Psychonauts

"Psychic Therapy Refined"

Some years ago, Majesco (the gaming company behind the Advent Rising game) announced that it's working on a project called The Psychonauts. A game designed creatively by the adventure god himself: "Tim Schafer" which we fondly remember his greatest masterpiece game: Grim Fandango.
The project took a lot of time to finish though and it always passed in a maze of up and downs until it finally arrived on the shelves. And I should say, it was most definitely worth the wait. Here's what I thought of it:

GRAPHICS:
------------
There's no doubt that when Mr. Schafer is the creative director of a game and is it's world designer, the game will undoubtedly look amazing and refreshing in every turn. The same can be said about Psychonauts. It's an understatement to say that the levels of this game are so vividly imaginative and creatively designed that will make every viewer's jaw drop instantly. Every "mind" you delve into (I'll get to that later) has its own theme, look and feel. there are no repetitive textures and no fillers here. every detail has been looked upon and the glory of this fictional world is almost palpable. There are of course a few jaggies here and there but that is because it's been a long time since the beginning of its development. so naturally the engine shows its age. Nevertheless, if this game was released when it had to be released (almost a year before its release date) it would have been the most beautiful platformer to grace the PS2. And let's not forget the character designs which are almost the very main aspect that will keep you drawn to the game and its great storyline. The cartoony super-deformed looks help too. The characters including Raz the star himself, all look amazing and animate fluidly. there's so much effort and love put into the designing of these amazing figures that makes you doubt if any game (or at least any platformer for that matter) has come this close to make you feel so much sympathy and interest towards them. In short, Amazing.
9/10

"...there's so much effort and love put into the designing of these amazing figures that makes you doubt if any game (or at least any platformer for that matter) has come this close to make you feel so much sympathy and interest towards them...

STORY:
--------
Original. That's one way to describe it. I won't give much away but here's a summary of what to expect: You are Raz. A 9 year old boy who wants to become a Psychonaut (hence the title of the game). Psychonauts are super secret pro agents who have super-human psychic abilities and are able to dive into the minds of their targets and destroy their evil from within their own mind. So Raz has joined a summer camp for the gifted children who want to become psychonauts and wants to seek the ultimate training from the very best the world has to offer.
But things go horribly wrong. The children start disappearing and a sinister force shows its face to reveal its ultimate plan to take over the world. You, Raz, will have to stop him. Not to mention you'll also have to fight your own inner demons and get rid of the mental restraints of many psychos who wander into your path by literally opening the door of their brains and diving into them.
10/10

...you'll also have to fight your own inner demons and get rid of the mental restraints of many psychos who wander into your path...

SOUND:
---------
This is the jewel of the crown folks. I haven't seen such lively and believable voice acting in my whole life. It's a no-brainer (excuse the pun) that if there was an award for the best sound and voice acting, Psychonauts would win it. The characters not only look good as I mentioned before but each of them has a unique style to talk and boy do they talk a lot! Raz himself has a great voice and it help to make him a very likeable character. All other people you'll meet during your quest sound amazing too. Sometimes they can even make you laugh out loud. I know I did.
The music is a slash between Jazz and weird classical music but every Mind has its own distinct music. Nothing much to be excited about though. The voice acting and special effects really steal the show here.
10/10

...It's a no-brainer (excuse the pun) that if there was an award for the best sound and voice acting, Psychonauts would win it...

GAMEPLAY:
-------------
The gameplay is standard platforming with jumping from places to other places. Performing acrobating moves like swinging from poles and walking on tight ropes. The real twist comes from your psychic powers (which you will gain gradually throughout the game) and how to use them to reach some other hard-to-reach areas of the game. especially if you want to collect all the goodies (which there are tons and tons of them scattered all over every level) the game has to offer. There are some powers which help your platforming including Levitation, Telekinesis and invisibility and some other which are battle-specific like pyrokinesis, mental shooting or even confusion. There are some other powers like mental viewing which helps you see the world from your enemy's eyes but it doesn't help much other than the level it is presented to you. The only problem I had with the whole gameplay was the lousy camera system. sometimes it drove me mad especially in the later, more confusing and claustrophobic levels (Velvetopia anyone?). It wouldn't also help the the camera would sometimes be stuck in some tree or such and everything would go black. of course these moments are a few but they are still there and present some frustration even though you are doing the "platforming" right. Each level also has its own specific objectives to keep diversity in the gameplay but I just couldn't shake the feeling that towards the final more annoying levels (Velvetopia anyone?) it became quite a chore to just finish the level and get on with the next one. Still... lots and lots and lots of fun to be had here...if you are forgiving enough.
8/10

...lots and lots and lots of fun to be had here...if you are forgiving enough...

Controls:
--------
Nothing much to say here. things work perfectly with the Dual Shock II controller. You jump with X. You melee attack with the square button, you use stuff with the triangle button. you lock-on to an enemy by holding L1 and you can assign three of your powers to the R1, L2 and R2 buttons. It DOES get a little confusing and chaotic but once you get it right, you'll feel right at home in an hour or so.
10/10

...you'll feel right at home in an hour or so...

FINAL WORDS/REPLAYABILITY:
---------------------------------
Psychonauts is an amazing game on every front. It has amazing and strange visuals, a wonderfully done voice acting and a fun and almost lengthy gameplay element (about 9 hours). It adds a lot more to the replay value if you want to hunt every single pickup and bonus from the many minds you visit (which can become challenging if you want them all). Unfortunately, for those of you who are looking for unlockables and such, I have to say one word: Zero. You won't get anything extra after finishing the game. An interview with Tim Schafer would have been pretty cool. or anything in that calibre. But still, This is a game that any platformer fan and any person remotely interested in character development and amazingly strange and bizarre characters should give at least a try. Tim Schafer is the only person who can make you laugh while playing a video-game and this aspect shines gloriously in this title as well.
8/10

...Tim Schafer is the only person who can make you laugh while playing a video-game and this aspect shines gloriously in this title as well...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/23/06