Psychonauts Review (360)

A charming and light hearted title, unfortunately held back by some missed opportunities.

A Psychonaut is an individual trained in the use of psychic abilities and tasked with using those abilities in order to help protect the innocent. And more than anything else in the world, Rasputin, our hero, wants to be one.

In order or attain his goal however, he finds he must attend a summer camp for psychics; a facility designed to encourage young talent and to hone latent abilities. And though attending this camp may seem like a simple thing to achieve, Raz finds that he has one huge obstacle barring his way: his father.

And so, in an effort to get closer to his dream, Raz runs away from home, and crashes the camp. This is where the player picks up the story: with Raz trying to force his way into becoming a Psychonaut. In order to do so, he has to gain to favor of the camp councilors, which is not an easy task. But proving himself comes in a manner that he did not expect, as it seems a diabolical plot has been hatched, one that will harm the campers themselves. It’s up to Raz to save the day.

“Beyond the Mind’s Eye”

Psychonauts At its surface, Psychonauts is a platformer, and boasts many of the expected traits of the genre. You have a jump, a double-jump, a ?ground-pound? and so on. There are also the standard issue collectibles, most of which revolve around currency or power-ups. But what sets this title apart from the others, aside from its huge helping of personality, is not found in the ?what? so much as it is in the ?where.?

The majority of the platforming/combat takes place within the minds of different NPCs that you will encounter along the way. Melding your conscious mind with the mind of another (far out, man) you then go running around in the insubstantial goo of their incorporeal essence. How’s that sound for a bunch of metaphysical hooey?

At any rate, there is a vast amount of variety in terms of location, including a Spanish themed level with a rampaging bull, a level shaped like a cube that may or may not have been the inspiration behind the designs in SMW, and what might be the most inventive and hilarious use of lungfish in the history of mankind.

As you run through these levels, you will find a number of different collectibles, including figments of the imagination (translucent images that you can capture), emotional baggage (which must be tagged in order to collect), and mental cobwebs that can be cleared. But cleaning out the mental state of the people you encounter is more than just an exercise in kindness. The more you acquire, the faster you level up.

Visually speaking, Psychonauts is rife with charm

Leveling up is another well done feature of this game. With a cap of 100, the higher you go, the more access you have to certain items at the camp. Also, leveling up has an effect on what may be the coolest part of the game: the psychic abilities. The abilities themselves are numerous, with nearly a dozen making an appearance. Pyrokinesis, Telekinesis, and so on, there are a lot to unlock. Though some are more useful than others, each one has its place. And the higher the level you attain, the more powerful they become.

Now, despite all of this glowing praise, there are a couple of areas where Psychonauts misses the mark. The first one you may notice pops up during the camp segments of the game. For all intents and purposes, camp is your home base; where you go when you are not actively engaged in a mission. And, seeing as how you are seldom rushed from one mission to the next, you will spend a lot of time here. This aspect can feel like a bit of a double edged sword at times.

Though its nice to not feel the need to hurry, the campsite itself seems to be completely devoid of anything to do other than collect things. Sure, you’ll fight a bear or two, but there isn’t much interest to be had beyond that. There are no side-quests in this game, (unless you count the scavenger hunt, which is just more collecting) which makes the open world format feel like wasted opportunity. When you engage in conversation with the other campers, they will often tell you of their troubles, but don’t ask for your help. It’s almost like the developers way of teasing the player. ?We could have made side missions, but we didn’t. So there.?

Strike two would be found in the sense of boredom you will feel from time to time as you play. You’ll find yourself having a blast one minute, only to be almost sleepy the next. These times aren’t as rare as they perhaps should be. You can tell this engine has six cylinders, but you may feel that only four of them are firing from time to time.

“Better Living Through Clairvoyance”

Psychonauts Visually speaking, Psychonauts is rife with charm. From quirky, misshapen characters to several laugh-out-loud moments, this game was made with a lot of heart. The character models are highly stylized, giving the entire game a somewhat comic strip look. Colors are vibrant and liberally used, which is a nice change of pace in this day of perpetual browns and grays. And though what you see will seldom wow you, the scope of the visuals are enough to keep you entertained.

“A Beginners Guide to Clairaudience”

What you’ll hear as you play the game varies from aspect to aspect. The weakest of the bunch would be the sound effects. They just don’t have quite enough bite to put them in the remarkable category. The musical score for the most part is well implemented, and, aside from a couple of stragglers, lends itself nicely to the mood of each location. Where this title shines, however, is in the area of voice acting. The cast seems to know what they’re doing for the most part, and the majority of line delivery is very well done.

“The Skinny”

For the most part, it is a pleasure to take part in Raz’s search for Psychonauthood. With its constantly creative and widely varying level designs, solid sense of humor, and interesting characters, this title should find its way into the collection of fans of the genre. Though you may find yourself a little bored from time to time, it’s worth it to see this one through to the end.

The best part of all: you won’t have to go looking through game stores for used copies of this disc. It’s currently available via XBL to the tune of 1200 MS points.

The Good: Entertaining visuals, quirky characters, solid level designs
The Bad: Lack of side-quests hurts the camp area, dull more often than it should be


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Silver Y AwardSilver Y Award
4 4 / 5

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