other major area of concern deals more directly with the story itself. Spoilers follow.

Lucas Kane did commit murder, but not of his own volition; he was the unwitting proxy of a mysterious figure known as The Oracle. Turns out The Oracle is working for a group of people called the Orange Clan, who are the last surviving tribe of Mayans. The Orange Clan feels a bit like the Illuminati, and its members have been waiting for centuries for the Indigo Child — a pure being — to be born. The Oracle is their bloodhound, and to find the Indigo Child he must perform human sacrifices — only he can't actually perform them himself, hence the use of a proxy. The sacrifice opens a window to the other world where he can locate the child.

It also turns out that Lucas is blessed by something called the Chroma, which is apparently the Mayan's version of the Force. It allows him to survive his proxy experience and then gives him superpowers.

So already we have weird spirituality, possession, a pseudo-Christ figure, and the Mayan version of the afterlife given credence. Not necessarily deal-breakers for someone who has their head screwed on straight. But wait ... there's more.

Lucas is a decent chap who willingly puts himself in danger to help those he loves. That's good. But this admirable trait eventually leads to his death. Oddly enough, that's not the end of his story.

Through methods that aren't quite explained, the Purple Clan (who are apparently digital or something ... that was never really made clear) brings Lucas back to life. Or, more accurately, undeath. He doesn't breathe, his flesh is cold, but he moves and talks like a normal person. The Purple Clan did this so that Lucas could stop the Orange Clan from claiming the Indigo Child.

Bringing people back from the dead brings up all kinds of theological issues. Too many to list effectively here. Suffice it to say that the game offers no satisfying explanation for Lucas' return to life, no discussion of the soul, and no justification for the idea that the dead can just be popped right back up from their graves.

Oh, and the second sex scene involves Lucas while in this undead state. Which is just ... creepy. On a lot of levels.

I can hear people asking my why I don't have a real problem with games like Left 4 Dead. It has undead, too, after all.

The difference is that Left 4 Dead and most other zombie games aren't making any kind of real statement about life and death. They're popcorn games. Where those games are all about running around screaming "AAAAHHHZOMBIESFTW!", this game is more thought provoking, and draws on some real assumptions about the way the world works.

I'm not suggesting that David Cage believes in Mayan spirituality. But it's quite obvious he doesn't buy into Christianity, either. The game would look different if he did.

Other issues include graphic violence that manages to be disturbing in spite of dated graphics and a spattering of language.

Indigo Prophecy hits a lot of nails on their heads. It tells a compelling story in a compelling way. But it strays into some pretty iffy territory, and runs roughshod over the Christian worldview while doing so.

So, unfortunately, there's just not enough redeeming value to give this game the nod. You'll have to satisfy yourselves playing Evil Genius while I track down another classic game that's worth giving a whirl.

Classic Review - Evil Genius

In my quest to go back and play all the great old games that I missed in my formative years before I became a dedicated gamer, one thing has become clear to me: people have been making fantastic games for a really long time.

Evil Genius is an excellent example of this. I mean seriously - in how many games do you get to play an evil mastermind looking to take over the world?

The game does its best to play on every spy fiction cliche available, from henchmen with superpowers to building an underground lair in a volcano. You choose to play as one of three evil geniuses, each with their own special ability that won't actually affect gameplay all that much.

The game plays like an RTS. As the evil genius, you of course aren't required to do any of the dirty work of conquering the world. In fact, 90 percent of the time you'll have your character just sit around somewhere safe while your minions and henchmen do all the work. Cue maniacal laughter and evil hand wringing.
Minions make up the bulk of your evil force. You'll start out with basic construction workers, who you'll eventually be able to train up into more specialized classes to do more specialized jobs. You can't directly control your minions, but can only give them general orders that will guide them. For example, when your base comes under attack by the forces of justice, you can't select your soldiers and tell them to defend. But you can build security cameras that will detect the enemies and loudspeakers that will announce their presence, which will then cause your soldiers to run to the enemies' location and do battle.

It's a roundabout way of doing things, and there are times when it can be downright infuriating (watching an enemy super agent destroy half your base while your guards are all tooling around another room because you forgot to build a proper security system is maddening). Once you learn how to make it tick, however, it works.

The ultimate goal of the game is to take over the world, and as you might imagine, this will take an extremely long time. Depending on difficulty level and a few other factors, getting to the endgame can take anywhere between 50 and 100 hours. This isn't helped by the game's pacing, which is so slow that at times you can get up from the computer and go make yourself a snack without too much fear of hell breaking loose.
In terms of content, there aren't too many concerns. The overall theme of the game, of course, is doing campy evil deeds to take over the world, which might strike some as problematic. This is handled in such a tongue-in-cheek sort of a way, however, that it doesn't raise a red flag for me. Other concerns are mild violent content (the worst of which is probably interrogating enemy prisoners, but even this is largely inane and slapstick).

Mild language pops up now and again; one enemy super agent traipses around in a bikini, but the graphics in this game are old school enough that it's not really a concern.

Overall, the game is not for everyone. If you have a short attention span, Evil Genius will turn you off quickly. If you hate micro-management, you'll want to look elsewhere. But if you're searching for a strategy game that will force you to think outside the box and give you a few laughs while you're at it, Evil Genius may be what you're after.