Monday, February 01, 2010

Psychonauts

Inspired by Orphi's PC experience with the game Psychonauts I decided to take on the PS2 version again; because for the most part it really is that fun. It does have its glitches though.

Playing on a PS3 the first hardware glitch comes in starting it. When you play a PS2 or PS1 game it resets the controller and you need to press the button to reconnect it. However if you wait until the game prompts you to connect it will not load. It seems the controller switches to digital mode at that point and even if you try to switch it over the game has locked up. So you need to press the PS button as soon as the connection is broken. Then it's quite happy.

Next glitch is not really a glitch but a visual point. Psychonauts is a 4:3 game, if you're playing on a 16:9 screen it'll stretch and look wrong; so at any point after the controller is back and the title credits roll you can use the Home and other settings to switch it from Full Screen to Normal.

The opening screen is a shock to those not used to reading manuals. You press Start and rather than being presented with option the hero Ras just walks into view, you're supposed to walk him over to one of two doors to start either a new game or load up another.

Without giving away anything here's the rough order of the first few events - Basic Braining, Brain Tumbler, Inner Sanctum, Brain Tumbler, Party, Brain Tumbler, Lakeside.

Now here's the glitch; it's possible to get to the Inner Sanctum before the Brain Tumbler, but you can only use that network to reach places you've already been so you come back out and head to Agent Nein and the Brain Tumbler. After a brief experience there you're introduced to the network you've already used, for the first time. Likewise it's possible to optionally visit the Sanctum post sneeze, but pre-lakeside and discuss things with Ford. Then at the Lakeside Ford will pop-out to tell you he's doing something you know he's doing as you've just visited him.

In other words you can see sequences out of the order you're supposed to and the game still ticks along as if you haven't. It's not a problem just a glitch.

Another annoyance is the dowsing rod. Used to detect deep arrowheads (currency) it hums and vibrates when one is close at hand before you hit triangle to dig it up. However while dowsing you can spot near-surface arrowheads that can also be dug up with triangle. The fault lies in that if while dowsing you detect no deep arrowheads you can't dig up the others with the rod active.

Final minor annoyance that may be a PS2 thing only is that you can only have three powers readied at a time. So map R1 to Psy-Blast, R2 to telekinesis and L2 to Clairvoyance and you can't use Pyrokinesis without entering the menu and remapping one of the buttons. Now being used to modern games where a button press switches between two sets of readied powers, this does get tiresome.

Other than that and the jittery camera it's still a blast to play and worth having a backwards compatible PS3 just to play it. (On a related note Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy still doesn't work grinding to a halt every few collections and locking up my console at one point)

8 comments:

Orphi said...

Ah yes, the dowsing rod disables your ability to collect “shallow” arrowheads in the PC version too. And here also, with a 105-key keyboard, you can only use 3 psi powers at once. (I guess the game is designed around this limitation, and taking it away might make it too easy — although to be honest, just remembering which button is levitation and which is shield is confusing enough for me!)

As for sequencing, I was trying to collect figments from around the table where Napolian is sitting, and jumped over the table and accidentally entered the game world before I'd spoken to either of the players to find out what's happening. It gets kind of confusing.

And the whole deal of having to visit Cruller to turn cobwebs into psi cards, then wander off to buy some psi cores (and possibly dig up some arrowheads), and then wander back to make psi challenge markers… couldn't they have made this a bit easier? I'm in the middle of a quest here!

…and yet, the game still 0wnz. That's a testemant to the artistic talent behind it.

FlipC said...

Yet you can still get them if the rod's active, just when it's not [shakes head].

As for visiting Cruller it is a bit clumsy, but at least you can use the bacon to warp back to the sanctum then warp straight back to where you were so it's not that much of a hassle.

Seems well-written games don't do well. Psychonauts had poor sales, so did Ico, and "Beyond Good and Evil" I suppose so many don't want to think about their games any more. Anyway it's nice to see them appearing on Steam might get the public attention they deserve.

Orphi said...

Psychonauts is an astonishingly well-written game. I mean, if you read out the premis of the story, or even some of the events that occur, it sounds rubbish. And yet, when I played the game, I was deeply impressed by how well it all comes off.

