A lorra lorra games.

April 26, 2009

I have some sort of bizarre compulsion to buy truckloads of games at the moment.

It's weird. I'm fortunate enough to get a reasonable amount of stuff sent to me via PR companies, so there's rarely much need to purchase anything. In the past fortnight, though, I've bought seven games. All old, decrepit, budget things, of course, but still. Seven. That's quite impressive.

My favourite recent purchase (LIES. That's Braid. But it doesn't sit nicely with what I want to talk about) is Hitman: Blood Money. Which is just all kinds of brilliance. Sneaky-stabby-shooty-non-linear gorgeousness. I rate it more highly than Thief. Seriously. I've not had this much devilish fun with a stealth game for years.

(On that note, I have a really bizarre urge to play Metal Gear Solid 2. Why number 2? That was sorta the worst one, wasn't it?)

Today I bought one of the old Crash Bandicoot games for my missus, and Amped 3. For no reason whatsoever other than that I saw it, second hand, for far cheaper than I expected. It's one of the nuttiest, most bizarre things in the world. The cut-scenes are the obscurest of obscure. It doesn't seem to be very good, you understand, but it was worth the fiver for the bizarro presentation alone.

It appears not to have split-screen mode, though. Which is just inexplicable. This is a fucking snowboarding game that's purely single-player. What the bottoms were they thinking?

Anyway, I was going to buy another game today as well. Something off Steam or Gamersgate, I would imagine. But, for the life of me, I can't remember what it was. Maybe it was Psychonauts - I have been intending to pic that up for a while. But it doesn't seem to click. What on earth was it?

Meanwhile, my search for the elusive ICO continues. If anyone can find a copy anywhere in the world for below about forty quid, I'd be a very happy chappy.

Most recent blog posts from Lewis Denby...

One A Day

My Top 50 Games of the Ever

BREVITY OR BUST: Stalin vs. Martians

Most recent blog posts from Lewis Denby...
One A Day My Top 50 Games of the Ever BREVITY OR BUST: Stalin vs. Martians

Feedback

wolfqueen001 - April 26, 2009 (02:33 PM)
Psychonauts is kind of cool. I've got it for PS2, and it's just bizarre, but in a good way, since you basically enter the minds of crazy people, or enter the minds of relatively sane people with repressed emotional issues, and it's just absolutely fascinating.

Plus the whole premise (which would be spoily if I told you) is just a bit ridiculous, which makes it funny and quirky.

Haven't played it in a while. I might rate it higher than 7 now, but I might've been disenfranchised with the controls or something.

Lewis - April 26, 2009 (03:09 PM)
Oh! It was Fahrenheit.

Sorry, "Indigo Prophecy" as you lot hilariously call it.

Will still probably get Psychonauts, though. And then never have enough time to play anything.

EmP - April 26, 2009 (03:28 PM)
I reviewed that! Twice!

wolfqueen001 - April 26, 2009 (03:35 PM)
His second review is awesome.

Suskie - April 26, 2009 (03:41 PM)
I didn't really get what was so great about Psychonauts. The characters were funny and the sets were extremely imaginative, but at its core it's really just a generic collect-a-thon platformer that has you performing menial tasks.

honestgamer - April 26, 2009 (04:12 PM)
Indigo Prophecy is a much cooler name than Fahrenheit, but that's probably because Fahrenheit has been used to death in sci-fi around here for years (courtesy of Ray Bradbury and others) but is probably still novel to you folks over the pond. Indigo Prophecy just sounds freaking awesome, so there's really no comparison.

Cheap games are going around and I would be buying them like crazy if I had the money. I did pick up the combo of No More Heroes/Red Steel that Ubisoft is offering around here for $30 before discounts (I had a 10% off coupon and then got another 10% off on top of that as an emloyee), but mostly I've had to ignore other potentially good deals like Bladestorm on the Xbox 360 for $35 or Crackdown for basically $10. Devil May Cry 4 is going really cheaply, too, and The Club (which is a really good game). It sucks that I work at a store that frequently has great deals and selection in games...

EmP - April 26, 2009 (04:38 PM)
Venter, you twit, Bradbury shot to fame this side of the pond much faster than he did your side thanks to a wonderfull partnership struck up with the equally brilliant (but awfully bloody weird and probably jail material should he live the life he did then now) Christopher Isherwood.

The Fahrenheit name didn't stick to the NTSC versions of the game thanks to the SEGA CD firefighting game of the same title Suskie nearly reviewed a little while back. Because it didn't get a release here (or the copywrite laws are much looser -- I forget. I read this way back in the game's release when researching for the first review) the original title could happen here but not over there. I have a feeling that the PS2 strain of this game had to lose the Fahrenheit moniker, too. Which is why when I reviewed on that system, I swapped names!

Confused? You should be.

