Fahrenheit (PlayStation 2)

January 2009. On a cold, snowy night in New York City, an ordinary citizen named Lucas Kane, under the control of an unknown force, unwillingly murders a complete stranger in a diner. Once he comes to senses, Lucas realizes he must escape while leaving as little evidence as possible behind. Barely managing to accomplish that, Lucas contacts his brother and tries to understand what has caused him to commit the crime, recalling the events of his own past in the process. Meanwhile, two police detectives investigating the murder, Carla Valenti and Tyler Miles, are determined to find the perpetrator, at the same time trying to deal with the personal problems of their lives.

Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit in Europe) is a psychological thriller in which the player is able to control different characters on both sides of a murder – the killer and those who are trying to find him. The game’s core gameplay style is adventure. The three protagonists explore various locations, talk to other characters, and interact with the environment in order to advance. However, the game is heavy on various action-oriented sequences, from tasks that must be completed within a limited amount of time to quick time events, which require the player to press the correct button during a scene.

The game emphasizes realism in the player’s interaction with the environment. For example, picking up a rag and cleaning the floor requires the player to move the mouse or the analog stick back and forth, imitating the actual movements of the object. Dialogue with character often imposes time limits on the player; failure to choose the optimal response in time will prompt the game to choose another, not always the optimal one. The player’s choice will sometimes influence the subsequent events and the outcome of the entire story, eventually leading it to one of the three possible endings.

Cinematic treatment is evident in the game’s handling of action-based gameplay and cutscenes, which are often seamlessly integrated into each other. An example of this is the split-screen technique, which is often used during the game’s most dramatic moments: while the player is trying to complete the required action in time on one screen, another one displays what is happening around the controlled character.