Fahrenheit aka Indigo Prophecy – Review

You’re entering a world where anything can happen. Every action has a consequenc… The hype prior to Fahrenheit’s release was something different to other ‘big’ releases, this isn’t a followup and it isn’t a big name sports title. Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in the USA) was getting people talking because it was apparently true interactive and emotional gaming. The strange thing is that although gamers were talking, that’s about as far as it went, the hush was more than slightly similar in tone to the launch of sleeper hit Beyond Good and Evil. This isn’t a good sign given that Beyond Good and Evil was an epic that ended up in the bargain bin within weeks of release. Can Fahrenheit avoid this non mass market void, we can but hope. Veteran gamers know a good thing when we see it, whether or not it lives up to this is something we’re about to look at, join me as we look at the life of Lucas Kane, Carla Vicente, Tyler Miles and the others in Fahrenheit.

The intro sequence is both disturbing and captivating as an innocent man washes his hand in a public bathroom only to be brutally stabbed by someone who appears to be possessed by some evil, only for the poor guy to snap out of it whilst atop the bloodied corpse and so the story begins. I’m not going to give away too much here because I don’t want to spoil the story for you, so I’ll be as vague as possible from this point forward. Suffice to say the story is different and gripping.

Gameplay is engaging because Fahrenheit utilizes a different control mechanism to most other titles but it works seamlessly to put you in the game. It’s fairly difficult to explain but essentially the control mechanism is immersive because it doesn’t copy the bog standard controls we’ve all become so accustomed to, add this to an emotional damage system that sees characters moods displayed rather than health and you realize this is digital empathy in motion. Certain sections will demand you use both thumb sticks to get your character out of bother or pass a task, this is similar to some music games which see the player hitting certain buttons in time to visual cues and it works amazingly well in adding tension to the proceedings.

In game you have control of not one but three main characters (and at times five) Lucas the murderer, Carla the cool female cop and her partner Tyler who oozes cool dude from almost every pore. This gives the game an interesting narrative structure because you see the situation from various perspectives, whilst also dealing with the personal issues of each. Different characters can do and see different things, and you choose them as the story unfolds.

At times the screen splits into separate scenes which just adds to the tension and gives the game a movie like feel. Decisions regarding conversations are made all the more intense via a timer that runs down, this makes the game more realistic given in real life you couldn’t think about what you were going to say to a stranger for minutes at a time as they’d think you were nuts.

There is the ability to switch between playable characters in play (Usually Carla and Tyler) which is useful if one missed something and is unable to attempt it a second time but it’s used rarely given the smooth flow of the game. The makers also have their own ‘stab’ at the violence in videogames argument and other pop culture references to gaming which will make you smirk when you see it, very clever and most amusing.

The one negative is the camera, a real shame given the rest of the game works so smoothly. It can leave you not knowing what direction you’re moving and can be a nightmare in tense situations. Even though you have full control over where the camera can be placed, it can be fumbly and awkward at times.

Graphics on Fahrenheit are amazing with a lot of care taken in motion capture and other areas. The environments are detailed and life like, character models are great representations and move in a fluid unhampered manner. Some nice touches include a little breath steam as the characters speak and breathe out in the snow and the movie like feel in scene setting truly lends itself to place the player in the game. Superb. The backgrounds are generally fairly interactive and you can do various things like play guitar, eat food from the fridge and so on. All of this gives a real feeling of depth from the graphics and makes the entire game seem more immersive.

The sound in Fahrenheit is brilliant, the voice acting doesn’t come off as cliche or cheesy, more like a feature film and the lip-syncing was actually pretty spot on. Sure it could have been better but it seemed almost secondary. Music too is very feature film like, adding to the tension of the story rather than detracting. Each character has their own theme and it matches their personality well. One of the class aspects of the game, without giving away too much is Tyler going home and putting some vinyl records on. Brilliant.

The deaf gamer would essentially be unable to play this title as all of the story is relayed via speech and there’s no subtitle option, which just seems so odd given the care that has obviously gone into the game on every single level, I can only hazard a guess that the developers perhaps felt the emotional content of the story was best imparted via speech and speech alone, which is a real shame.

Female Gamer Angle.. Inspector Carla Vicente, cool girl detective and one of the playable characters. When we first meet Carla it’s snowing and Carla shows up in jeans and a jacket, yee harr, some other games would have had her show up in a baby T and shorts. Sure later on there’s a shower scene but this is done in such a way that doesn’t come off as smutty or sensationalist, which may sound odd coming from a female gamer who despises the tits and ass mentality of some developers. I do want to add however that near the end of the game there is a scene that seems to have been included for the gratuity crowd, you’ll know it when you see it and if you’re like me you’ll be left wondering what the hell just happened, not merely for the scene itself but also for the storyline, which seemed to suddenly pop up out of nowhere.

Overall though Quantic Dream have somehow managed to include a very sexy female character who, although titillating does so through action as opposed to blatant sexism, she’s real and you will want to date her. There are other peripheral female characters too so it’s not one big macho fest but given the strength of the character of Carla this could have held the game together anyway.

The odd thing about Fahrenheit is that although it is a linear story at its core the game never feels it’s on rails, it feels like you as the player do truly affect the outcome and that the world is yours as it were. The characters are some of the best you are EVER going to see on a console (at least this gen), with some of the sweetest motion capture and voice acting you’re ever likely to witness. As if it doesn’t break the mould enough with its gripping story, inventive control mechanism and noir like movie feel, the developers have added ‘real’ positive role models here in the form of the tortured killer Lucas, the very cool Carla and, shock horror, a black character who is not a gangster or drug dealer, there’s even a gay character with no negative connotation what so ever.

It truly does everything with such style that the camera problem is fairly moot, albeit annoy in times of stress. I loved every minute of Fahrenheit, it was like playing a feature film. Sure, the story took a rather strange turn near the end that appeared to suck some of the life out of it given I’d had no prior warning, but as the game plays differently depending on actions taken, perhaps I missed previous lead up scenes. Overall though a superb experience, if a little short in terms of length of gameplay. What are you waiting for, buy it now.

Review by Angela

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