Psychic Detective

[ManicMatt]

Someone traded this game in at my shop, for the psone, so I took it home to play.

So theres not much in the way of actual gameplay here, but it's interesting anyway, but then they stuck this board game thing in at the end, and no matter what move I make I lose. This seems impossible, the main character even shouted "this is rigged!"

So now I will hate this game forever.

The end.

You played it? Your thoughts?

[MrColossal]

Is the ending a puzzle at all? Is it in fact rigged and you have to beat it? Or is it like 7th Guest and it's retarded Cool Spot clone that always wins

[ManicMatt]

I found a guide.. some pieces were stronger than others, but I didn't have any good pieces because I hadn't chanced upon the right information in the game..

As for 7th guest, I can't get that to run on my XP so I've never played it.

[Andail]

I found a guide.. some pieces were stronger than others, but I didn't have any good pieces because I hadn't chanced upon the right information in the game..

Wow, that's like the mother of all walking deads

[Akatosh]

And let me guess... there's no way to tell if you have strong pieces until you reach the end, right?

[ManicMatt]

There's no way to know you even need any pieces at all until you find out you need pieces at the end.

It's not a game you can complete witha  good ending on your first go, that's for sure. The game only lasts about half an hour to complete anyway.

If you ever see the game knocking about for a few pounds it's worth playing anyway, as it's weird and amusing.

[ThreeOhFour]

There's no way to know you even need any pieces at all until you find out you need pieces at the end.

Well perhaps you are supposed to be psychic whilst playing, meaning that you would know this long before the final puzzle.

Sure, it's a niche market, but it would explain the name  8)

[Misj']

Wikipedia

Gameplay

The game begins when Eric enters the Pozok household, and is given the choice to remain in his body, or hitch hike aboard any one of a number of characters he encounters. Eric also has the ability to pick up objects and take a psychic reading of them, providing more clues to help solve the Pozok murder case. Before long, Eric is embroiled in a conspiracy involving a powerful religious cult, spies, and family intrigue, and he also has to deal with his growing romantic attachment to Laina. Occasionally throughout the game, Eric obtains access to "psychic collectors" which amplify his abilities and allow him to affect the moods and attitudes of the people around him, but at a cost.

Psychic Detective is generally presented in first person, with icons appearing at intervals on the screen signifying people and objects Eric can interact with. Each game generally takes about 45 minutes to play, however multiple plays are required in order to uncover all aspects of the storyline, and there are a dozen alternate endings possible; depending upon the choices made by the player, many different storylines are uncovered, including one that occurs if the player makes no choices and simply watches events unfold. Occasional cut scenes break the storyline into chapters, but which cut scene is viewed depends upon Eric's actions. The endgame portion of Psychic Detective involves Eric playing a surreal board game against the villain; the power of Eric's pieces against his opponent is based solely upon his actions and investigations throughout the game.


It would seem that it's a game play decision...you apparently don't need pieces (or even strong pieces) to finish the game, you just uncover different possible endings depending on your action and the - related - pieces. Personally I think it's a strange concept, but then again: it could work. Apparently the game is more about uncovering the story (and all aspects of the story), which is not necessarily a bad thing. Based on what I read on Wiki I would say that this is by no means a bad game design (although I haven't played the game, so it might have turned out to be bad game design anyway), but rather a design decision that encourages the player to replay the game and uncover more aspects of the game-world. Could be a fun concept for an AGS game...I'm not sure whether I would 'get it' when playing though.

[ManicMatt]

"The endgame portion of Psychic Detective involves Eric playing a surreal board game against the villain; the power of Eric's pieces against his opponent is based solely upon his actions and investigations throughout the game."

I played the game 4 times and still couldn't beat the villian, how was I to know if my pieces were weak or I was just making the wrong moves in the board game? And if I'd got weak pieces, I was was doomed to failure, well that feels like I've been cheated.

It IS interesting, finding out different information through each play, but you find out by pure luck, not by using your wits.

Update: My colleague at work has borrowed it, and he got a bad ending too, haha. I told him to look up a guide..