FARENHEIT pc demo

[Jacob Singer]

...also known as Indigo Prophecy in the States, I believe, so as not to be confused (somehow) with Michael Moore's flick. Anyways, very cool little demo that certainly intrigues me enough to want to try the full game. It has a nice, old-school adventure vibe, and your actions (or inactions) seem to directly impact the plot much moreso than other more linear adventure games.

You can download it here, (http://www.fileplanet.com/) and there are plenty of mirrors out there as well. I'd recommend it highly, and be sure to check out the teaser and making of videos (that accompany the demo) for even more intrigue.

[keeks]

Indeed, the game definitely shows promise.

[Count Floyd]

Wow, thanks for the heads up Jacob, I hadn't heard anything about this. Omikron was... kind of a mess, but a noble and ambitious mess. And it had Bowie!

[imported_T_M]

I wish they kept the other name. I've been intrigued about the game ever since the trailer hit. Should be cool, and nice to see an adventure game without the Myst-like puzzles.

[Count Floyd]

The demo is *very* short, but interesting. The jury is definitely still out whether the concept will hold together over an entire game or even work at all. The split-screen action (there's only one in the demo) is really cool in an I-Am-Playing-24 kind of way but the game also promises dozens upon dozens of Game Over screens. It could very well be Choose Your Own Adventure: The Video Game. Interested to see how it turns out, but I wouldn't buy it sight unseen.

[Jacob Singer]

I must admit, I'm a sucker for this kind of gameplay, though. Especially if you can save the game anywhere. Then I'll spend hours finding out what happens if you don't wash the blood off, if you don't hide the body, if you fail to pay the check, that sort of thing. Just exploring how many other situations they've programmed in.

Between the demo and the intiguing teaser, I have to say I'm pretty much sold, but I can see where it might not be everyone's cup 'o tea.

[Randolph Carter]

They´ve renamed the game Indigo Prophecy in America.
Weird, shouldn´t they rename it in Europe aswell?
Celcius would be a good name.:D

[Master Shake]

They´ve renamed the game Indigo Prophecy in America.

Probably so people wouldn't think 'Michael Moore' when they saw the title.

This demo's awesome. I hope the rest of the game lives up to the promise.

[Masked Muppet]

I want the soundtrack.

What little I was able to play was very well done (graphics aside...but it looks like all the programming power went into the story/ai). I love the start of the demo, when it's the writer/direct, IN the game, introducing it. That was inspired.

[Randolph Carter]

Probably so people wouldn't think 'Michael Moore' when they saw the title.


Yeah, i hate that guy.

I want the soundtrack.

How on earth did they get Angelo Badalamenti to do the music for the game?!
He´s fucking great!

[Timo]

That was a pretty awesome demo. I liked that little introduction in the beginning and the making of video was also a nice addition. Seems like a good game and the soundtrack was great.

[Phil Connors]

*bump*

Is this on release in the States yet? And if so, would anyone who has bought it recommend it?

[Jacob Singer]

Don't think it's hit here yet, Phil. I'll be buying it on release day.

[Phil Connors]

Ta Jake, just wondering - its the same over here, out next week I think. Looking forward to it!

[Dan Whitehead]

It was slated for the 9th across Europe, though I think it's slipped to the 16th.

[Masked Muppet]

It's getting decent buzz from gaming magazines over here...whichever one that has Valve on the cover did an article on the the upcoming batch of horror titles, and (IIRC), it got rather high marks. The article didn't review the full games, mind you...they were quarter-page blurbs on what their expectations were from demos and the like.

I'll be picking it up at some point in the next month or so, but right now, my change goes to Burnout and FEAR.

[Dan Whitehead]

Everyone I know who has played it has been raving about it - though I suspect it may be one of those "gamer's games", like Ico, that a hardcore fall in love with but most people never play.

[mongycore]

decided to pre-order it the moment the waitress asked me wtf I was doing when I didn't pay the bill at the table...

[Jason P. Thompson]

Will be downloading the demo tonight.

[HBarr]

Not sure if the PC and XBox version are being released at the same time (edited to add: IGN shows will the game will ship for XBox, PS2 and PC on the 20th), but IGN is reporting that Indigo Prophecy (aka Farenheit) has gone gold and will ship September 20th.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/648/648547p1.html

[Jason P. Thompson]

Demo is really short, but was really fun once I figured out what the fuck the controls were.

