A man has been brutally murdered and you're determined to get to the bottom of it. First, who committed this heinous crime? Oh yeah—you did. Maybe you should skip ahead to figuring out why.
Indigo Prophecy is a brilliantly cinematic psychological thriller and a sublime point-and-click adventure, but without the point-and-click. Instead of cumbersome inventory systems, the gameplay focuses on split-second decisions and quick reflexes. You're put into the shoes of Lucas Kane, a man who wishes he was falsely accused. But you also control the two investigators out to get him, which means you'll frequently be working against yourself. And the choices are endless. You can make one of your cops late to work in favor of getting some early morning nookie. But then you can switch to his boss and perform some annoying coitus interruptus.
The game is tarnished toward the end by a few silly twists and too many action sequences borrowed from The Matrix. These things would be overlooked in a lesser game, but by the end, Indigo Prophecy has earned the right to be critiqued as harshly as the artiest film or most serious novel. It's that good.
WE LOVE KATAMARI (E) (4 stars)
Namco
PlayStation 2
We certainly do love Katamari, and the King of All Cosmos knows it. In fact, this game's story mirrors reality. The people of Earth have become so enthralled with, and addicted to, Katamari, they just want to see more giant balls of junk, and the King—and the game—are happy to oblige. Rather than adding anything terribly new, this sequel just makes things bigger, and as we know, when it comes to rolling Katamaris, bigger is better.
CAPCOM CLASSICS COLLECTION (T) (4 stars)
Capcom
PlayStation 2
Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts? Final Fight? 1942? It's my Christmas wish list from 1991. Well, better late than never. Almost every one of these 22 titles is a legitimate arcade classic. If you've been to a pizza parlor in the last 15 years, you've seen these games. If you're stuck in the past and you want to save your quarters for laundry, you can get your Street Fighter II fix right here.
WORLD SERIES OF POKER (E10+) (2.5 stars)
Activision
PlayStation 2, Xbox
What a waste of a license. It appears that the money Activision should have spent on graphics and AI went to paying WSOP commentator Lon McEachern for his voice. That's a shame, since the five lines he annoyingly repeats will have you cashing in your chips early.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].