AndrewArmstrong
Moderator - Psychonauts
Registered: 07/22/08
Posts: 365
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| Posted 05/10/10 at 07:07 AM | Reply with quote #1 |
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Basic Braining - obstacle courses and tutorial stuff.
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Andrew |
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Rowan
Moderator
Registered: 04/23/10
Posts: 305
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| Posted 05/13/10 at 02:21 AM | Reply with quote #2 |
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The thing I'd forgotten about this game are how nice the controls are. Climbing, jumping, even camera-work work really well. I almost always feel like the button I'm pressing or the way I'm trying to do something is the way it should be done. I'm even playing on the PC, and I can't imagine it was designed for mouse-and-keyboard with its console releases. Even the depth perception works better than most 3rd-person platformers, which is especially good given the 2-D figments to collect.
On the downside, it makes it more more notable when it doesn't work well. Like when you have to start swinging on things. It took me a good 10 minutes to try the 'F' key to turn around.
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Octarine
Registered: 05/03/09
Posts: 32
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| Posted 05/13/10 at 09:30 AM | Reply with quote #3 |
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I'm having a bit of a hard time with the PC controls. With 3 different psi-powers and the lock/float button, it's just too many keys to press. It doesn't break the game but there are some tricky jumps (usually involving a figment hanging somewhere) I have to do over and over. The good thing is the game is very forgiving. Yes, you have limited lives, but the worst thing that can happen if you fall is going back to the last save point.
Quote: Originally Posted by Rowan
Like when you have to start swinging on things. It took me a good 10 minutes to try the 'F' key to turn around.
Happened to me too. You just have to learn to read the tutorial messages  .
As for the level, it's okay, not more. The Coach's taunting are funny .
I like the way it shows the playing field isn't always horizontal when you jump in the cannon and instead of falling the screen flips. It's a neat surprise, and in a way prepares you for The Milkman's Conspiracy.
Another nice touch is the second vault hidden behind the mental cobweb. On your first go, Oleander brags about how he has got nothing to hide. But going back (which you are only able to do after Sasha leaves) you find the real memories, which adds a bit to the back story and makes you feel you're really going through someone's mind and not just hunting trophies.
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kthd
Registered: 02/12/10
Posts: 2
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| Posted 05/15/10 at 12:54 AM | Reply with quote #4 |
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This is my first time playing the game. I have not played many other games that use a similar control set. At times I struggled with the controls and felt as if I wanted to quit. All throughout I knew what I needed to do, however, could not get the rhythm or pattern just right. It's getting better, and it is increasing my interest in the game.
What I noticed most was that there were things I couldn't get to, that I know I need to get to, such as the memory behind the cobweb. The part of me that wants to complete every aspect of a game in the most efficient manner, really struggled to walk past this area knowing I would need to come back later.
I'm looking forward to what the future levels hold for me as I head to Advanced training with Sasha.
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maggotrain
Registered: 04/26/10
Posts: 10
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| Posted 05/15/10 at 08:18 AM | Reply with quote #5 |
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| Do you guys find the second punching challenge hard? The one with 75 seconds/30 hits.
You gotta be quite fast with the last ones that pop up near the button. When i lose the rhythm with those i cant finish the task.
Gotta keep a pause and try later... |
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Rowan
Moderator
Registered: 04/23/10
Posts: 305
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| Posted 05/15/10 at 08:24 PM | Reply with quote #6 |
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I found it frustrating as it was happening, but I managed to finish it the first go, so I guess not.
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Octarine
Registered: 05/03/09
Posts: 32
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| Posted 05/15/10 at 09:22 PM | Reply with quote #7 |
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You want frustration? Try doing all four.
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Rowan
Moderator
Registered: 04/23/10
Posts: 305
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| Posted 05/15/10 at 09:31 PM | Reply with quote #8 |
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I did three and quit when all I got was a few arrowheads. Was there more?
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Octarine
Registered: 05/03/09
Posts: 32
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| Posted 05/15/10 at 10:01 PM | Reply with quote #9 |
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Sorry, there are 6 challenges, not 4. After the last one you get a rank up, but it is quite nerve-racking, at least for me.
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ILR
Registered: 08/27/08
Posts: 140
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| Posted 05/17/10 at 01:14 PM | Reply with quote #10 |
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| Psychonauts starts slowly, and while this level sweeps the floor with 90% of the basic tutorials in other games, it's still pretty unremarkable and not exactly gripping for a probably still-confused player.
The other kids are way more interesting than usual video game fare, though, and there are some interesting set pieces in this level. The way gravity flips in some transitions is interesting and paves the way for even more out-there worlds that come up later. Coach Oleander has some memorable lines, and his gruff demeanor fits the level well.
This is one of the most conventional psychic worlds in the game, both in idea and in adherence to the general action-adventure principles. While the designers overload the player with all the collectibles early in the game, in hindsight I think it's a good choice that the first actual level is something a bit more familiar.
There are some teaser bits of the creativity and artistic brilliance that Psychonauts starts to serve up later on. For some reason, the cute-yet-twisted helmet bunnies near the machine gun pillbox have stayed fresh in my mind. As has Raz's plea to them: "Run, bunny!". |
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baf
Registered: 02/01/09
Posts: 25
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| Posted 05/17/10 at 04:35 PM | Reply with quote #11 |
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Hm. Interesting to consider those bunnies in light of the endgame.
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AndrewArmstrong
Moderator - Psychonauts
Registered: 07/22/08
Posts: 365
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| Posted 05/21/10 at 09:13 AM | Reply with quote #12 |
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Going through this level, it is a pretty standard tutorial affair. The note previously about the "look test" being to set the invert-or-not control scheme sadly is forced in there and sadly should have been part of Basic Braining but they obviously wanted you to access the camp before you do the other training.
Where it goes above tutorial is the fact it starting bringing in a whole load of things below the veneer of being a "psychonaut". You get to see minds as literally difficult obstacles to overcome in places - with hidden secrets, entirely fake facades (as we see with the Coach specifically saying one of his locked up memories was intentionally locked up for people to find!), and also things we can't get to but obviously are hidden for a reason.
Sadly the premise of having to go back into minds later is mainly used for collections since after this level you can access the Cobweb Duster, and a few more bits of training mean you have all the skills needed to get any further hidden areas. It flows in the game better (although the wait to get the duster is annoying), but it is a shame you can't bring more hindsight into revisiting minds.
Looking into how the coach himself thinks; several points of non-spoken things obviously leap out to improve or explain his character. Apart from being loud up front, he's tough and unfair too - a perfect example of a bully. He wants the best but discriminates against everyone. It's perfectly known later why this is but it is so forceful here! There are some really good setpieces, very obviously film inspired - and, to put it bluntly, just exemplify the thought that perhaps he is pretty much a fake.
In fact I'll recount this later I hope but in the entire game you never ever find out what the Coach's actual abilities are - he fails to guess Raz's name in the opening cutscene and all of his Basic Braining is wasted on Raz's ability. He comes across as a bully making up for something, and you find out later what that is.
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