Psychic Detective

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Martin III
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Psychic Detective

Post by Martin III » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:47 pm

If there's one shortcoming in the set of four games that came with my first 3DO, it's that there are no FMV-heavy games among them. Being in a bit of a rush to rectify that, I purchased this game for cheap online. It just came in the mail today.

Just curious what everyone else's opinions on the game are.

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Post by 3DO Experience » Sat Nov 05, 2011 2:09 am

I really like it. You can definitely play this one over and over again. Lots of replay value.
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Post by Lemmi » Sat Nov 05, 2011 4:57 am

i agree, lots of fun
i remember just popping it in and playing to the end in one night not knowing what the controls did, then got screwed on the symbols :D

theres different endings, i cant even remember what my endings were
the acting isnt to bad either
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Post by 3DOKid » Sat Nov 05, 2011 7:26 am

i agree, this game is actually fun.

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Post by Martin III » Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:23 pm

I've played through it a couple times now. Ended with "Maximum Eric" the first time, then with "Pretty Bracelet". I understand what the reviewer on Gamespot meant about the plot being difficult to follow, but I think he's completely wrong about it being due to the gameplay. It's a typical case of confusing script, confusing filming, and gratuitous psychedelic effects.

And yet, even though I can't entirely follow who all the characters are, it's still great fun to play. I felt a tingle run through me the first few times I mind-hopped. Seeing the same scene suddenly coming at you from a different perspective is just spooky. The whole thing has a very organic, in-the-moment feel to it; you really do feel like part of the movie. I was especially impressed with how fresh the game still felt on my second playthrough.

A few questions: First, does anything good ever come out of doing a reading on an object? I tried this a few times on my first run, and all I got were a few images flashed at me too quickly to even make out what they were, much less interpret them in the context of the story. I left objects alone on my second run because I felt like all they did was made me miss out on actual storyline. Am I just reading the wrong objects?

Second, is there any strategy to "Black Diamond" beyond the selection of pieces? The manual makes it sound like the movement of pieces is just formality, and when I actually played the game, that did indeed seem to be the case. Am I missing something?

Finally, obviously winning or losing at Black Diamond affects what ending you get, but does it make a difference how many pieces you(or your opponent) win by?

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Post by 3DO Experience » Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:33 pm


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Post by Martin III » Mon Nov 14, 2011 4:21 pm

3DO Experience wrote:*cough*
I'm afraid of spoilers.

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Post by Martin III » Sun Feb 26, 2012 1:21 am

I've popped this in again for a few more plays. I have to say, I'm increasingly impressed with how well the game is attuned to repeated playthroughs; each time you uncover a little bit more of the mystery, pull off a different course of events for the same scene, and get a better sense of the story. I find, too, that I'm getting a better feel for the pacing of the gameplay. I've even begun doing a few object readings without feeling like I'm chopping up the story. The game's design really does draw you in.

I am increasingly annoyed by the Psychic Duel, though. It's bad enough that, going by the manual at least, who gets the most powerful of the eight pieces is the only factor determining the winner, with the other seven pieces and the actual manipulation of the pieces all being just for show. But I'm finding now that even the value of the pieces is selected at random, rather than determined by the course of the story as the manual claims. I even played through the game twice in a row using the same story path, and the same piece matchup which had resulted in Max taking a piece the first time resulted in me losing a piece! It takes away a lot of motivation for playing the game(and I'm not just talking about the Psychic Duel) when whether you get a good or bad ending is essentially determined at random.

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Rented as a kid

Post by vampyre mike » Thu Apr 05, 2012 2:00 pm

A friend and myself were probably around.. 12 or so when we went to the store to rent a game and grabbed this on PS1 just because it looked weird.

I loved it and have since purchased it for PS1 and 3DO. I actually got a sealed copy from BreSoftware for $9 but decided to open it, because what fun is it to keep it sealed =P

I've been showing it off to my friends who also love FMV like myself. We hope to get a good ending eventually without going insane =)

I also friended Kevin Breznahan aka Eric Fox "The Psychic Flash" on Facebook, nice guy and seemed to like working on this project as well.

I love niche titles like this and Fox Hunt on the PS1. (but the 3do is the better system of course)

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Re: Rented as a kid

Post by Martin III » Wed Apr 18, 2012 4:10 pm

vampyre mike wrote:I also friended Kevin Breznahan aka Eric Fox "The Psychic Flash" on Facebook, nice guy and seemed to like working on this project as well.
That's awesome! I really thought he and the lady who plays Laina did an especially good job with the acting in the game. The acting of the protagonist can really make or break an FMV-heavy title.

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Post by CJZEPP » Wed Apr 18, 2012 4:34 pm

Anyone ever see the angry video game nerd 3do episode?
That feeling where you look at your posts from 2-3 years ago when you first joined and realize how stupid you were.