This has been a public education annoucement by EmP Inc.

espiga - April 26, 2009 (04:41 PM)
If anyone can find a copy anywhere in the world for below about forty quid, I'd be a very happy chappy.

Anywhere? Like do you have a modded PS2? American copies generally run about $35 on eBay, whereas Japanese copies are much more expensive. Not sure about UK though, because I don't give a damn about that region. =x

Halon - April 26, 2009 (05:04 PM)
Psychonauts was really cool and really annoying at the same time. Brilliant premise, great characters/dialogue and some of the most creative levels I've ever seen but at least 50% of the game is spent on a scavenger hunt searching for at least 10-15 different types of crap.

zippdementia - April 26, 2009 (05:37 PM)

zippdementia - April 26, 2009 (05:40 PM)
I'm with Suskie on Psychonauts. It's not really a good game. It's just kooky and zany in a loveable way.

Indigo Prophecy is a better name than Farenheight, but both names kind've blow, if you think about it. As does the game. Actually, the game had really awesome gameplay and really terrible story. Upsettingly so.

Here's the real wierd thing, though. I keep having dreams about playing MGS2 again, though I agree it's one of the worst in the series. I actually thought 4 was the worst.

EmP - April 27, 2009 (12:24 AM)
The (awful) twist is all about the weather changing, making Farenheight the better and more relevant name. So there!

Lewis - April 27, 2009 (05:01 AM)
I've heard people call Fahrenheit a post-modern masterpiece and refer to the increasingly bizarre story as clever videogame commentary. I've also heard people say it's stupid. I tend to like those games that split opinion.

EmP - April 27, 2009 (05:47 AM)
I would argue with bizarre. I would argue venomously. It's just a painful checklist of cliche and pop-culture coolness that jarringly overrides what starts out as outstanding combo of storytelling and gameplay melded together perfectly.

But I still prompt you to play it. I'm interested in your thoughts.

EDIT: I'm getting very skeptical with "clever video-game commentry" and believe at least half the time this phrase is used, it's people looking for hidden artistic merit in what's nothing more than a crap game.

Lewis - April 27, 2009 (07:57 AM)
"I'm getting very skeptical with "clever video-game commentry" and believe at least half the time this phrase is used, it's people looking for hidden artistic merit in what's nothing more than a crap game."

I think there's certainly an element of this.

Sold, anyway. Should I buy it for PC or PS2? Both are four quid on Amazon.

EmP - April 27, 2009 (08:28 AM)
Go PC. Better loading times, slightly more bugs. But I think there's a patch, which should remedy that.

Lewis - April 27, 2009 (08:29 AM)
Ah, good old compromise.

My PC has a strange tendency to spit out disks with even the slightest mark on them, so I might go PS2 actually. I'm not sure. Any discernable differences other than boring tech stuff that I never notice anyway?

EmP - April 27, 2009 (09:07 AM)
I would say the seller is the controls. Would you prefer the PS2 pad or the mouse?

Another way to look at is I've already reviewed the Xbox and PS2 versions, leaving the PC strain minus a staff review.

Really, each version has very little difference. It was a game built with a multi-platform release very promenantly in mind.

Lewis - April 27, 2009 (03:11 PM)
I put the decision off for too long and left it too late to put in an order to arrive tomorrow.

I *will* order it tomorrow, in one form or another, so I can hopefully spend Wednesday with it - as the rest of the week is out of bounds.

EmP - April 27, 2009 (03:41 PM)
It's beatable in one sitting -- should you have the courage to endure the second half without whisky.

