"Great, Original, and Funny!"

Ahh, Psychonauts. A psychic odyssey told through the minds of misfits, monsters, and madmen. In Psychonauts, you play Razputin or Raz for short. Raz is a 10 year old boy who just happens to have psychic abilities. However, his father doesn't approve of his "psychic nonsense", so Raz decides to run away and take part in a camp specifically for psychics. Here at camp you will develop your abilities and take part in a hysterical adventure with twists and turns along the way.

GAMEPLAY:10
First things first, the gameplay is definitely an unique experience like no other. When you first start the game, Raz has a few powers but nothing spectacular. As you go on though Raz will develop new powers that you must use to solve simple puzzles and wreak havoc on any and everything. It has platformer elements mixed with adventure and action. The gameplay is not at all repetitive with new things to explore around every corner. The only gripe
I had about the gameplay was the fact that you could only have three psychic powers equipped at one time. While this is nothing major, it does become a bit bothersome at times. Besides that, everything is pretty much in order. No issues with the camera or anything like that.

GRAPHICS:8
While the graphics aren't the most important part of the game, you still don't want to play a game that looks horrible. And Psychonauts does a pretty good job in the graphics department. The environments look crisp and clear and very colorful.And the characters all look fairly well. There is also a lot of detail in the game that adds a level of realism to the game. That being said, I do have a few complaints. The graphics look well but not as good as some other ps2 games out there and at times the framerate can get a little sketchy.

SOUND:10
The sound gets a ten because the voice acting and music fit the game really well. First off, the VA was just amazing. Every character has a lively and unique voice and it really stood out. The lines were delivered perfectly and had me rolling on the floor for hours. The music for the environments was very well done and fit the situation at hand. From the spooky music at the asylum to the crazy carnival themed opening, I loved it all.

Replayability:6
Although it is a great game to play, there really is no reason to replay through it unless you want to collect all of the items and unlock a secret bonus movie at the end. Casual gamers will play through it once and love it, while hardcore fans will want to play through over and over again. It is about 8-10 hours long which isn't bad.

OVERALL:10
This game gets a 10 overall because of the great voice acting, original concept, vibrant graphics, and unique gameplay. Even though the game didn't sell as many copies and get the recognition it should have, Tim Schaffer's masterpiece definitely deserves your time and money. I say go out and buy Psychonauts, you won't regret it!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/06