[peb]

Maybe I'm sharing too much of my gaming inadequacy, but Meat Circus was hard as hell for me. It took me forever to get through it. Two parts specifically:

Spoiler:

Tent City where you have to get little Oly to the top while protecting him from the mutant bunnies. And the Big Top where you have to climb to the top while being attacked (physically and verbally) by Raz's dad.

Also, I don't think it's one of the better levels in the game design-wise. The combination of meat and circus didn't seem that inspired in my mind. I prefer the Milkman Conspiracy, Lungfishopolis and Black Velvetopia.

[Karmillo]

whos mind was black velvetopia?

[Kolzig]

Spoiler:

Edgar Teglee, that painter guy.

I don't know if this really is even a spoiler, but...

[Karmillo]

Oh Dales avatar

[Dale Baldwin]

Indeed

[Spiwak]

Originally Posted by Kolzig

Spoiler:

Edgar Teglee, that painter guy.

I don't know if this really is even a spoiler, but...

No that shouldn't be a spoiler, I don't think. If you don't already know the answer then you wouldn't get it...

[Naveed]

Originally Posted by Fop

No, I'm saying Milla's disco level and that cube level were worse.

The eariler levels though worse were still fun! I think that was quite important because the game was getting better and better.

I think onwards from the Milkman Conspiracy, Psychonauts got so brilliant that it surpassed any game that I played before in terms of ingenuity. I have been playing games from last 13-14 years, but some of the stuff that Psychonauts throws at you is (figuratively) out of this world. Just exploring the worlds was so much fun than what usually a complete so-called 'AAA'/'blockbuster' game offers you in full.

The Meat Circus was a great level, though I never like time-bounded sequences, but it never got too frustrating. I got stuck when there was a point where water was rising, and you need to run, at one point the jump from one net to the other was very difficult, but it was due to the camera angle problem, so yes, it was a fault of the game but still there is nothing to take away from the level design.

[NcroManiac]

Psychonauts is Tim's best game yet, and considering his track record, it's hard for me to say that!

[Starflux]

Actually, I was playing Grim Fandango again last week, and despite Psychonauts total awesomeness I still love the former slightly more. Just because of its style.

[Spiwak]

It's a close call for me. There's probably a better chance of me playing Psychonauts again, but at the same time I was more emotionally invested in Grim and I just love love love the whole damn story.

[Junkface]

If we consider DOTT a Schafer game, I'd say that's his best. While arguably less ambitious than Grim or Psychonauts, it's pretty much flawless, while the others have some (not particularly large, but still there) issues on the gameplay front (could use a bit more interactivity and less linearity in parts of Grim, refined controls, and Psychonauts has way too many cutscenes for my liking; would be nice if dialogue trees were used more consistently) even if overall they resonated with me more.

On the subject of the Meat Circus, I think it really gets a bad rap. In terms of difficulty, sure you couldn't breeze through it (in the rising water part at least) but it never crossed the line from challenge to frustration for me, and I hardly consider myself a hardcore platformer, or even a particularly dextrous gamer in general. I also played it with keyboard and mouse, and had no problems. Visually, it also has some very nice moments, mainly with the use colour.

[insane_cobra]

Originally Posted by Junkface

If we consider DOTT a Schafer game, I'd say that's his best.

Amen to that. Granted, I haven't played Psychonauts yet and never finished Grim Fandango (yeah, I know), but DoTT was almost perfect.

[SoccerDude28]

My biggest gripe with the Meat Circus was 2 fold.
First of all it was timed, so you really needed to know what to do next and fast.
Second and more importantly, the camera angles in Psychonauts have their flaws, and it wasn't much of an issue in the other levels because they didn't require quick reflexes. But it really made the last level much more difficult than it was supposed to be. Once I knew where I needed to go next, after repeating it several times, it wasn't that difficult at all.

[oubliette]

I got the game on monday and just finished it (14 hours according to the save).

And to be honest it's the best 14 hours I have ever spent on a game.

I can't wait for the next double fine effort.

[lumi]

The first time I played Psychonauts I got quite frustrated in places, mainly because of stress I was putting on myself. I just finished it a second time, and this time I was stress free. I also did more exploration and tried to find bonus items.

It's a fairly easy game, but it's really fun to play. I don't think I'd have a problem playing it a third time right now, even though I won it a second time yesterday. This time I could make sure to collect every figment, and not just focus on mental baggage.

[RLacey]

I still need to finish the Meat Circus .

[lumi]

For some reason Meat Circus was one of the easiest parts when I played through it a second time. Took me about a million tries and a billion curses during the first time, though.

[Kingzjester]

You just gotsa relax. When you're relaxed it will come easier... The funny thing is, it may not be as much fun and it may not be as frustrating.

[trudysgarden]

Originally Posted by RLacey

I still need to finish the Meat Circus .

me too. Walked away from it for a week just to tune myself up. I love this game.

[simpson_yellow]

Mel, sorry if you've already answered this elsewhere in the forums, but how did it all turn out for you?

What was your favourite level? Was the Meat Circus as frustrating as expected?

Originally Posted by peb

Also, I don't think it's one of the better levels in the game design-wise. The combination of meat and circus didn't seem that inspired in my mind. I prefer the Milkman Conspiracy, Lungfishopolis and Black Velvetopia.

Huuuugely late response, but I have to agree. I couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly, but I don't think the meat/circus combo worked on a visual level as well as the rest of the game. Level design seemed a little less creative too.

The underwater part before you go to Lungfishopolis was the first bit that truly blew me away. I think Black Velvetopia was my favourite bit though - truly inspired.