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by skip 07/16/2014, 6:12pm PDT |
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I bought this on sale on GOG based on the concept of the game. Clearly cribbing from Psychonauts, which I liked, as not enough games let you mess the heads of you enemies, literally or figuratively speaking. Everything you need to know about my feelings are summed by John Walker's review on RPS.
To summarize, the theme and concept are great and this game should work. The script is written by Ryan North for fuck's sake. It should be funny. It's not. He calls the comedy overwritten, which most of it is, but there's also parts where the joke just isn't fleshed out. There's a part where a guy is waiting to see an opera singer and thinks about how he loves her voice. His girlfriend's thought is "Why did I marry an audiophile?" It would work of his thoughts also mentioned paying $500 for cables but without some more substance, it's just a forced joke. The voice actors don't have good comedic timing which also hurts the dialog. Worst of all, the main character is just not likeable or even drawn appealingly. He's easily one of the ugliest characters in the game with PA characteristics of chameleon eyes, purple nose, and square crotch. They were trying for a loveable loser type, but he just comes off as dumb and grating. Of course, his girlfriend is better looking than him, level-headed, and bland because we've decided to start cribbing from mediocre primetime sitcoms.
Such areas become enormous later on, broken up by nothingness platforming and the tedium of having to avoid guards, as you aimlessly wander back and forth, trying to find something to click on something. Along the way there are suited thugs who must be avoided. The first time you read one of their minds, learning that they’re thinking about sleep, causing a sleep think bubble to appear that you can then snatch and slap on said man… it’s a nice idea. The seventh time you do it it’s a laborious, tiresome chore. The fifteenth I began to genuinely hate the game.
He has higher tolerance than I do. I began to despise the guard sections because of how little variation they presented after the third encounter. The only reason I finished the game was that I realized I was on the last level and I should just finish the damn thing. It's only like 5-10 hours long. Of course, the ending leaves room for a sequel but this game, unlike Psychonauts, doesn't deserve one.
Negative. |
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