[Pariah81]

Did we play the same demo? I cleaned up a bathroom, washed my hands, left the diner, and went down some stairs. The end? That fucking sucked.

The game looks awesome, but that demo is complete shit. It's like having a shooter demo without guns or monsters.

[Master Shake]

Did we play the same demo? I cleaned up a bathroom, washed my hands, left the diner, and went down some stairs. The end? That fucking sucked.

The game looks awesome, but that demo is complete shit. It's like having a shooter demo without guns or monsters.

Actually, I think the demo is pretty cool if the level of evironmental detail holds true for the rest of the game.

[Dan Whitehead]

This game is fantastic. It's everything Shenmue should've been - it's got all the attention to detail, all the little touches that make it feel realistic, but the story is much more streamline, much more dynamic.

Camera can be a little wayward, and the controls take some getting used to, but the knowledge that everything you do (or don't do) can have consequences really makes you think about what you're doing.

There's a very early sequence, where Lucas wakes up in his apartment after the killing that puts you in the shoes of a man who just commited murder in a spookily convincing way. What would you do? And would you be able to compose yourself in time when a cop knocks on your door?

Hell, how many games put you in the character of both a murderer and the cops investigating the murder and manage to make both strands compelling and tense?

It's a little rough around the edges, sure, but in terms of sheer ambition this is great. The tutorial, where the writer and director of the game talks you through the basics of control on a film set is indicitive of where this is coming from.

It's pretty much essential for anyone with more than a passing interest in how narrative and - yes - emotion can work in games.

[Dan Whitehead]

Did we play the same demo? I cleaned up a bathroom, washed my hands, left the diner, and went down some stairs. The end? That fucking sucked.

You've missed the point. You didn't have to clean up the bathroom. You didn't have to move the body, or wash the blood off, or hide the knife. You could wait there for the cop to find you. You could just walk out, pay the bill and leave before he even gets up.

But then what happens?

That's the point.

It's a taster of how the game puts you in a specific situation and then lets you make constant choices that impact that situation, not a self-contained action scene.

[gravedigger]

Dan's mini review has pretty much sold me. Is there an XBox demo of this floating around?

And, OMG, the girl from the game shows teh n00dz in the new Playboy!!111!

[mongycore]

it should be on the October X-box demo disc...along with far cry, burnout, and the suffering. Too bad the mag's shit.

[Dan Whitehead]

Dan's mini review has pretty much sold me.

Don't get me wrong, it's definitely an acquired taste - and it's far from perfect technically (though I've got the PS2 version, so mileage may vary).

But...

If you like games that play with ideas rather than texture mapping, then none of that will matter. The words "interactive movie" usually bring me out in cold sweats, but this comes tantalisingly close to making the concept work.

For instance...following the "morning after" scene I mentioned above, you can choose whether to follow Lucas to the park or switch to Carla, the female detective, as she reports to work the next day. I chose to switch to Carla and, as she called her partner Tyler to see where he was, you could switch to him and play through a character-building scene of him getting ready for work, or you could stay with Carla and (I assume) go over the forensic reports.

I've played through maybe the first 45 minutes of the game and already there are about five major different paths I could've taken through the story. That I could see. There may be more.

It does a very good job of keeping you moving in the right direction, plot-wise, while letting you see the action through the eyes of multiple characters, and all without distancing you from the story or the adrenalin rush of hiding blood-stained clothes while a cop hammers on your door.

There's a definite feel of Shenmue, but the languid pace of Ryo's forklift-truck driving adventure is gone. It also reminded me of SOS Escape, the Japanese earthquake game, and also an old PSOne game whose name eludes me, where you were trapped on a spaceship hurtling towards the sun with a murderer on board. It was a first person adventure, and you had to convince the crew to co-operate.

I'm sure some people will complain that all you do is carry out mundane tasks and walk around, but as I said before - that's missing the point.

That opening scene from the demo isn't about cleaning a bathroom. It's about cleaning a murder scene. It's about finding yourself standing over a body, holding a bloody knife. It's about stabbing a man with a cop right outside the door, and trying to get away with it.

