Indigo Prophecy: Director's Cut Edition
"Guilt is a chilling feeling..."
Those were the first words I saw when I opened my Amazon package containing the game Indigo Prophecy (known as Fahrenheit in Europe.) It was an interesting crime/supernatural thriller which played like a movie rather than an actual game; I first picked up the game years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly.
I remember playing it compulsively at night trying to beat the chapter I was on to move onto the next, considering all my choices carefully and making sure not to mess anything up as all the choices you make in this game will affect the world around you.
I completed the game but got the worst ending possible, an ending which I'd rather not spoil for those reading. I ran through the final chapter and got all three endings then I put the game down and didn't touch it for a long time, until I saw it again on that fateful day.
I was walking around a flea market searching for audio equipment at a price I could afford when I stumbled across a section of the market, this market was held virtually every year in a large market hall, the location of wish I refuse to reveal in case one of you run into what I ran into on that day. So anyway, while looking for audio equipment I ran across an elderly couple selling various electronics but no audio equipment.
I asked them if they had any MIDI cables for sale and they said, "Sorry, we don't sell any cables. But we do sell video games in the backroom. Would you like to see, young man?" I nodded, and then I was shown the way to a small room with a large shelf filled with many Nintendo 64 cartridges.
A large box overstocked with what appeared to be PS2 and Xbox games.
I turned and asked them where they obtained this many video games. The elderly woman smiled at me and said:
"Oh, we have a lot of grandchildren and their grandchildren have children. Funnily enough they all enjoy video games but some of 'em tell me that they want to donate the games that they're done with so we pop over to my daughters house because it's nearest to where we live and we collect a box of used games.
Of course they aren't all my daughters, her husband is an avid gamer and his friends often leave games lying around just waiting to be played." I smiled and then asked, with curiosity in my voice.
"How many children do you and your husband have?" The elderly woman smiled and paused, then after that she broke the silence and said "Well, we have three children who live in this area and two sons.
My first son Marcus sadly passed away in 2009, he had a heart attack. And my other son Lucas is in prison." The old lady looked overwrought with regret, and walked away shortly after. It seems my questions upset her, after she left I continued to look around the backroom when I tripped over a medium size box. After a few seconds of confusion I picked myself back up and walked briskly over to the box, I lifted it from the ground and saw that it said Indigo Prophecy: Director's Cut Edition on the front cover.
I remembered this game, and I never knew that a Director's Cut Edition was released in the US. I heard that the PAL version of Indigo Prophecy contained the sex scenes that would have given it the infamous AO rating. Perhaps this was the uncut European version, maybe it contained a "Making Of" documentary or it could have contained an extra ending, perhaps a new storyline.
My mind was just filled with nearly endless possibilities of what this version of Indigo Prophecy could contain! I was about to walk over the counter when I noticed that the elderly woman's husband was there, it was as if he came out of nowhere! He was looking mournful, as if he felt guilty about something. I anxiously walked over to him and stuttered, "E-excuse me, s-sir?"
He didn't respond in anyway, perhaps I was too quiet. I raised my voice ever so slightly and repeated myself; he then looked at me coldly and asked "What do you want, kid?" I asked him how much the game was and I placed it on the counter.
He looked disturbed by the game and stood up, he started to hyperventilate and said then stammered, "It's uh, f-free just t-take it!"
I gave him around five dollars in desperation, his sudden exclamation frightened me. I hastily walked off and walked back to my car, I looked back briefly and he appeared to be sobbing. I took no note of it and entered my car and drove home.
I parked the car in the driveway and unlocked the door to my apartment; it was 6:56 pm when I returned from the market. I walked into my sitting room and to my surprise; I found my Xbox was already set up. This unsettled me as no one stopped by my house and I don't recall even going to my basement this morning, it's as if this game wants to be played.
So I unboxed it and found that it contained the game, which came on its normal CD as I remember it. It contained also a soundtrack CD, four posters, an art book, a graphic novel and a replica of the knife used at the start of the game, which I found disturbing as it was a real knife. I started up the Xbox and an eerie screech sound erupted from my HDTV for around five seconds before blue screening.
My heart was pounding for about two minutes before I finally got up and locked my doors and put all the lights on in my apartment and put the disc in I had the phone by me and oddly the knife from the game box was next me. The game finally started up after all that, the sombre title screen music that I distinctly remember played.
After pressing start, there was another long loading time but I noticed words in red all over the loading screen. The words were mainly the ones you see on the front cover, words such as "guilt, regret and murder." One word really stood out for me, and that was "Run."
I took no note of it and started a new game. Two files were already there, named Marcus and Lucas. The names sounded strangely familiar to me and that's when I remembered that the elderly lady selling all those used games said she had two sons with the same name I also remember her saying that one of the sons died of a heart attack and the other was in prison for murder.
There was another save file called HOPE, which must have been the previous owner of the game. I ignored all three files and started a new game, that's where things became odd. The monologue of the main character was absent and it skipped straight to the murder scene at the bathroom in Doc's Diner.
During the murder scene, Lucas walked normally up to his victim and did not appear possessed in any way and in the original game he possessed and then felt extreme guilt for his actions. The blood from when Lucas stabs the man in the chest seems to be realistic, almost CGI quality and copious amounts of blood gush out. After stabbing the man in the heart, Lucas slits his throat which leaves a realistic wound on his neck. The fact that Lucas performed these actions in a cold blooded manner disturbed me deeply; when the scene was over I was on the verge of tears.
I continued to play through and found myself unable to wash the blood off my hands as it seems both taps had an out of order sign so I made Lucas run out the bathroom which causes him to run into the waitress and alert the cops, I made him run out the front door and into the subway. The game seemed to play as normal until I got to the investigation scene at the dinner.
As Carla, I was asked to interrogate the waitress who observed the incident and one of the dialogue options was named "It's your fault" and out of desperation I selected this option. Carla screamed at the waitress saying "It's your fucking fault, you whore!" Carla than got up and punched the waitress in the face causing her to fall over and cry in a hyper-realistic fashion, then she took a knife from the table and stabbed the waitress in the same fashion.
This prompted me to turn of the console, take the knife from the box and carve symbols into my arms like Lucas did. I was found in my apartment in a deranged state and I was driven off to the local psychological hospital, the game was removed and analyzed by the authorities and the previous owner was a hacker going under the alias HOPE who worked with a ruthless murderer known only as Lucas to create hacks that tested the sanity of the player. I was released after two years, but I'll never forget that game ever again...
Credited to Jeepers Creepers
Originally uploaded on October 29, 2012
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