Psychonauts = 9.5 from OXM

[Jake]

[Moosferatu]

http://biz.gamedaily.com/features.asp?article_id=8370

[jokemaster]

Cool. Now I'll be able to convince my schoolmates to play something other than generic First or third person shooters.

[netmonkey]

Fine, so maybe I exaggerated and I was wrong.

But didn't it work? Psychonauts is the only excellent game in that issue, then! Great publicity...!

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Is anyone else getting this for Xbox?

[David]

I am, sir.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

What you mean control differences?

Heh, I'm currently negotiating with my niece (11) on pooling our resources to get this game. She's fallen madly in love with it just from watching all the trailers, and in particular the official trailer and this one showing the opening cutscene. Her favourite line so far: "Oh my GOD! Let's make out!"

So now she and I are poking under the family room sofa looking for lost change, trying to convince her little brother to contribute some greenbacks (he's a huge car slut - are there any cars in the game at all?), and even announcing to the 'rents that she's ready for a raise in her allowance.

[SoccerDude28]

What you mean control differences?

Heh, I'm currently negotiating with my niece (11) on pooling our resources to get this game. She's fallen madly in love with it just from watching all the trailers, and in particular the official trailer and this one showing the opening cutscene. Her favourite line so far: "Oh my GOD! Let's make out!"

So now she and I are poking under the family room sofa looking for lost change, trying to convince her little brother to contribute some greenbacks (he's a huge car slut - are there any cars in the game at all?), and even announcing to the 'rents that she's ready for a raise in her allowance.

PC version = 20 dollars cheaper = more money going to other gaming needs like "Jade Empire" Since double fine is doing the PC version, I have full faith on the outcome. I'm just not that excited about the PS2 version though.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I already pre-ordered Jade Empire and should receive it next weekend.

Sadly, my sister's computer only has a Radeon 9200 (the game demands at least a 9600). But we can always wait for the PC demo to come out and test it to see. Otherwise it's Xbox all the way.

[Jake]

Awesome.

I'm wondering if it's designed for keyboard and mouse, or if you can hook up a gamepad (I've got a PS2-to-USB converter) and have it work the same as a console version. The console versions have you remapping buttons to certain powers, and show you what button is what on-screen. I don't know if the PC version works the same way. They might have all the powers assigned to the numeric keypad, or the F keys, and not show them on-screen.

At GDC they had the PC version hooked up to a logitech pad that mimicked the PS2 controller, and the gamepad mappings were pretty much identical to the xbox one (except the "black" and "white" buttons were mapped to L2 and R2). I think it alternatively supports WASD/mouselook if you'd like, but that's probably not as good if only because of the loss of analogue thumbstick walking speed control.

[Simon]

I already pre-ordered Jade Empire and should receive it next weekend.

Sadly, my sister's computer only has a Radeon 9200 (the game demands at least a 9600). But we can always wait for the PC demo to come out and test it to see. Otherwise it's Xbox all the way.

If it helps, I believe the 'at least' graphics card requirement is Radeon 8500 level:

http://www.razputin.net/?page=psychonauts/requirements

Which would make your sister's computer, with a 9200 card, capable. The 'manly specifications' recommend a 9600, but the full minimum playable spec Thrik quotes is thus:

Operating Systems: Windows 98 SE/2000/ME/XP.

Processor: 1.0 GHz Pentium® III and AMD Athlon.

RAM: 256MB.

Video Card: 64MB GeForce 3 or higher, or ATI® Radeon 8500 or higher (excluding GeForce 4 MX).

Sound Card: DirectX® 9.0 or higher compatible.

DirectX® version: 9.0 or higher (included on game disc).

Hard Drive Space: 4.0 GB minimum hard drive space.

CD-ROM: 16X or faster.

Maybe our sources are different though.

[Mr Manager]

Think about it, though: it's Official Xbox Magazine. Just like Nintendo Power, they're not going to give any Xbox game bad reviews with their 'Xbox is the bestest!' attitude... it's just a magazine to get good publicity.

EDIT: And I completely didn't see the next page. Shut up.

Well, they did give some poor scores in that very issue, so they do give bad reviews. Not that I'd take their scores as gospel or anything of course.

[Simon]

Did anyone mention the scans are up here now?

www.psychonauts.com/memory.php

Read the review if you dare, but especially avoid the boxout 'Brain Candy', it is spoilerish for those 3 levels it describes.

[Wormsie]

I like the way The Church of Tim has avoided mentioning that the demo has been released.

[MrHoatzin]

I like the way The Church of Tim has avoided mentioning that the demo has been released.

The what of wha?

[Wormsie]

The what of wha?

[Udvarnoky]

We're looking at a score of 8.4 at Gamespot.

[Chris]

8.8 on Xbox.

[Jake]

Are they the same reviews with different scores? Or is just the first page the same...

[Simon]

Same review. They mention some quibbles with the audio on the PC version in both, but obviously the Xbox review isn't marked down on that.

[Moosferatu]

What exactly is 'value' anyway and why did it only get a 7 in it?

[Jake]

Ah yeah, and "The PC version controls well enough too, provided of course you have a good USB controller, as the keyboard and mouse controls just don't feel right for this type of game (and even with a USB controller, camera control can be a bit of a pain)."

Value

For the most part, a game's value score is an indicator of the game's longevity. It represents how long you'll be able to both play and enjoy the game, and it also signifies how much replay value you'll get out of it. Breadth of gameplay options and overall volume of content both weigh heavily into this score. The retail price of a game can also figure into the value score, as can the presence or lack of similar, competitive products in the market. Finally, the overall quality of the game has some impact on its value, so, for instance, a bad game that's extremely long is still probably not worth playing.

[manny_c44]

"On our main test PC, we found that certain lines of dialogue, as well as some specific sound effects, just came across as much too quiet, like they were on a different audio channel that couldn't be turned up or something."

I got that problem in the demo as well, I'm thinking that the "hardware enabled" feature in the sound menu might be the problem, although I'm not sure why. Anyone know?

What exactly is 'value' anyway and why did it only get a 7 in it?

Basically if it isn't multiplayer or Final Fantasy it will score low.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Okay, fellas, I want your HONEST advice here. And, Jake, shut up, okay?* Should I get it for Xbox? Price is no object, I can part with $54 (sales tax inc.). I'm feeling like a big slut anyway and would like to join in the orgy with everyone instead of having to wait weeks for a new computer and a new graphics card.

Should I get the Xbox version?

* You're the one who told me it's best on at least a Radeon 9600, and now I can't play it even on my sister's more powerful computer because my moron-in-law won't let me anymore. But I still love you.

[manny_c44]

If you don't have a controller and struggle with keyboard control, just get the Xbox version. The only upside for PC is the super high resolution...but I fear now that you've tasted the sweet nectar of the PC version graphics it might be hard playing it on a normal TV.