Tim Schafer's first work with his development studio Double Fine, Psychonauts is excellent for the most part, but is let down by a few design choices and somewhat poor platforming controls. The overall concept is quirky, unusual, and brilliant-you play as Razputin, a runaway from the circus who attempts to unravel the mysteries surrounding Whispering Rock Summer Camp, a training ground for young psychics before his parents arrive to take him home. Along the way, Raz meets a full cast of interesting and entertaining characters, including a pair of psychic secret agents (the titular Psychonauts), the rest of the erratic and outrageous campers, and a host of other miscellaneous lunatics that all add an unbelievable amount of character to the game. The game takes place in two environments: the summer camp and locations around it, which function as a sort of hub world and lovingly designed platformer-style worlds, each of which takes place within the minds of one member of the cast. To avoid spoilers I won't get into details about each of the levels, but it's obvious that an amazing amount of love and care went into each one, further adding to the game's fantastic atmosphere. Unfortunately, while solid enough overall, Psychonauts can be somewhat lacking in the gameplay department. The game is a platformer for the most part, which makes the occasionally sticky controls and difficult-to-control camera more of an issue than they would be otherwise. Of special note here is the last level of the game, which is controller-smashingly frustrating at times. Moreover, two late-game collect-a-thons (Collecting the last of Raz' powers and gathering enough "money" to purchase some items necessary to finish the game) break up the game's flow and feel like they were added to artificially lengthen gameplay time. Lastly, the game was obviously developed with consoles as the lead platform-the default PC control scheme is unintuitive and cumbersome. I strongly suggest playing the game with a controller for that reason. Overall, Psychonauts is a breath of fresh air and a fantastic departure from modern mainstream gaming. Its control and gameplay design issues don't prevent the game from being absolutely worth the price and a solid addition to any gamer's library. If you haven't played through the game before, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy.
From the solid storyline and great characters to the clever and strategic combat, along with the clever level design and the excellent free-roaming sections, Baldur's Gate 2 set the gold standard for CRPGs, Even without the ludicrously huge Throne of Bhaal expansion, BG2 is definitely worth ten dollars and is a must-buy for anyone who has never played it.
