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Never played the game before, but it looks pretty charming.
I definitely understand your frustration with game devs that try to add to much variety to a game and end up not doing what they do the best. I do admire ambition in any game though.
Great blog!
I definitely understand your frustration with game devs that try to add to much variety to a game and end up not doing what they do the best. I do admire ambition in any game though.
Great blog!
"Really,the game is just average but I hate it simply because of how everyone
else has pretty much ruined it for me by going on about how utterly fantastic it is."
......huh?
else has pretty much ruined it for me by going on about how utterly fantastic it is."
......huh?
@Solar
I think what he means is that he had heard so much hype regarding Psychonauts that when he got to play it, it didn't live up to any of those expectations.
I felt the same way with Half Life 2.
I think what he means is that he had heard so much hype regarding Psychonauts that when he got to play it, it didn't live up to any of those expectations.
I felt the same way with Half Life 2.
@Nanbu
Oh. Okay because even after reading the whole article a couple of times, I wasn't really sure what that meant. Now I get it. I had this feeling before when UMVC3 came out and many people on tournaments, streams, and other places loved it (and I never played MVC3 before), so I can relate to this.
Oh. Okay because even after reading the whole article a couple of times, I wasn't really sure what that meant. Now I get it. I had this feeling before when UMVC3 came out and many people on tournaments, streams, and other places loved it (and I never played MVC3 before), so I can relate to this.
The hype machine certainly takes no prisoners.
I remember many a time someone pouring their admiration for a game on me, and me becoming very excited only to be disappointed by the final result. It is a real bummer when this happens, and it is a good lesson why you should always try to ignore the hype whenever possible.
I have never played Psychonauts, and didnt realize how popular it was until people started creaming their pants over it lately.
I remember many a time someone pouring their admiration for a game on me, and me becoming very excited only to be disappointed by the final result. It is a real bummer when this happens, and it is a good lesson why you should always try to ignore the hype whenever possible.
I have never played Psychonauts, and didnt realize how popular it was until people started creaming their pants over it lately.
@FrDougal9000,
Actually, prepare to get a bit flamed for this notion. I fully support you on this but I've been saying for years that Tim Schaffers biggest challenge as a game designer is actually being a GAME designer. With adventure games, it's easy to hide mediocrity. However, Psychonauts, as a platform, was outclassed by almopst every other 3D platformer of last generation INCLUDING the Nickelodeon developed Tak series. It had comedy, and charm, and very little of that made of for the fairly meh experience of the actual game. Brutal Legend is many wonderful things, but a game is NOT one of them. Everything, except the actual interactivity is a joy. Costume Quest is a tedious exercise in pressing X to shake the environment and such a depthless RPG combat system, it makes Mystic Quest look like Vagrant Story. The list can go on and on. Tim Schaffer is great at a very many things like character, world design, and comedy. Video Game Design, however, is his weakness. I would LOVE to see what he could do with some Disney Channel funding. Unfortunately, like Jim's Reviews of Lollipop Chainsaw and Deadly Premonition reveal, people are easily fooled into overlooking mediocrity just so long as you have enough shiny shit to distract them.
Actually, prepare to get a bit flamed for this notion. I fully support you on this but I've been saying for years that Tim Schaffers biggest challenge as a game designer is actually being a GAME designer. With adventure games, it's easy to hide mediocrity. However, Psychonauts, as a platform, was outclassed by almopst every other 3D platformer of last generation INCLUDING the Nickelodeon developed Tak series. It had comedy, and charm, and very little of that made of for the fairly meh experience of the actual game. Brutal Legend is many wonderful things, but a game is NOT one of them. Everything, except the actual interactivity is a joy. Costume Quest is a tedious exercise in pressing X to shake the environment and such a depthless RPG combat system, it makes Mystic Quest look like Vagrant Story. The list can go on and on. Tim Schaffer is great at a very many things like character, world design, and comedy. Video Game Design, however, is his weakness. I would LOVE to see what he could do with some Disney Channel funding. Unfortunately, like Jim's Reviews of Lollipop Chainsaw and Deadly Premonition reveal, people are easily fooled into overlooking mediocrity just so long as you have enough shiny shit to distract them.
@sheppy
I take it you're not a fan of either Deadly Premonition or Lollipop Chainsaw,are you?
Anyways,I thank you for warning me on the flaming I'm about to receive but I actually thought the gameplay of Brutal Legend was pretty good(I'm also probably the only guy here who thought the RTS gameplay made things better).Guess Schafer can do everything but make a game,although this is more to do with Double Fine than the man himself really.
Still,now I'm just wondering what he'd come up with if he could make an anime so thanks for the mental picture :)
-FrDougal9000
I take it you're not a fan of either Deadly Premonition or Lollipop Chainsaw,are you?
Anyways,I thank you for warning me on the flaming I'm about to receive but I actually thought the gameplay of Brutal Legend was pretty good(I'm also probably the only guy here who thought the RTS gameplay made things better).Guess Schafer can do everything but make a game,although this is more to do with Double Fine than the man himself really.
Still,now I'm just wondering what he'd come up with if he could make an anime so thanks for the mental picture :)
-FrDougal9000
Interesting blog. I recently played Psychonauts too, and I do where you're coming from. I did enjoy the game myself, but it didn't quite live up to the expectations that some people seem to build. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters, voice work, and the fascinating world when exploring people's minds. It was just some frustrations in the gameplay that held it back, and as you said I think maybe the Meat Circus level may have soured have soured my experience with it somewhat. Overall though, I think its a solid game and I'd still recommend it to anyone. I for one don't regret it. Hype for a game can ruin for you. Or in this case, the lack thereof, which in turn leads to many stating how fantastic the game is to make up for the lack of attention.
@sheppy Actually I'd say the opposite is true for Deadly Premonition. Its the graphics that seem very outdated, but look beyond the ugly surface and you'll venture into a hilarious, unique and delightfully weird game. I can vouch for that personally, having played it myself and I have to say its up there with the best experiences I've had on the Xbox 360. As Jim says too, the poor animations actually add to the wonderful B-movie vibe.
@sheppy Actually I'd say the opposite is true for Deadly Premonition. Its the graphics that seem very outdated, but look beyond the ugly surface and you'll venture into a hilarious, unique and delightfully weird game. I can vouch for that personally, having played it myself and I have to say its up there with the best experiences I've had on the Xbox 360. As Jim says too, the poor animations actually add to the wonderful B-movie vibe.
I really can't understand why people hate the last part of the game. That had some fantastic platforming and I really enjoyed it. The only parts of the game that irritated me were the few times when I had no idea what to do.
Still, your reasons for not liking the game are fair enough.
Still, your reasons for not liking the game are fair enough.
As with any good works of art, sometimes it hits and sometimes it misses. It's obvious that Psychonauts missed for you, but that's not a bad thing at all. Hell, I'd rather listen to 10 people tell me what they hate about Psychonauts than tell me what makes it great. I know what makes it great; I've had that conversation already. It's nice to hear about the game from someone who wasn't as drawn in as I was.
It's a shame when the hype train can set expectations so high it derails the real experience. It's a big problem with cult classics, I believe. Beyond Good and Evil has a lot of the same hype issues.
It's a shame when the hype train can set expectations so high it derails the real experience. It's a big problem with cult classics, I believe. Beyond Good and Evil has a lot of the same hype issues.