If you're not willing to make that investment, to put yourself in that mindset, then everything else in the game will just slide right past you.

The actual tasks you perform to do that may seem small and trivial, but the reason behind everything is drama. All the character beats and decisions and actions that would usually be handled in a cut-scene before you took over for the physical "running away" part are now in your hands.

I don't know if gamers are ready for something like this, and I stand by my earlier prediction that it'll join Ico and Vib Ribbon as an example of a game that tried to do something genuinely creative and artful with the videogame format, but failed to crack the mainstream.

[Brad Millette]

Dan, you and me think a lot alike when it comes to videogames.

I'll be picking this one up, fo' sure.

[Disciple_72]

the Playstation game this sounds sort of like was called "Sentient".

[Jacob Singer]

After playing the demo, I was going to buy the game regardless. But now after Dan's critique, I'm twice as sold.

Do I dare say that this game might be better suited for "mature" players?

[Dan Whitehead]

the Playstation game this sounds sort of like was called "Sentient".

That's the fucker.

[Dan Whitehead]

Do I dare say that this game might be better suited for "mature" players?

In the literal sense of the word, yeah. I mean, "mature players" has the same connotations as "mature readers" in comics - it generally means "tits and gore this way!"

But this is a game for people with a mature sensibility, sure. If you're the sort of person who appreciates Jackie Brown as Tarantino's best work, you'll get this.

[gravedigger]

If you're the sort of person who appreciates Jackie Brown as Tarantino's best work, you'll get this.

Jeez, it's like you're daring me to break the bank this month.

[Randolph Carter]

Do I dare say that this game might be better suited for "mature" players?

Yes, it´s aimed at an older audience.
Although the American version has been censored, to keep the game from corrupting the youth of America all the naughty bits with sex have been edited out.

[Masked Muppet]

Seriously?

ARGH.

That's worse than the whole name change to Indigo Prophecy.

[Randolph Carter]

Seriously?

ARGH.

That's worse than the whole name change to Indigo Prophecy.

Yes i´m serious.
The european version, which still goes by the name Fahrenheit, is uncensored.

[Agent Back Smith]

If the censorship really bugs anyone, you can just order the game from Amazon.co.uk. I used to do that all the time back in the day to get Judge Dredd trades. Its not a biggie for me, but I'll be basically doing that because I'm having a friend from NL visit soon.

[Blazefire]

If the censorship really bugs anyone, you can just order the game from Amazon.co.uk. I used to do that all the time back in the day to get Judge Dredd trades. Its not a biggie for me, but I'll be basically doing that because I'm having a friend from NL visit soon.


Wouldn't that mean the game is in PAL? Should probably mention that for anyone without a PAL solution.

I actually got a copy of the game on Friday and managed to finish it by Sunday. Not a very long game, but wouldn't mind seeing more of this type of mature 'choose-your-adventure' type game. The game itself is okay, the story has a few plot holes and sometimes the story kinda jumps without explanation (probably because of certain choices I made that were probably "wrong"). Its definetely a rental but I don't think this is a game that I would go through twice, I doubt there are strongly divergent endings to this game.

[Agent Back Smith]

Thats right, people without chipped Xboxes or PS2s shouldn't bother getting foriegn discs. PC gamers have nothing to worry about.

[Buffalo]

If the censorship really bugs anyone, you can just order the game from Amazon.co.uk. I used to do that all the time back in the day to get Judge Dredd trades. Its not a biggie for me, but I'll be basically doing that because I'm having a friend from NL visit soon.

It doesn't look like Amazon.com.uk will ship video games to the US.

"Software, PC & Video Games, Toys & Games and Gift items

* Amazon.co.uk and Marketplace: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). "

Maybe Ebay? Any suggestions?

[Agent Back Smith]

Truly bizarre. Books, CDs and DVDs ok, but no games? Yeah, Ebay has a number of copies already up for quite decent prices and shipping. I don't know why they bother to list the PC versions as PAL, though, I mean, I'm playing the German version on my PC right now.

By the way, if the sex minigame is all they cut from the US edition (along with the OG title of course), it really isn't worth it. I wouldn't even call it a minigame, its more of a cut scene where you can move the analog stick once every few seconds to give your ex a single, solitary hump. No polygon titties, either.