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Post by vampyre mike » Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:56 pm

Yeah, sadly he bashes the hell out of the system and especially Plumber's Don't Wear Ties. I like his reviews, but he doesn't seem very open minded to some older stuff, especially Sega CD/32x and 3Do =)

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Post by Trev » Fri Apr 20, 2012 3:52 pm

vampyre mike wrote:Yeah, sadly he bashes the hell out of the system and especially Plumber's Don't Wear Ties.
Well, can hardly blame him for that. :P
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Post by Austin » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:08 pm

From what I have read/watched, the AVGN is just a face/a character, and the opinions don't always reflect how the actor actually feels. James himself supposedly actually enjoys a lot of the stuff that he bashes for his AVGN show.

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Post by CJZEPP » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:22 pm

Yeah I love avgn, but the only thing he bashes about the 3do is the daisy chaining I believe. But is there really a fan base for plumbers don't wear ties? Im not a fan.
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Post by Lemmi » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:32 pm

CJZEPP wrote: But is there really a fan base for plumbers don't wear ties? Im not a fan.
*raises hand*

;)
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Post by CJZEPP » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:36 pm

Oh sorry about that then, the game doesn't seem good in my opinion.
:oops:
Then again I've never played it.
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Post by 3DOKid » Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:56 pm

Lemmi wrote:
CJZEPP wrote: But is there really a fan base for plumbers don't wear ties? Im not a fan.
*raises hand*

;)
Agreed.

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Post by Martin III » Sun May 13, 2012 2:39 pm

vampyre mike wrote:Yeah, sadly he bashes the hell out of the system and especially Plumber's Don't Wear Ties. I like his reviews, but he doesn't seem very open minded to some older stuff, especially Sega CD/32x and 3Do =)
Well, that's what he does. Angry Video Game Nerd isn't a review show; it's basically a comedy/documentary (in that he includes a fair amount of well-researched background on the games and consoles he covers) show. If you're looking for suggestions on what games/consoles to buy, you're just as well-off tuning in to The Big Bang Theory or the Drew Carey Show.

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Post by 3DO Experience » Sun May 13, 2012 3:13 pm

"fair amount of well-researched background", but not always.
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Post by vampyre mike » Fri May 18, 2012 2:13 pm

I filmed the intro a few weeks back if anyone is interested in the Psychic Flash!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBZGaziZYag

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Post by Martin III » Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:06 am

I popped the game in again last night and had a great run. Never would have guessed that you could hitch a ride to the bearded homeless man's head, much less that doing so would open up a whole new branch of the story. The great thing about games like this is that they're full of surprises. I also tried seducing Sylvia without having spied on in her in the limo for the first time... That was interesting. Then, to cap off a beautiful playthrough, I won the psychic duel.

...and... got "Pretty Bracelet" for the ending. For the fourth time. Is something wrong with my copy of the game? I've taken all kinds of routes through the story, but whenever I win the psychic duel, "Pretty Bracelet" is the ending I get. It would be nice if one day I could say I've seen more than four of Psychic Detective's 15 endings.

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Post by Martin III » Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:35 am

I guess I spoke too soon. On my next playthrough I got "Hot Head", a very amusing ending. It's a well-used idea, but Kevin Breznahan's acting really makes it work. A couple plays after that, I scored "The Healing" - definitely the best ending I've seen so far. One thing, though...

Anybody understand what Laina thought was the reason Sergei was mind-broken? I've watched those scenes many times by now, and I still can't get even a vague understanding of that plot point.

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Post by CRV » Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:52 pm

Martin III wrote:Anybody understand what Laina thought was the reason Sergei was mind-broken? I've watched those scenes many times by now, and I still can't get even a vague understanding of that plot point.
Didn't Laina's dad fry his brain? He disapproved of their relationship.

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Post by Martin III » Sun Apr 14, 2013 2:20 pm

CRV wrote:
Martin III wrote:Anybody understand what Laina thought was the reason Sergei was mind-broken? I've watched those scenes many times by now, and I still can't get even a vague understanding of that plot point.
Didn't Laina's dad fry his brain? He disapproved of their relationship.
That's what I was starting to think too, but when Eric suggests this, Laina just scoffs at him. Plus, I couldn't figure out why he would disapprove of their relationship so violently.

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Re: Psychic Detective

Post by Martin III » Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:13 am

As some of you may have already noticed, Video Game Critic recently posted two new 3DO game reviews, and one of them is for Psychic Detective. Sadly, it doesn't give the most accurate overview of the game I've seen, so I posted to the VGC bulletin board pointing out the errors. However, he insists that there is a combination of actions you can take that will result in Laina apologizing immediately after Eric hits her, instead of saying "How could you?!".

I hate to say it, being something of a VGC fan, but... I'm dubious. I've played through the game plenty of times now, and I've never seen a route that seems like it might lead to Laina apologizing at that point. :? Can anyone here tell me whether or not this scene actually exists? And if it does, how do you get to it?

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Re: Psychic Detective

Post by goldenband » Mon Nov 18, 2013 6:16 am

Huh, that sounds vaguely familiar. I can look back at my/our notes to see if we found something along those lines. Certainly, I remember hitting Laina and not getting the angry/indignant reaction we expected.

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