If only the controls could be fixed, and the graphics were a little less grainy. Oh, and if the difficulty curve could be a little less vertical. ;-)

Incidentally, when you launch Psychonauts from Steam, it gives you a window that offers “play” or “quit”. If you play, you get the Double Fine logo, and then it goes straight into the intro video for the game. You don't even see an options screen the first time you run the game. Only subsequent times. The first time you start it, it just enters the game instantly, which the video of Raz sneaking in.

Frankly, the intro video itself impressed me. Shortly after that I got worried, but not for very long.

And why were those two mixing potions up that tree? Hmm. Must find out…

Captcha is "ingen". No lie.

Orphi said...

As for well-written games not selling well… I really don't care. Just so long as somebody keeps making 'em.

Ever played Abe's Oddessy? Now there's a game which is visually and sonically lush (horrifying levels of MPEG compression notwithstanding). But unfortunately, while the game is fairly entertaining, it suffers from rather poor responsiveness. You know the type; dodgy collision detection and insensitive controls.

They made a sequal, Abe's Exodus, but it's just not as good. The story and voice acting is poorer, and there's now a whole zoo of creatures with silly names, most of which aren't very interesting. Pity, really. (I gather the next sequal is XBox-only…)

And then there's the daddy of scenematic gaming, Flashback. Man that was epic! (And a fairly flawless game as well as being prety.)

I wonder if somebody out there still makes stuff like this?

FlipC said...

Yep Flashback for the Megadrive, Abe for the PS1; both bloody flick screen titles. Still yes they were worth persevering with just because they were so well-made.

As for others making things like them, I've heard good things about Braid; but you only have to look at what I wrote about the upcoming "Dante's Inferno" God of War plus Devil May Cry equals nothing new.

Then again have you looked at Bioshock? I know it's an FPS but there's a surprising depth to it.

Tom said...

I just about lost a mouthful of soda through my nose when I read what FlipC said: "but at least you can use the bacon to warp back to the sanctum"...

I think that about sums up the experience of playing Psychonauts - where else in the universe, other than in Tim Schafer's demented summer camp, are you going to use "bacon" as a warping tool...?

Videogames are supposed to be FUN, and Psychonauts is simply the best time I've had in 30+ years of gaming. I have never just sat back and laughed(!) and played and had as good a time with any other game.

Name another game, just ONE, where you get to do so many different things - like battle a girl scout cookie mom?! Come on, that's just SO funny! And romp around a black velvet painting? And play a board game against Napoleon? And chase a sick bunny through a MEAT CIRCUS?!?! What was Tim Schafer smoking when he wrote this...? I don't know and I don't care, I'm just thrilled that I have experienced Psychonauts and still have the original game, booklet, and jacket.

I may have to delve into the dark, but OH SO FUNNY, mind of Tim Schafer again soon...

FlipC said...

"Goggalor!" Am I the only one who felt bad about heading to crush a building only to be told "Oh no he's heading for the orphanage"? But I need the psychic energy.

But you're right video games are supposed to be fun and Psychonauts demonstrates you don't need blood, gore and large amounts of shooting things to do that; just a really good script and developers who pay attention to all the small details and let you have the fun.

Yet it sold poorly. Ico was the same it just didn't fit into a simple category yet it really is still one of the best games out there.

Anyway if you do decide to play again remember don't believe the squirrels they're all liers.

Orphi said...

“NOOOOOOOO!! Not the Natural History Museum!”

To be honest, I was more upset my accidentally squashing the fish-people-things. (The cars… not so much.)

Oh, hey, on replaying the last time, I discovered that you can actually shoot the boats that keep shooting you. Makes it quite a bit easier!

Also, that part in Basic Braining with the cannon? That part that took me, like 45 minutes to get past? Well, I didn't realise this, but if you punch the wall, another one springs up further on. Proceeding in this mannar, it actually becomes pretty simple to get to the cannon. Who knew?

That was a great game. And so obviously set up for a sequal. A pitty they didn't make one.

(Although, IMHO, the ending with the jet was one of the weakest parts of the script — which was otherwise masterful.)