Psychonauts

Psychonauts is a very difficult game for me to rate, like the two other games Tim Schafer worked on after Monkey Island that I have played: Full Throttle and Grim Fandango. In fact, in its strengths and weaknesses, Psychonauts is very similar to the aforementioned. All three possess strong writing, an outstanding visual presentation and art style (which is not to be confused with amazing graphics), great music, and of course memorable locations. And all three are lacking in the same department as well: Gameplay. Now, anyone who's played Full Throttle will surely remember the Destruction Derby mini-game. All others, look it up on the web site of your choice. Go ahead, I'll wait. Done? Good. It might not have seemed that bad to you, but those who've actually played the game will remember that this mini-game was possibly the most unplayable thing they had ever come across in an otherwise so well-polished video game. The reason is simple: It's one of the few parts of the game (besides the motorcycle combat, which wasn't a strong part either) that feature gameplay actually going beyond your classic adventure game's. Luckily, Psychonauts' gameplay is not nearly this bad. Not even remotely. Even so, if you look at it as a 3D platformer and only a 3D platformer, then yes, it is definitely lacking. Don't get me wrong, it's not unplayable, but it is very prone to sudden jumps in difficulty. And don't expect the smoothest of controls, either. Now you might be thinking, no matter how good anything else about a game is, as long as the gameplay is sub-par, it's not worth playing. Right? Wrong. Look at my rating. That's four stars out of five, and I stand by it. Everyone, and I mean everyone should experience this game at least once. Despite obvious gameplay flaws, it manages to be not only great fun, but also extremely memorable. Every single one of its areas has a very distinct feel to it, and whatever Schafer was trying to accomplish with any of them, he always nails it. I've yet to find something even nearly as stylish as Black Velvetopia in any game before or after this one. Psychonauts is a lesson in game design for everything but gameplay. But you'll be so engrossed in it you won't even notice its many small flaws until much later, when you're long done with it.

Overview: I don't have too much trouble listing my top 10 favorite games over the past 20 years, because there aren't very many games that have been truly different. Psychonauts is something special. Tim Schafer put together a great, creative story, and Double Fine designed some solid gameplay mechanics. The game has aged well, but I highly recommend using gamepad. First and foremost, the story: Psychonauts has a LOT of cutscenes that are carefully planned with wit and timing to progress both the main plot and many little side-arcs for the many NPCs. I really enjoy this, but long cutscenes aren't for everyone. Make sure you're in the mood to watch. The humor trends towards parody with a touch of 8th grade. The environment is a summer camp, and all the standard players are present: the bully, the cheerleaders, the nervous kid, the Russian transfer student... The story starts out pleasant and funny and turns a little more dark and twisted as the end approaches. This is typical of Tim Shafer, and I'm glad to see a video game that allows the artist's work to show through. Gameplay: Standard platforming fare, mostly. You can jump, glide, punch, climb, and do miscellaneous actions around the camp. The psychic powers, however, are where the fun is at. Very little of the game requires precision, and you mainly have to use your head. The psychic powers you choose to use will change situations drastically. This is great for me, because I don't always feels like being cautious or crazy. It's nice to have a variety of options at my fingertips. Aging Effects [as of 2011] ------------------------ Visuals: I played through Psychonauts a couple of months ago (2011) on my T61p laptop hooked up to my 32" Bravia TV. The visual design of Psychonauts is cartoon and colorful and hasn't aged at all in my opinion. This is an advantage of 3D vector-graphics combined with visual designs that don't try too hard to look realistic. System Performance: Pyschonauts only has occasionally momentary hangs on my system, which is normal. The hangs on my system tend to occur when too many things are happening at the same time, and I'm rotating the camera wildly. Otherwise, Pyschonauts runs remarkably smoothly. Load times are quick, and the gameplay is silky. Controls: The keyboard and mouse controls are pretty rough. I highly recommend a gamepad for your own sanity. I do not personally recommend an Xbox 360 controller for this game, although one would work. The primary reason is that Psychonauts, along with many other games, does not do anything with the analog triggers. A gamepad with more digital buttons will make your playthrough much more enjoyable. I personally use a PS3 DualShock controller with MotionInJoy drivers to change the triggers into digital buttons.

It's not that Psychonauts is a bad game, but in all honesty, I didn't think it was nearly as great as people said it was. The humor was kind of lame, and the gameplay is pretty much identical to Banjo Tooie. I'm not saying the game is bad. Not at all. It's a decent-looking, decent-controlling, decetly-acted adventure. However, it is JUST decent. It's not as remarkable as everyone had told me, and I found it to be a slight disappointment, especially considering how short it is. I beat this game, no joke, in one day. For a Banjo Kazooie styled adventure, that's very very short. I will admit that the soundtrack is quite good, probably the best thing about this game.

Yep, the game looked kind of stupid and childish to me when I first saw it so I passed it over. Finally took some time to check it out a couple of years ago. Boy was I wrong. This game is really good if you like platformers. There are a lot of good stories if you take the time to look for them. A twisted sense of humor and challenging levels. This is part of the reason I never got to finish the game and it may become frustrating for some people. I am glad to see it here though so I can jump back in and try and finish it this time. I strongly suggest buying it. I played the game fine with the Keyboard and mouse but I have a feeling it will be easier this time around with my game pad.

Psychonauts is the kind of game that the only reason people wouldn't play it is because they haven't heard of it. From the outside, psychonauts looks like a simple 3D platformer, which is normally more at home on consols, on the pc for once. However, dont let the concept fool you. Yes, it is a 3D platformer, but where the gameplay is lacking it has something better, genuine charm. This game has an amazing storyline, hilariously tied together with a interestingly designed cast of weirdos and freaks who support you as you delve into the world of psychonauts. Just what makes this all special you may ask? Well besides the interesting storyline and well designed campers, the tasks you must do in this game are unique. Play a board-game with Napoleon? Check. Remake Godzilla with a city of helpless fish? Check. Play into a deranged conspiracy theory about a milk distributor? Check. And this is only 3 of the uniquely designed levels one will face in psychonauts. While $9.99 may seem like a lot compaired with the other price tier, and often $9.99 games dont reflect value, and instead reflect the kind of return developers want, this is one game that is worth every cent. More maybe. $9.99 is a steal, and even this figure can go down in times of sales, so you have no excuse not to pick up this absolute gem of a game