Feedback
	wolfqueen001 - April 26, 2009 (02:33 PM) Psychonauts is kind of cool. I've got it for PS2, and it's just bizarre, but in a good way, since you basically enter the minds of crazy people, or enter the minds of relatively sane people with repressed emotional issues, and it's just absolutely fascinating. Plus the whole premise (which would be spoily if I told you) is just a bit ridiculous, which makes it funny and quirky. Haven't played it in a while. I might rate it higher than 7 now, but I might've been disenfranchised with the controls or something.
	Lewis - April 26, 2009 (03:09 PM) Oh! It was Fahrenheit. Sorry, "Indigo Prophecy" as you lot hilariously call it. Will still probably get Psychonauts, though. And then never have enough time to play anything.
	EmP - April 26, 2009 (03:28 PM) I reviewed that! Twice!
	wolfqueen001 - April 26, 2009 (03:35 PM) His second review is awesome.
	Suskie - April 26, 2009 (03:41 PM) I didn't really get what was so great about Psychonauts. The characters were funny and the sets were extremely imaginative, but at its core it's really just a generic collect-a-thon platformer that has you performing menial tasks.
	honestgamer - April 26, 2009 (04:12 PM) Indigo Prophecy is a much cooler name than Fahrenheit, but that's probably because Fahrenheit has been used to death in sci-fi around here for years (courtesy of Ray Bradbury and others) but is probably still novel to you folks over the pond. Indigo Prophecy just sounds freaking awesome, so there's really no comparison. Cheap games are going around and I would be buying them like crazy if I had the money. I did pick up the combo of No More Heroes/Red Steel that Ubisoft is offering around here for $30 before discounts (I had a 10% off coupon and then got another 10% off on top of that as an emloyee), but mostly I've had to ignore other potentially good deals like Bladestorm on the Xbox 360 for $35 or Crackdown for basically $10. Devil May Cry 4 is going really cheaply, too, and The Club (which is a really good game). It sucks that I work at a store that frequently has great deals and selection in games...
	EmP - April 26, 2009 (04:38 PM) Venter, you twit, Bradbury shot to fame this side of the pond much faster than he did your side thanks to a wonderfull partnership struck up with the equally brilliant (but awfully bloody weird and probably jail material should he live the life he did then now) Christopher Isherwood. The Fahrenheit name didn't stick to the NTSC versions of the game thanks to the SEGA CD firefighting game of the same title Suskie nearly reviewed a little while back. Because it didn't get a release here (or the copywrite laws are much looser -- I forget. I read this way back in the game's release when researching for the first review) the original title could happen here but not over there. I have a feeling that the PS2 strain of this game had to lose the Fahrenheit moniker, too. Which is why when I reviewed on that system, I swapped names! Confused? You should be. This has been a public education annoucement by EmP Inc.
	espiga - April 26, 2009 (04:41 PM) If anyone can find a copy anywhere in the world for below about forty quid, I'd be a very happy chappy. *Anywhere*? Like do you have a modded PS2? American copies generally run about $35 on eBay, whereas Japanese copies are much more expensive. Not sure about UK though, because I don't give a damn about that region. =x
	Halon - April 26, 2009 (05:04 PM) Psychonauts was really cool and really annoying at the same time. Brilliant premise, great characters/dialogue and some of the most creative levels I've ever seen but at least 50% of the game is spent on a scavenger hunt searching for at least 10-15 different types of crap.
	zippdementia - April 26, 2009 (05:37 PM)
	zippdementia - April 26, 2009 (05:40 PM) I'm with Suskie on Psychonauts. It's not really a good game. It's just kooky and zany in a loveable way. Indigo Prophecy is a better name than Farenheight, but both names kind've blow, if you think about it. As does the game. Actually, the game had really awesome gameplay and really terrible story. Upsettingly so. Here's the real wierd thing, though. I keep having dreams about playing MGS2 again, though I agree it's one of the worst in the series. I actually thought 4 was the worst.
	EmP - April 27, 2009 (12:24 AM) The (awful) twist is all about the weather changing, making Farenheight the better and more relevant name. So there!
	Lewis - April 27, 2009 (05:01 AM) I've heard people call Fahrenheit a post-modern masterpiece and refer to the increasingly bizarre story as clever videogame commentary. I've also heard people say it's stupid. I tend to like those games that split opinion.
	EmP - April 27, 2009 (05:47 AM) I would argue with bizarre. I would argue venomously. It's just a painful checklist of cliche and pop-culture coolness that jarringly overrides what starts out as outstanding combo of storytelling and gameplay melded together perfectly. But I still prompt you to play it. I'm interested in your thoughts. EDIT: I'm getting very skeptical with "clever video-game commentry" and believe at least half the time this phrase is used, it's people looking for hidden artistic merit in what's nothing more than a crap game.
	Lewis - April 27, 2009 (07:57 AM) "I'm getting very skeptical with "clever video-game commentry" and believe at least half the time this phrase is used, it's people looking for hidden artistic merit in what's nothing more than a crap game." I think there's certainly an element of this. Sold, anyway. Should I buy it for PC or PS2? Both are four quid on Amazon.
	EmP - April 27, 2009 (08:28 AM) Go PC. Better loading times, slightly more bugs. But I think there's a patch, which should remedy that.
	Lewis - April 27, 2009 (08:29 AM) Ah, good old compromise. My PC has a strange tendency to spit out disks with even the slightest mark on them, so I might go PS2 actually. I'm not sure. Any discernable differences other than boring tech stuff that I never notice anyway?
	EmP - April 27, 2009 (09:07 AM) I would say the seller is the controls. Would you prefer the PS2 pad or the mouse? Another way to look at is I've already reviewed the Xbox and PS2 versions, leaving the PC strain minus a staff review. Really, each version has very little difference. It was a game built with a multi-platform release very promenantly in mind.
	Lewis - April 27, 2009 (03:11 PM) I put the decision off for too long and left it too late to put in an order to arrive tomorrow. I will order it tomorrow, in one form or another, so I can hopefully spend Wednesday with it - as the rest of the week is out of bounds.
	EmP - April 27, 2009 (03:41 PM) It's beatable in one sitting -- should you have the courage to endure the second half without whisky.

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