Psychonauts

"Another Tim Schafer Masterpiece"

Psychonauts is one of those rare gems that many folks tended to ignore. Personally, I find it to be a rather fun platformer, with a huge sense of humor guiding it's inner workings.

Graphics -
While the graphics are nothing special, they certainly fit this game. Some of the psychic powers you possess create rather interesting effects, and the environments are enjoyable and varied to boot. Although the graphics are not the major resource to the game, they work for it.
Rating - 7/10

Gameplay -
This game is a simple platformer with some extra bits to it. The major premise behind the game involves you trying to hone your psychic powers. Some of these include pyrokinesis, telekinesis, and levatation to name a few. There are additional ones, and each one serves its own purpose throughout the game. As you train your abilities at the summer camp, you are thrown into the minds of the counselors and others. Once again, I wouldn't say this is anything special, but it is different enough to provide an enjoyable experience.
Rating - 8/10

Story -
You are Razputin, a young boy who was born with psychic powers. Your parents forbid the use of this power, and it wasn't long before you ran away to train them. It has been Raz's dream to become a Psychonaut, and he begins this route at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp. It is here that Raz is taught how to harness his psychic powers, as well as endure the trivialities of the camp bully and his girlfriend. The story can be a bit lame at times, but it is more than made up for by the way the characters interact and the humor that ensues.
Rating - 7/10

Sound -
The music and sound effects are nothing to look forward to, but the voice acting is simply superb. Each character is perfectly distinguishable and perfectly executed, adding a huge leap of delight to hearing everyone talking together. Never has a game seemed so funny to me, but this is not a surprise considering the game was designed by Tim Schafer. If there was one redeeming grace to this game, it is most definitely the voice overs.
Rating - 10/10

Replayability -
Many platformers tend to run dry in this category, not providing much to it. Psychonauts certainly is no difference to it, but it does still provide a little bit. Now the main game may only last fifteen to twenty hours for most people, but that is not everything there is. You can strive for a Psi Cadet Rank of 100, you can try and unlock all the hidden memories, you can uncover all the hidden figments, and you can sort through all the emotional baggage. With less than ten levels in its repertoire, Psychonauts is definitely not going to last you necessarily a rather long time. But it will still last a decent amount of time to do everything there is.
Rating - 8/10

Overall -
Not too fancy of graphics, fun gameplay, incredible voice acting, and an interesting cast of characters make Psychonauts another worthy title by Tim Schafer, and a great platformer in addition.
Rating - 7 + 8 + 7 + 10 + 8 = 40/50 -> 8/10

Buy or Rent -
I am a pretty big fan of Tim Schafer, so that makes my opinion a little biased. However, this game still holds its own regardless of that fact, being an enjoyable experience throughout. The only downside to it would probably be there not necessarily being a whole lot to do unless you strive to be a perfectionist. In the end, I would say buy given all the positives and negatives. I've heard that this game can be purchased now for less than $10, and it is certainly worth that.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/07, Updated 01/23/07