Fuck, I'm disappointed. The way Whitehead talked this up I was expecting DEPTH, like the choice of one or two fingers, shocker, reverse shocker, westside symbol, etc.

[imported_T_M]

It should be out today in the US, right? Gamespot listed 9/26. I've checked Hastings and Blockbuster, and both stores don't have it in.

[Pariah81]

You've missed the point. You didn't have to clean up the bathroom. You didn't have to move the body, or wash the blood off, or hide the knife. You could wait there for the cop to find you. You could just walk out, pay the bill and leave before he even gets up.

But then what happens?

That's the point.

It's a taster of how the game puts you in a specific situation and then lets you make constant choices that impact that situation, not a self-contained action scene.

Yeah, I did all that stuff hoping something would change. I was disappointed when I hid in the bathroom with the knife and I couldn't stab the cop. Nothing you do in the demo really matters, though, you either get caught by the cops or you don't. Doesn't matter if you pay the bill, doesn't matter if you're covered blood, who you talk to, you can still just run out the back door. I'm guessing the full game has more interaction and that the mood meter comes into play, but that demo is so short and so lacking in features that I don't know why they bothered releasing it.

How is the combat?

[Agent Back Smith]

I estimate that I'm about 1/2 way through the game, no combat so far.

[Pariah81]

I thought that the video with the demo had a lot of kicking going on?

[Malliabu: Honkin' On Bobo]

Ordered from EB on the 26th.
Received the morning of the 27th.
Completed the evening of the 27th.

I couldn't stop playing the game until I had beaten it. It drew me in from the demo and loved every second of the game.

This game was a breath of fresh air. I'm getting tired of killing aliens and Germans.

[Jason P. Thompson]

Is there a possibility for mods of this game for new stories?

[Graham]

Is there a possibility for mods of this game for new stories?

Now THAT would be cool!

[Kriegaffe]

I bought this yesterday. I think it's pretty cool. I just played through the morning after scene that Dan described and I was surprised how tense and panicky I got trying to scramble round and hide the evidence.

I'm a little worried that there be scenes where I know what I want to do, but I am not sure how to do it. For instance Lucas bleeding arms at the start, and I want to bandage them or wash them or something. But I don't know where to find the bandages in time, even though it is my house. Becuase you need to walk next to something before your options are clear, it can sometimes be hard to know what you can do in a given scene.

[Rob]

Bought this game last week and I absolutely love it. Dan hits the head on the nail with his views. Kind of dissapointing that this game probably won't do much for the mainstream gamers, but I love the orignal design and gameplay. The only parts I didn't like was the "stealth" mission. Didn't help that the icons on the minimap were hard to see. But besides that, I'm having a blast trying out different scenarios.

[imported_T_M]

Excellent game, and for once, it's an adventure that doesn't focus on arbitrary puzzles that don't do much plotwise. The design is intriguing and the characters are well drawn out. That said, the third act of the game seemed rushed in terms of the story.

[mongycore]

game sucked me in all morning. started around 8 and didn't turn it off till 11:30. pirates did that too a couple of weeks ago...but as far as storytelling goes this is a treat.

is it just me, maybe I suck at the reflex intensive sections of the game, but the cops I'm controlling are pretty numb at sorting out the mess I made in the bathroom....from tracking leads to id'ing the guy, they cannot find my trail so far (and I'm doing my damn-dest to bust my ass).

definitely forcing the wife to play this when I'm done, given she's a law and order/x-files junky.

[Timo]

This game really is a great work of art. One of the best games in a long time. I really hope this sells well, so that Quantic Dreams can continue making games like this. Now, I just need to find Omikron: Nomad Soul from somewhere.

[mastronikolas]

I'm a great adventure fan but this has left me cold so far. It's a mood piece masquerading as a game. There are no puzzles to speak of, interaction options are limited (concerning both the environment and talking with other characters) and the camera is awful. And it's much more linear than it seems.

I'd give it an A for effort but a B- for execution.

[Masked Muppet]

This game really is a great work of art. One of the best games in a long time. I really hope this sells well, so that Quantic Dreams can continue making games like this. Now, I just need to find Omikron: Nomad Soul from somewhere.


