Psychonauts PS2 | Psychonauts Xbox | Psychonauts PC - A Review

Platform: Playstation 2, Xbox, PC (Windows)
Genre: Platformer / Fantasy
Gameplay Mode: 1 Player

Developers: Double Fine Productions / Budcat Creations
Director: Tim Schafer

Worth To Buy? Absolutely.


Pros: top notch yet weird animation, funny dialogues, game levels which are differently played from each other
Cons: low re-playability value, very short adventure

Most Memorable Character: Raz (Runner Up: Lungfish)

Most Memorable Quote:
Raz: Lili! An evil madman is building a fleet of psycho-death tanks to take over the world, and we're the only ones who can stop him!
Lili Zanotto: OH MY GOD! Let's make out!

This game is really offbeat. First of all, the characters and environment are animated in a crooked, yet in a beautifully composed kind of way. At first glance, you might even identify it with a Tim Burton animation movie. Personally, the animation style reminded me of the movie, The Corpse Bride. However, the animation breathes in different personalities to each of the huge cast of characters. For example, you have this levitation instructor Milla, who have a distinct Brazilian accent and a first glance party girl look. And we have Bobby Zilch, which at first look will make you guess that he is the big, ugly bully of the class.

Psychonauts presents platforming in a different way. The camp itself is a plain 3D platforming environment, filled with double-jumping over things, moving obstacles with your mind and tight-roping adventures. However, when you dive into someone else's mind, and as no mind is the same as another, this get extremely different. There will be times that you are just walking on the road of a town, and the next thing you know, the pavement you were walking on is on top of you! Another example of Psychonauts weird platforming reinvention is the cube world, where you run around a cube as if it is a mini planet. In Psychonauts, it is not uncommon to defy the laws of gravity and physics.

Having said that no two minds in Psychonauts are the same, it also reinvents the way of playing for each level. There are stages where the mission to complete the level is just to jump-over-that-cross-this-and-get-here and there are times when brain work is essential. You might spend just a little time learning the basic controls, but the challenge lies in the completion of each level.

Razputin's psychic powers are fun to play with. You only start with a psycho-melee in your arsenal, however adding more powers and developing each of them is another excitement. You can only assign three active psychic powers at one time, so changing the menu and button assignment for each psychic power is a challenge itself.

There are TONS to collect in Psychonauts. From the colorful figments to cobwebs to scavenger hunt items, this game gives service to players who would like to perfect every game they play.

Listen out for hilarious dialogues! The whole adventure itself is filled with humorous lines and one liners, you won't skip cutscenes. The main hero is a smart-mouth kid himself, so there are no dull moments. However, the most remarkable point in the dialogues department is what people say when you talk to them, or just plainly passing by them. It will be rare that you hear one character say the same thing twice.

Audio is perfect. The voice for every character fits their personalities well, and the timing for voicing is super accurate. Music is tailored to each environment, and, I've got to say, although I am not big fan of background music in video games, is produced to perfection.

Sorry, there is no Psychonauts 2, not even news if Double Fine is going to make one. They, however, recommend Brutal Legend for those who played Psychonauts and loved it. This game is for PS3 and Xbox 360. I haven't played this game yet (I blew up my PS3 a year ago, long story), but why don't you give this game a whack?