The last Official Xbox Mag had a demo on the disc. Looked very nice. It's also nice to see something different. How did they actually get a game published that isn't a sequel and seems to take a fresh approach to gameplay and storytelling. If I wasn't on such a tight budget I'd pick this one up right away, but it'll definitely be on my rent it or pick it up when it gets to $20 list.
I bought it pretty much as soon as it was out. I totally love it, but it most definitely has it's faults. The first half (or more like first 25%) of the game is one of the most innovative and immersive gaming experiences you can ever hope to have, and then the second half of the game is just simply crap. The first half of the game is a definite 10. The second half is a -2. It's like watching a movie where the first half is made by Steven Spielberg, and then the second half is made by some amateur 13 year old kid. On drugs. It amazed me how much they screwed up the last half. It's almost like they didn't care. Or they were extremely rushed. Maybe they spent all their time on the first half, and then suddenly realized they only have a few weeks to finish the rest of the game, or something.
But the first half of the game is so amazing, it (for me anyway) makes up for the crappy second half. And the premise and gameplay of the game is so unique and promising, it too almost makes up for the crappy second half. So overall, it is a damn fine game. But it's still dissapointing. This game had the potential to become a revolutionary game, but it was just extremely poorly executed.
Another big issue I had with the game is the fact that they butchered the US version with censorship. I say butchered bc they just brashly cut out any of the sex or nude scenes that were suppossed to be in the game. It doesn't make sense, since this is a Mature rated game, and the storyline handles these so-called graphic scenes in a very mature, artistic and dramatic fashion. It made sense to have those kinds of scenes in this kind of game. But no, they cut the scenes out. So you have all this build up to that scene, and then they abruptly cut off the scene after a second or two, so it ends up feeling awkward and cut off. And in those 2 short seconds of the nude or love scene, they cut out the nipples in the US version. So you end up seeing a boob with no nipple. It just looks so weird. If anything, it draws more attention to the naked breast bc it just looks so weird, and you're wondering where the heck are her nipples? And don't call me a perv just bc I'm talking about boobs and nipples. I'm a straight girl, so it's not like I want to see boobs for sexual reasons. But I definitely wanted to see boobs (with nipples) in the game, bc it just doesn't make sense without it.
Anyway, it just sucks that the US gets such a butchered version of the game. Especially when lots of ppl with the uncensored version are saying that Indigo Prophecy has the best sex scenes they've ever seen in a videogame ever. I don't want to see the sex scenes bc I'm a perv, I want to see those sex scenes bc they were meant to be in the story, and bc I want to finally see a game where they handle sex in a dramatic but non-cheesy and mature way.
**BIG SPOILERS**
Here's my wrap up of the storyline so you get an idea of how the game went from totally amazing to total crap.
Beginning: Intruiging storyline, intense detective work, good attention to details, cool objects to interact with, awesome drama filled moments, great character development, lots of good suspense/thriller moments. The main character Lucas unexplainably kills a man in a restroom and somehow must remain sane and figure out what happened and why. At the same time, two cops pick up clues, follow his tracks and try to hunt him down (you get to play as all the characters). In the beginning you get great insight into each character's lives and you really get attached to them. Great dark setting/mood. Great gameplay.
Middle to end: The game does a 180 and all of a sudden devolves into a crappy rip off of one of the Matrix sequels (which were imo crappy), mixed up with some really stinky crap. Most of the last half is filled with cheap and poorly done Matrix-esque air-time fights and Matrix-esque bullet dodging, with little to no reasoning why. Then an Oracle gets involved (also Matrix-esque), and then they throw in something about a purple clan, and then some orange clan, and then somemore Matrix fights and explosions that don't match the story at all, and then one of the cops says she loves Lucas for no apparent reason (I'm serious), and then to top it off, your old lady friend suddenly turns into a damn robot for again, seemingly no apparent reason. I know that there is a reason why all this happens, but they don't explain it well at all in the game. Some twists make good stories, but only when those twists make at least a little sense.
I played the demo of Indigo Prophecy awhile back, where you're stuck in a bathroom, end up killing, then escape before you're discovered. Nice graphics, but I found the controls similar to Resident Evil's or Silent Hill's, kinda stiff and clumsy to get around, which automatically increases the tension, trying to get the character to go where you want him to.
It got good reviews in the magazines at any rate. To me though, Indigo is the kinda game I play through once, and rarely again, like RE or SH, but unlike GTA.