I'll trade you Omikron for David Bowie.

Not an album. Just David Bowie.

[Randolph Carter]

SPOILERS!









The game has a lot of film references.

Like when Carla(the female cop) visits a murderer at an insane asylum.The murderer is a lot like Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, giving cryptic answers to your questions and his manners and behaviour is just like Lecter.
The walls of his cell are filled with spiral drawings.This might be a reference to the japanese film Uzumaki, but maybe that´s a bit far fetched.

The Indigo Child that Lucas Kane keeps seeing in his hallucination reminds me a lot of those spooky kids that pop up in asian horror films these days.Hey, the fps game FEAR already did the same thing.

And the most obvious film reference must be all the extreme fucked up Matrix style action sequences in the game.

[Masked Muppet]

The spirals could also be Dark City.

I'm currently playing this game. LOVE it. The fighting system is different and cool, the writing and acting are great...and the camera...whoa boy.

Most adventure games have a fairly static camera. This one cuts between characters and scenes like a director and editor who are in perfect sync. Fantastic work.

My only complaint is the occasional interface...like those stoopid pylons in Lucas's apartment that block half the views you need to navigate around when on a timed sequence. Or the aggrivating L/R sqeezefest needed at times...especially annoying when you have to do it 83 times in the warmup sequence in gym between two characters.

But, overall, fantastic game. The "simon sez" coders for fighting and guitar have some subtle genius moments as well...the music style on the guitar changes how that game works (watch the patterns for the blues segment, for instance), and the ghost tick sequence's final combination is brilliant.

[Justin Clark]

Severely late to this party....got it today from Gamefly after realizing Battlefront II's been collecting dust on my shelf for a month and sent it back.

Nevertheless....I'm not very far in (Lucas is back at his apartment after the first encounter with the ghost ticks at work), but it only took me about 10 minutes to fall in love with it.

Right from jump, the game forces you to care for everything and everyone you come across. Second Lucas got back from work, I found myself thinking about ways to chill him out, wondering if I can give his brother a call, and all while cracking a smile, feeling good about my decision to save the kid's life.

This is gonna become a purchase in the very near future, I just know it.

[Masked Muppet]

I ran up against a wall with this. There's two scenes with the cops coming up, one where you have to do the Left-Right trigger pull like mad...and I can't get it to do *anything* while doing that. No reaction. She went practically suicidal (what's further irritating is that there's no hint of this phobia she has before this). The other is an irritating puzzle in a bookstore where I know I could solve it if I could just figure out the bloody mechanics of it.

It went back to Gamefly unsolved. I love this game, but those two sequences drove me batty.

Currently poking around in Still Life.

[Count Floyd]

Weird, MM, I know what sequences you're talking about, though I don't remember having much trouble with the phobia sequence (there's a second one later on that's more annoying though). I don't think you had to pull the triggers like mad--you just had to "tweak" them to keep the bar in the middle.
I do remember running around the library for a while before I found what I needed for that puzzle though.

Crow, overall I don't think it merits a purchase as it's not terribly long, and it really falls apart at the end. Like, an entire chunk of the script is missing. Really. But worth playing through because three-quarters of it is superbly executed.

[Randolph Carter]

The spirals could also be Dark City.

Ah ok, it´s been awhile since i saw Dark City.Maybe i should give it another try, i think i have it on video somewhere.

Weird, MM, I know what sequences you're talking about, though I don't remember having much trouble with the phobia sequence (there's a second one later on that's more annoying though).

If you´re still having trouble you might want to adjust the level of difficulty, just go to the menu and switch to "easy".

[gravedigger]

This game is totally great but surprisingly short. I have almost seven hours of play time and about 85% through. I suppose it's hard to make a game like this really long. Anyway, spoilers ahoy...

I'm glad I found all the extra lives because I failed a number of times during the Matrix Revolutions fight with the Oracle. Those L-R segments are a bitch. I can see myself immediately replaying this, too. In particular, I'd like to see what happens if I didn't let Tyler follow his woman to Florida and if I didn't give up the Indigo Child to Agatha without a fight.

I really want to see the story end tonight but I don't think I'm going to have time to play.