10¢ Cheap!	THE
		™	AWESOME ISSUE #12
	NEWSLETTER	MARCH 2010

Retro Game Review: Psycho Killer

Hi, the EditMoron here with a new Nispy Newsletter feature: The Retro Game Review! In this section we'll take a look at the finest classic games history has to offer and give a fresh look at them. Up first, the Amiga CDTV hit, "Psycho Killer" from On-Line (No the game is not online, they had no internet back then!).

Psycho Killer was a ground breaking revolution in home video games. Never before did a game system have the power to pull off what this game manages to do. Psycho Killer had many features only now becoming mainstays in gaming: Full motion video, quick time events, and digital sound. It pulls all these elements together to draw you into the twisted nightmare brought on by a psychotic maniac named Morgan.

The game begins with the unnamed protagonist driving his car. Immediately you are thrown into the action as you must slam on the brakes to avoid hitting an abandoned vehicle. After looking around you hear a woman's scream and realize you are about to become a pawn in a sick killer's game. I can't give away the rest of the plot, but it's a story telling masterpiece few games are on par with even today.

The graphics are a bit dated now, but when the game came out full motion video was almost unheard of. Using full 4,096 color still frames and monotone video segments, it wasn't until titles like Myst years later that games had the power to put you in another world. The loading screens are a bit annoying, but not as bad as some early PlayStation games, which this game predates by years. The controls are simple point and click, much like adventure games such as King's Quest, though Psycho Killer's digital graphics leave those old PC titles in the dust.

Unfortunately the CDTV never really achieved the commercial success it deserved, having to compete with such giants as the Phillips CD-i and the 3D0, and as such this game is a rare find for any serious gamer's collection. Overall, I give it my prestigious "3 Burning Machete" award. Here's a video of me completing the game in record-shattering time (spoilers!):