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When game consoles started to make the transition from cartridges to optical disks, full motion video was one of the first crazes to take advantage of the much more abundant space that CD’s had. It seemed as if video game companies where going to become movies studios, hiring actors, building sets, and filming the action. Today, game studios are in some ways like movie studios, but not the way it looked like they would back in the early 90’s. The problem with using FMV as a medium in video games is the inherent static nature of the video. The video is very limited to change based on the actions a player makes which, in turn, limits the game play. It is like watching a sitcom rerun and expecting a different outcome each time you watch it. Because of this, FMV games quickly faded away. Psychic Detective is a perfect example of one of these FMV games. By today’s standards, Psychic Detective’s video quality is pretty archaic. It is grainy and not as vibrant. But by the standards of the day though, Psychic Detective was pretty impressive. Compared to the games I played on the Sega CD, it is a very large improvement in video quality. Another advantage of the large storage capacity of CD’s was the use of actual composed music instead of synthesized composed and the use of spoken dialog in lieu of text boxes. Back then; this was a huge leap since spoken words were usually limited to a single word or short phrase on the older consoles. Psychic Detective’s soundtrack gives it a cinematic feel that was rare for a game back then. As much as a quantum leap FMV gave in graphic and sound quality, game play was terribly limited. Psychic Detective and other games like it were interactive movies. PD is about B-movie grade. No Oscar worthy performances, but the main character does a decent job. They were fun to play a few times, but then the weaknesses of the game play become glaring. In PD, you play a guy who has the ability to enter the minds of others and see things from their perspective. You have a choice of people you can leap into which can either reveal important clues or just stray you off the path. I had a hard time trying to figure out what I needed to do. FMV game’s action can get pretty frantic since you are moving at the pace of the video and you have to make snap decisions. It is very easy to miss something very vital to the successful completion of the game. PD has several endings based on how well you piece together the mystery. You play some kind of game where you place pieces on a board. Again, I wasn’t too sure what the heck I needed to do and just randomly put pieces down. Consequently, I never really got a very good ending. To me the value of Psychic Detective and games like it is the era they represent. Games were moving from 2D sprite based graphics to more interactive, realistic 3D environments. FMV ultimately proved to be a fad, which is why there aren’t many games like it today. If you are looking for a game that has high replay value, PD is going to disappoint you. You might get a few hours of entertainment, but then it’s almost like putting in a DVD to watch. The only difference is you have to press buttons to change some of the scenes. I would only recommend PD to people like myself who appreciate different types of video games and are pretty nostalgic. If you are more of a modern gamer who doesn’t really care about that kind of stuff, PD is just going to waste your time and moneyRead full review
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