Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"Though hardly perfect, this is an interesting overseas game import from a new game design team. I look forward to their next game release."

---from the review

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Pros: Imaginative "anything goes" dream levels; amusing spattering of super power-ups; a cute lead heroine.

Cons: It's clearly only half of what was intended; U.S. release has some glitches right out of the box. Download that patch before playing!

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Psychotoxic

Click picture to order this PC game.

A Techtite Review

Sometimes it's hard to review a game, not because you have trouble rating it, but because you really admire what a game design team tried to accomplish. It's not so much how flawed the game is, as much as what the game could have been, so very easily. Yet for a game whose original teasers promised a "2003" release, it's clear that this needed to be rushed to store shelves now, in 2005, or not at all. As a result, Psychotoxic may lead to many unfavorable grades on other review sites, due to a number of compatibility errors, bugs, and other limitations, However, I loved so much of what this game tried to accomplish, I cannot bring myself to give it a thumbs-down. In fact, if you see it in the bargain bin someday, I wholly recommend buying it. Seriously.

Your character is Angel Prophet. She's the sort of heroine who doesn't know her true calling until an FBI agent comes knocking on her door one evening, asking her to help with the current crisis. A lot of weird occurrences are happening throughout New York City, and she's the only one who can help, due to unique gifts even she is unaware of. Unfortunately, the one FBI agent who could tell her what is going on here is suddenly shot. It's going to be one of those kind of days.

The shortest review of Psychotoxic would be "a first person shooter Psychonauts." Much like Psychonauts, your character has psychic powers. However, unlike Psychonauts, you do not get these powers "permanently," though rather though temporary power-up icons scattered throughout each level. Some power ups allow her to heal at any time. Another offers invisibility while another provides an impenetrable shield. That's pretty cool.

Yet the best part of both Psychonauts and this game is the ability to enter people's minds, in eight imaginative dream levels. Don't have a code to that nearby security door? No problem; sneak up to the sleeping security guard on duty nearby and enter his dreams. What makes these dream levels so special? Because just as in real life, everyone's dreams are totally different, based on a character's own hopes and fears. One dream level is like the movie Tron, where the pillars around you slowly shatter in a gun fight, only to mysteriously float into the sky...! Another level is within the mind of a guy who's seen one too many classic cartoons, in a dark-spirited "toon" world. Another dream level is within an old-style submarine. There are eight dream levels in all within this 22 level game, and each one is a spectacle of imagination. Here's the best part; since the dream world has no such things as "possessions," your main weapon has unlimited ammo. Cool...!

The bad news...? While Psychonauts knew that such "dream levels" were the best levels --making them 90% of that entire game-- Psychotoxic's dream levels are a rare commodity; eight levels, out of 22. There are only eight dream levels, which makes the switch back to the humdrum "real world" levels much more glaring.

The remaining 14 or so "real world" levels are almost entirely a boring batch of "been there, done that"  office building hallways, or standard city streets. Sure, there is the occasional exception, though they're far and in between. There is one art museum level in particular that is pretty imaginative --with pricey museum artifacts surrounding you in every gunfight-- and there's a main street level which has the occasional holiday tree or falling snow to break the monotony. Yet most real world levels are set in buildings where each hallway and staircase looks identical to the next. This makes the waits until the next "dream level" much more glaring.

I wouldn't say this is a bad game, though. In fact, if anything it's a typical case of a new game design team who tried to bite off more than they could chew, for a first-time effort. Yet for the most part; they did an impressive job: the rag doll physics for the enemies, for example, plus various other real world physics, making gunfights all the more fun. There is also the occasional shipping crate than can be pushed to reach a seemingly unobtainable power-up; a cute touch. Not that this puts this game in league with Half-Life 2 or Doom 3, but it's hardly the sort of elements you'd find in a "worst game of the year" nominee, which is the message I read from sites like Gamespy. I'd have to politely disagree. This game has flaws, but they are on the most part forgivable.

I would have to mention the glitches this game has right out of the box, however. Sure, the company that made this game has corrected all the most major bugs by the time you read this, in the latest game patch. (their download site is here), so this shouldn't be a problem per se. Then again; it's a major pet peeve of mine whenever I must download a game patch, right out of the box, before I can play a game at all.

After the final level is done, it's unfair to say this is nothing like Half Life 2 or Doom 3, because seriously: what is? It is unfair to not give the game design team some high marks for effort, even if they did bite off more than they could chew here. It has limitations, though I still had fun playing it. If a brand new design team didn't have the experience to make a perfect game, well...maybe next time.

---Techtite